Women are wonderful! Women are warriors! Women can do it all, and they do in the Broadway musical “Suffs,” in an all-female- and nonbinary-cast musical about women fighting for the right to vote in the U.S. Shaina Taub proves herself a force to be reckoned with as the quadruple genius behind and in the show. She wrote the book, music, and lyrics, and she stars as Alice Paul, head of the National Woman’s Party. This young lady has created a musical theater experience where every song is a showstopper. She lets the audience see how the women’s movement had two sides: the older approach of trying to be lady-like and peacefully beg men—especially President Woodrow Wilson—for the right to vote, and the younger approach where women stand up and demand their right to vote through marches and protests. Another part of the women’s movement, which Taub vividly and candidly includes, is the movement’s exclusion of the right to vote for Black women and men.
This musical presents a side of history that some people may not be comfortable with, but it happened. I’m thrilled that Taub not only highlighted the exclusion that Black women felt, but also how they were treated when they attended marches or conventions for the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). It’s important that people realize Black women like Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell were there. Wells was very focused in her frustration with not being part of the group that would benefit from women having the right to vote when a constitutional amendment would finally go into place. Wells and Terrell were also concerned about the lynchings of Black people, a regular horror of life in those times. When Wells is told by Alice Paul to wait, she declares her anger at those words.
This musical shows the chauvinism that so dominated this country. It shows how women were relegated to being wives and mothers, and not thought to be able to process political situations, which was something for the men to handle. We see the group of younger women, the National Woman’s Party, taking the task in hand and suffering physical abuse by men, being imprisoned, but also still going on with the fight.
“Suffs” stands for what these women were called—“suffragists”—and they suffered a great deal for a cause that was close to every woman’s heart. They were not just fighting for the right to vote for themselves, but for their mothers and grandmothers, who did not have that freedom, as well as for future generations. It was important to these women to make this stand for women’s rights no matter the personal cost.
Just as every number was a showstopper, this musical features an all-star cast who put everything on the line and made you feel every moment of the anger, cruelty, frustration, joy, and sisterhood that these women felt. Nikki M. James is superb as Ida B. Wells! She brings a level of outrage, boldness, and conviction to this role that you feel with every moment she takes the stage! Her character is someone fighting a fight that she will not benefit from, as other women tell her there is a greater good that does not include her or Blacks at this moment.
Anastacia McCleskey is sterling in the role of Mary Church Terrell, the educator trying to voice her needs as a Black woman to have the right to vote in a calmer manner than Wells. She does not like how the Black women that go to the NAWSA convention are treated, but she wants to be in the room and contribute regardless.
Laila Erica Drew is lovely as Phyllis Terrell, Mary’s daughter. Ally Bonino plays Lucy Burns, Alice’s best friend and a sister in the movement. Burns is marvelous as she maneuvers her friendship with Alice and her commitment to the movement. Jenn Colella is charming as Carrie Chapman Catt, the president of NAWSA who wants to approach men with patience and courtesy. Hannah Cruz is absolutely amazing as Inez Milholland, who was the face of the movement and gets overly invested in the cause—you will see what I mean when you see the musical.
Kim Blanck is feisty and a great comic relief as Ruza Wenclawska. Nadia Dandashi is memorable as Doris Stevens, the naïve secretary for the National Woman’s Party who comes into the movement as a girl but gets exposed to incredible life lessons. Grace McLean is phenomenal as President Woodrow Wilson; she pulls off the role with absolute ease. Tsilala Brock does a tremendous job as Wilson’s Chief of Staff Dudley Malone, who eventually believes the message of the women’s movement. Brock plays the role with tenderness and compassion, beautifully done! Emily Skinner is delightful as Alva Belmont/Phoebe Burn. Jaygee Macapugay is engaging as Mollie Hay.
What I truly appreciate about this musical is how meaningful, powerful, and sometimes amusing the songs are. This cast is stupendous in their delivery of every number. Now, I’ve said that the book, music, and lyrics are fantastic, but so are all the elements of this musical. The direction by Leigh Silverman is extraordinary. Scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez is phenomenal. Mayte Natalio delivers amazing choreography. Paul Tazewell’s costume design is exquisite. Lighting design by Lap Chi Chu and sound design by Jason Crystal are marvelous. The orchestrations by Michael Starobin, along with the musical supervision and music direction of Andrea Grody is something you will feel in your soul!“Suffs” tells an important story and it does it in such an engaging, gripping, captivating way, you can’t help but be mesmerized. This is a musical that salutes the power, perseverance, and commitment of women in this country that was needed in the early 1900s to get the vote and it also reflects the need for women to keep fighting to be seen on a more equal basis in all areas with men. Sadly, women are still fighting to be seen as equals, especially Black women! You have to put it on your agenda to immediately go and see “Suffs” at the Music Box Theatre on West 45th Street and take a young girl with you! You will both feel empowered! One more thing to get your juices flowing and for you to know this musical truly is special: former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton made her producing debut with this musical! Other producers include Jill Furman, Rachel Sussman, and Malala Yousafzai. For more info, visit www.suffsmusical.com.