Suffs

A new musical that turns the history of the Suffragist movement into engaging entertainment.

Posted on May 3, 2024 by Joel Benjamin in Broadway, Musicals, Still Open

Shaina Taub as Alice Paul in a scene from the new musical “Suffs” at the Music Box Theatre (Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

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Suffs, Shaina Taub’s exuberant musical tribute to the suffragists who pushed for—and achieved—the vote for women, comes to the Music Box Theatre after a run at The Public Theater in 2022. This is a spiffier and more potent version using the original version as a stepping stone.

Taub (book, lyrics and music) has taken this weighty subject, one full of passion, sadness and personal sacrifice, and has fashioned a theater work that deftly balances history and entertainment.

Taub also stars as the determined heroine of Suffs, Alice Paul, whose in-your-face activism was diametrically opposed to that of Carrie Catt (a brilliant, strong-voiced Jenn Colella) whose approach was rooted in the more sedate Victorian era of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. These opposing philosophies fuel the complex plot of the musical.

Jen Colella as Carrie Chapman Cott and cast in a scene from the new musical “Suffs” at the Music Box Theatre (Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

The transfer to Broadway has brilliantly expanded the show. The new production designed by Riccardo Hernández (scenery), Paul Tazewell (costumes), Lap Chi Chu (lighting) and Charles G. LaPointe (wigs & hair) brings Taub’s script to vivid life, much better than the more didactic and spare Public Theater rendering. These artists put Taub’s script into historical context making the battle all the more vibrant.

The new version also has rethought the casting, reshuffled and improved the songs and, more importantly, is more focused and effective in telling about the conflicts—internal and external—that plagued the suffrage movement. These included dissonance between Catt and Paul; the thorn-in-the-movement’s side of the Black contingent led by the brilliant Ida B. Wells (a charismatic Nikki M. James); and the far left, Socialist ideals of the hothead Ruza Wenclawska (Kim Blanck, brilliantly avoiding caricature).

Watching how this jumble of ideals and goals coalesced into a flawed, but important step in America’s mixed-bag history of civil rights is exciting, helped by Taub’s anthem-fllled score, most pointedly the new opening number “Let Mother Vote.”

Emily Skinner as Alva Belmont in a scene from the new musical “Suffs” at the Music Box Theatre (Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

Equally effective is the flirtatious “If We Were Married” sung sweetly by suffragist Doris Stevens (Nadia Dandashi) and Woodrow Wilson’s chief of staff, Dudley Malone (Tsilala Brock). Taub gives his song a sadly ironic twist when sung by Catt and her longtime companion Mollie Hay (Jaygee Macapugay, quietly moving) in the second act.

Wilson (Grace McLean) is not amused by this relationship and the suffragists in general, but is finally forced to acknowledge their political importance. (All the male parts are played, perhaps too comically, by women.)

Socialite Inez Milholland (Hannah Cruz, making a rich character out of this underwritten role) emerges as a heroine and symbol of the movement when she rides down Pennsylvania Avenue in flowing garments astride a white steed. Her tragic ending spurs the others to continue their fight.

Hannah Cruz as Inez Milholland in a scene from the new musical “Suffs” at the Music Box Theatre (Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

Ally Bonino ably portrays the efficient and effective Lucy Burns and Broadway veteran Emily Skinner zooms in drolly as Alva Belmont whose financial beneficence was the lifeblood of the movement.

The show does not shy away from the grim realities that many of these women suffered including being tortured by forced feeding in dreadful prisons which continued until public outcry forced the government to concede to public opprobrium but also movingly portrays the love and friendship of the inner circle.

Mayte Natalio’s choreography fits seamlessly with the songs and scripts and director Leigh Silverman has guided Taub’s creation with care, molding Suffs into a cohesive theatrical experience.

Anastacia McCleskey as Mary Church Terrell, Laila Erica Drew as Phyllis Terrell and Nikki M. James as Ida B. Wells in a scene from the new musical “Suffs” at the Music Box Theatre (Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

Suffs can be compared to another “historical musical,” 1776. Both shows are rousing, if slightly distorted, history in colorful packages, balancing theater with truth, both mostly succeeding and both quite engaging.

Suffs (through January 5, 2025)

Music Box Theatre, 239 West 45^th Street, in Manhattan

For tickets, visit http://www.suffsmusical.com

Running time: two hours and 30 minutes including one intermission

A new musical that turns the history of the Suffragist movement into engaging entertainment.

About Joel Benjamin (575 Articles)

JOEL BENJAMIN was a child performer on Broadway and danced with leading modern dance and ballet companies. Joel has been attending theater, ballet and opera performances ever since childhood, becoming quite opinionated over the years. He was the founder and artistic director of the American Chamber Ballet and subsequently was massage therapist to the stars before becoming a reviewer and memoirist. He is a member of the Outer Critics Circle.