Suffs: Musical review

Suffs Review - Broadway musical

Oh, the vitriol hurled at women demanding the vote — a parade of insults resurrected in the opening number of Suffs, Shaina Taub’s ambitious new musical now playing at the Public Theater. Sung by male caricatures (ironically played by women and non-binary actors), the slurs range from the dismissive — “she can’t take a joke” — to the patronizing — “she can’t get a man, so she’s a suffragette.” That last term, “suffragette,” is no minor gripe. The activists preferred “suffragist,” rejecting the diminutive as both belittling and inaccurate. Taub honors this linguistic precision in her shrewdly crafted lyrics and anthemic, sung-through score, all powered by Andrea Grody’s musical direction and a vigorous orchestra. In nearly three hours — a stretch that strains in its brisk second act — Taub chronicles the contentious evolution of the women's rights movement through the fiery rise of Alice Paul, whom she also portrays. Her dual role as writer and lead is a feat of passion, even if it invites curiosity about how others might inhabit the part. Under Leigh Silverman’s direction, a dizzying cast of characters finds emotional clarity — no small feat amid Mimi Lien’s sculptural black set, where cast members sprint up and down stairs with choreographed precision, thanks in part to Raja Feather Kelly. Alice’s journey begins at Suffrage School, a movement 60 years deep, with just 11 states on board. That sluggish progress irks her. Veteran leader Carrie Chapman Catt (a poised Jenn Colella) counsels restraint: organize, educate, but keep men unruffled. Alice disagrees. “It’s time we fight for a federal amendment,” she insists, kicking off her own, more militant campaign. Enter Inez Milholland (Phillipa Soo), astride a white horse and oozing glamour. Though Soo’s elegance slightly jars with the “poster girl for radicalism” image, her soaring vocals help us overlook it. Alongside Alice, labor leader Ruza Wenclawska (Hannah Cruz) and NAACP co-founder Mary Church Terrell (Cassondra James) add righteous fire to the cause. The show’s emotional apex belongs to Ida B. Wells, rendered with quiet steel by Nikki M. James. Her solo, “Wait My Turn,” delivers a gut punch as she confronts Alice’s blinkered approach: “My people cannot vote if they are hanging from trees.” It’s a sobering, unforgettable line. Momentum peaks after the grand Washington march. The suffragists, dubbed “Amazons,” are met with condescension — and resistance from President Wilson, who admires women, just not their voices. As frustration mounts, the women escalate — silent vigils, civil disobedience, jail time. One love song punctuates the anguish, and even it bristles with irony. “If We Were Married,” a duet with a dagger’s edge, skewers romantic illusions. “Marriage is essentially a death trap for women,” the woman bluntly tells her suitor. And so, even love in Suffs refuses to surrender its fight.
Last Update:May, 14th 2025