It’s been nearly nine years since Hamilton took Broadway by storm, and now comes a worthy successor. Much like Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tour de force, Suffs, short for suffragists, showcases the creative prowess of Shaina Taub, who assumes the roles of writer, composer, lyricist, and lead performer. But the comparison goes well beyond historical subject matter. Both productions seamlessly blend narrative and music while portraying determined individuals grappling with seemingly insurmountable challenges. While Hamilton chronicles Alexander Hamilton’s pivotal role in shaping the nation, Suffs sheds profound light on Alice Paul’s crusade for women’s suffrage.
The musical begins in 1913; the suffrage movement was already many decades old, and with virtually no progress, women were becoming frustrated. We first meet the president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Carrie Chapman Catt (Jenn Colella) who advocates for a gradual approach, preaching “slow and steady, not until the country is ready.”
Enter young upstart Alice Paul (Shaina Taub) who’s impatient for change, and the two women lock heads over the direction of the movement. Paul starts her own organization, The National Woman’s Party, and recruits like-minded activists to join her. They are the heroes of Suffs, but shamefully, they are largely absent from our history books: Paul’s best friend and former college mate Lucy Burns (Ally Bonino), posh firebrand Inez Milholland (Hannah Cruz), Socialist agitator Ruza Wenclawska (Kim Blanck), and the eager young scribe Doris Stevens (Nadia Dandashi).
[Read Steven Suskin’s ★★★★★ review here.]
They are all white women which raises another conflict – women of color, embodied by the great journalist Ida B. Wells (Nikki M. James) and reformer Mary Church Terrell (Anastasia McCleskey) are told to wait their turn. Wells isn’t having it and James will surely earn a much deserved Tony nomination for her powerful performance singing the stirringly defiant anthem “Wait My Turn”:
You want me to wait my turn
To simply put my sex before my race
Oh! Why don’t I leave my skin at home
And powder up my face?
Guess who always waits her turn?
Who always ends up in the back?
Us lucky ones born both female and black
Taub’s meticulous research is evident as she nimbly depicts the complex issues and actions of the suffragists during the seven years leading up to ratification of the 19th Amendment. The women’s resilience is tested amid all the fruitless visits to an unyielding President Woodrow Wilson (the wonderfully sardonic Grace Mclean), the elections, the conventions, the protests, the arrests, the assaults, the hunger strikes, the torture and constant abuse.
While it could so easily turn wonky, Taub never loses sight of the emotional toll on these women, devoting their lives to the never-ending struggle. And so, for every song of defiance (“Finish the Fight” and “Show Them Who You Are”) there’s another questioning why they do it. In the beautifully plaintive ballad “Worth It”, even the take-no-prisoners Paul laments the sacrifices she’s forced to make:
What would my life look like if I wasn’t so consumed by this?
I see women with their children in the park and I feel a little ache
Is knowing that kind of love really something I’m willing to miss?
And will I feel like a failure no matter what choice I make?
Taub composed more than 30 songs for the show and each of them strikes a resonant chord, both melodic and lyrically rich. “Keep Marching” is so rousingly tuneful, it’s still with me; and the delightfully humorous “G.A.B” (“Great America Bitch”) injects the 20th century suffs with a touch of 21st century badassery. The audience ate it up.
The streamlined production features minimal set pieces with little more than pillars and wood panels that open and close. That gives director Leigh Silverman and choreographer Mayte Natalio a wide berth to skillfully arrange the movements of the all-female cast. Silverman achieves quite a balancing act combining just the right mix of earnest authenticity and contemporary relevance. And she’s able to pull it off with an outstanding company.
The women making their Broadway debuts are all sublime. Hannah Cruz as the socialite Inez Milholland who famously led the DC protest march astride a white horse, exudes glamour and charisma with a radiant heart; Ally Bonino as Lucy Burns, the realist of the militant suffs, and Kim Blanck the hot-headed Polish socialist, supply equal parts humor and pathos. Nadia Dandashi as Doris Stevens, the suffs secretary who published books about the movement and Tsilala Brock, playing Dudley Malone as an early 20th century version of a woke man, remind us that marriage was an economic death sentence for women back then.
And as for the veterans, impressive as she was in Come From Away, Jenn Colella does it again, this time acing the role of an imperious leader who preferred to fight ”ladylike” rather than ruffle any male feathers, and she is phenomenal.
So great to see the always excellent Emily Skinner in two key roles playing “rich old broad” Alva Belmont who bankrolled Paul’s NWP, and as a rural southern mother who singlehandedly saved the day.
Finally, kudos to Shaina Taub for her incomparable talents. The woman is so gifted it’s hard to know where to start, but let’s just say her work on this production is nothing short of masterful. (I was fortunate to see two press performances, as Taub was out when I first attended. I am happy to report that understudy Hawley Gould is every bit as captivating in the role.)
Suffs, much like Hamilton, transcends entertainment, serving as a poignant reminder that history matters. In an era where women’s rights face renewed threats, Suffs stands as a testament to the perseverance of those who came before us. And it offers inspiration and possibly a blueprint to take up the mantle and continue the march to achieving true equality which still remains well out of reach. Aside from all that, dramatically speaking, it’s just that good!
By show’s end, I kept thinking about that timeless adage: “Well-behaved women rarely make history.” Thanks to Taub, Silverman, and their remarkable ensemble, Suffs, like Hamilton before it, is poised to etch its own place in theatre history.
Suffs opened April 18, 2023, at the Music Box Theatre. Tickets and information: suffsmusical.com
