author: Charles Boyington
“How will we do it when it’s never been done? How will we find a way, where there isn’t one?”
Buy your ticket now and see this show! Suffs by Shaina Taub and directed by Leigh Silverman, now playing at the National Theatre in DC, is extraordinary: a “do not miss” theatrical event! The packed house went wild with praise and applause! I believe that it is the best show so far in this very strong season at The National Theatre! It does everything you want good theatre to do: it tells a story well, it educates, it instills empathy, it uplifts and it inspires. You will laugh, cry and cheer. And it’s a musical!
Suffs focuses primarily on the historical events leading up to the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920 that gave women the right to vote. It opened on Broadway in 2024 and deservedly won the Tony for Best Book and Best Score.
Yet to say that the show is about the Suffragist movement is an oversimplification. It’s about humans, politics, movements, choices, hope and defeat. It’s about love and friendship and sacrifice and democracy and race and “lifting as we climb as onward and upward, we go.” It deals with the change in the voting movement during Woodrow Wilson’s presidency as a new generation of young women are infusing the movement with radical new ideas.
Carrie Chapman Catt (played by Marya Grandy) has been running the National American Woman Suffrage Association for 20 years when she meets Alice Paul (Played by Maya Keleher) who is fresh from college and full of ideas. Alice arranges a march on Washington (a radical idea at the time) and Carrie realizes they must somehow work together, even if they are never really on the same page. One thing does become clear: that if they want the vote, they will need to get an amendment passed and they will need Woodrow Wilson’s (played by Jenny Ashman) endorsement. Even then, it comes down to the ratification of the right number of States and eventually to one vote in Tennessee. Along the way the Suffragists sacrifice families and careers, face imprisonment and are threatened with being thrown into insane asylums,–some even lose their lives. The on-stage chemistry between Marya Grandy and Maya Keleher is dynamite and both make every decision feel natural and justified. Jenny Ashman has the onerous task of playing a slick talking politician, who is often the villain, yet she appears to enjoy every moment of it.
Race plays an important role in the story, as the fight for women was not necessarily for all women. A black female journalist, Ida B Wells (played by Danyel Fulton), finds that the black women will be at the back of the parade to appease the southerners: she refuses to lend her support. However, her friend and activist Mary Church Terrell (played by Trisha Jeffrey) stays to guarantee representation. The deep emotions that bond these two women together are evident in every scene. Fulton’s rendition of the song “Wait my Turn” is profoundly moving. Jeffrey’s ineffable charm when singing “Terrell’s Theme” makes it into an anthem that we all feel the need to join.
As hard as Alice Paul works to push the movement forward, her best action is to bring in Inez Milholland (played by Monica Tullia Ramirez), a socialite who is willing to step to the front and lead. The joy that Ramirez brings to this role immeasurable. If she had left the stage and said “Onward to the Whitehouse!” we all would have gladly followed. In addition their small group brings in Alice’s college chum Lucy Burns (Gwynne Wood), Polish labor organizer Ruza Wenclawska (Joyce Meimei Zheng), and young college student turned secretary Doris Stevens (Livvy Marcus). The camaraderie between these women feels tremendously real and their voices are simultaneously sweet and powerful.
The entire cast was superb, and age appropriate (I love seeing anyone over the age of 40 in a touring show) and everyone gets a moment to shine. Highlights include “A Letter from Harry’s Mother” where Phoebe Burn (Played by Laura Stracko) sends her son a letter before the vote in Tennessee, asking him to support the vote. It is a simple and beautiful song that is made even more impressive by Stracko’s deceptively simple delivery. The show may be seen as a rally, and has the numerous anthems to prove it, but it often shines the brightest in the small simple interpersonal moments.
The music is great. Most memorable for most people will be “Great American Bitch.” One of the first anthems in the show. “Let Mother Vote” is a delightful light number that reflects the earlier movement. While most songs are not immediately ‘hummable’ many will make you want to rise up and support these women. Songs like “How Long”, “The Young are at the Gates”, “Wait my Turn”, “Terrell’s Theme”, “Show Them Who You Are” and “Keep Marching” are each inspirational in their messages. However, the simplicity of the hard lessons we learn in the song “If We Were Married” might be an even better catalyst for change.
The sets are simple but highly effective as designed by Christine Peters, evoking the original designs by Riccardo Hernandez. We move through time and space effortlessly. Costumes by Paul Tazewell not only evoke the time, but the class of every character instantly. (It was also a delight to see that the orchestra was conducted by a woman, Dani Lee Hutch.)
The book and lyrics by Shaina Taub distinctly deserve the Tonys that they won. This exceptional show should take its place next to 1776 as one of the nation’s essential historical musicals. (And check out information about the Woman’s Suffrage National Monument in the program!)
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission
Suffs plays through June 28th 2026 with Broadway at The National— 1321 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004. For tickets call the box office at (202) 628-6161 or purchase them online.
