Broadway Play Uses a Beauty Pageant to Explore Schoolyard Power
By Emma Carter
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Intro
School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play follows a group of teenagers whose hopes for a pageant collide with rivalry, pressure, and questions about who gets to define beauty.
Vocabulary
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| recognition noun | noun | Meaning: Public attention or respect that someone receives for what they do or who they are. | Example: Winning the award brought recognition to the young filmmaker. |
| appearance noun | noun | Meaning: The way a person or thing looks. | Example: The interview focused on her skills rather than her appearance. |
| competition noun | noun | Meaning: An event or situation in which people try to do better than others. | Example: The competition encouraged students to present original ideas. |
| belonging noun | noun | Meaning: The feeling of being accepted as part of a group. | Example: Joining the club gave him a stronger sense of belonging. |
| disagreement noun | noun | Meaning: A situation in which people have different opinions or do not agree. | Example: Their disagreement about the budget delayed the decision. |
| expectations plural noun | plural noun | Meaning: Beliefs about how someone or something should behave or develop. | Example: The new policy challenged expectations about who could lead the team. |
| narrow adjective | adjective | Meaning: Limited in range or variety. | Example: The report offered a narrow view of the problem. |
The story
At a boarding school in Ghana, a beauty pageant is more than a competition. In School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, six teenagers see the title of Miss Ghana as a chance to gain recognition and a brighter future. Their contest also reveals how closely popularity can depend on appearance and social rank.
The play, written by Jocelyn Bioh, is set in 1986 at Aburi Girls Boarding School. Paulina, a powerful student who hopes to win the crown, leads a group of girls and often puts others down because of how they look. When she mocks Nana for eating porridge at lunch, the teasing shows how ordinary moments can become tests of belonging.
Paulina’s confidence is shaken when Ericka, a new student from Ohio, arrives. A pageant recruiter is expected at the school, and Ericka’s presence changes the competition. During a performance of Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All,” Ericka impresses those around her. Her lighter skin also leads to disagreement between the headmistress and the pageant director about beauty and who might succeed in the Miss Global Universe pageant.
The story does not present the girls’ conflict as a simple contest between a bully and a newcomer. Paulina, too, faces forces she cannot control. By showing pressure from both peers and adults, the play links personal rivalries to wider expectations about which faces and bodies are celebrated.
Although the title recalls the 2004 film Mean Girls, the play has its own setting and concerns. It combines comedy with a serious look at girlhood and narrow standards of beauty. The Broadway run is ending this week, with livestream performances available through The League of Live Stream Theater. The broadcasts have a fee, while high school students can watch for free.
Warm-up questions
- What qualities do you think make someone popular among teenagers?
- How can competitions affect friendships within a group?
Comprehension questions
- What do the teenagers hope the Miss Ghana title will bring them?
- What does Paulina’s teasing of Nana suggest about everyday interactions at the school?
- How does Ericka’s arrival affect the situation at school?
- Why does the play connect personal rivalry to wider social pressures?
- What does the article say about the availability of the livestreams?
Opinion questions
- Do pageants offer teenagers a useful opportunity, or do they place too much importance on appearance? Explain your view.
- How much responsibility should adults have for challenging narrow ideas of beauty?
Further discussion
- Why might a comedy help audiences think about bullying and restrictive beauty standards?
- How could a story set in a particular school and year still connect with audiences elsewhere?
Writing prompt
- Write a short response explaining how competition can affect friendships. Use an example from the article and support your view with reasons.
