Photo: Wesley Hitt

An award-winning play that has been called “a cultural phenomenon” opens (virtually) in Fayetteville this week.

The new critically acclaimed Off-Broadway comedy School Girls opens today (Jan. 20), and will be available to stream on demand through Feb. 14.

School Girls is the winner of the 2018 Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, and is directed locally by Vickie Washington.

“This play looks at larger, human issues, nestled in a comic setting,” Washington said. “I am passionate about telling stories of the African Diaspora because they are so vibrant, rich, powerful and funny—and I am embracing the opportunity to create this show with such a level of cultural specificity at TheatreSquared.”

The show tells the story of Paulina, the reigning queen been at Ghana’s most exclusive boarding school in 1986, who has her sights set on the Miss Global Universe pageant. That is, until the arrival of Ericka, a new student from Ohio with undeniable talent and beauty who captures the attention of the pageant recruiter—and Paulina’s hive-minded friends.

The show was written by playwright Jocelyn Bioh, a Ghanaian-American playwright/writer/performer from New York City, whose titles include African Americans (Ruby Prize Finalist 2011); Nollywood Dreams (The Kilroys’ List, 2015); the musical, The Ladykiller’s Love Story, which features music and lyrics by CeeLo Green; and most recently, Happiness and Joe, a romantic comedy. Bioh was a staff writer on Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It on Netflix, and also wrote an episode of fellow Netflix show Russian Doll.

Washington also stars in the show, along with Makha Mthembu and Amira Danan. Na’Tosha De’Von (The Royale, Ain’t I a Woman) also returns to the West Theatre stage alongside LaKecia Harris, Michelle Bester, Maya Vinice Prentiss, Shariba Rivers, and Jasmine Rush.

Additional members of the creative team for School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play include Baron Pugh (Scenic Design), Azalea Fairley (Costume Design), Jason Lynch (Lighting Design), Twi McCallum ( Sound Design), Yetunde Felix-Ukwu (Dialect Coach) and Shawn Irish (Camera Director).

The show was captured live at T2, and is available on a stream-on-demand basis. Patrons can reserve a 24-hour window to see the show any time between Jan. 20 and Feb. 14 by visiting theatre2.org. For assistance, contact the Box Office at 479-777-7477 or email tix@theatre2.org.