Inspired by her daughter’s experience, playwright creates intergenerational theatrical journey through Black hair history.
Kenya Mahogany didn’t set out to write a play. She just wanted her young daughter to love her natural hair.
When her daughter came home from school wanting straight hair instead of her Afro puffs, Mahogany bought her a children’s book — Happy to Be Nappy by bell hooks — to help build confidence. That simple act of parental encouragement sparked what would become a years-long creative journey, culminating in Happy 2B Nappy: Our Hair Story, premiering Feb. 14-March 1 at Manos Sagrados in Aurora.
“I thought it would be amazing to tell the story of how Black hair evolved over the years and the struggles and the triumphs and the celebrations,” Mahogany says. “I created Happy 2B Nappy in 2019, and since then I’ve been tightening up the script as I go along.”…