Suffs
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suffragists and the American women's suffrage movement, focusing 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 premiered Off-Broadway at The Public Theater in April 2022.
The show opened on Broadway on April 18, 2024 at the Music Box Theatre.[1] Production historyShaina Taub began developing the show in the early 2010s, after she read suffragist Doris Stevens' account, Jailed for Freedom.[2] Off-Broadway (2022)The musical was initially going to open its world premiere production at Carrie Catt, Nikki M. James as Ida B. Wells, Phillipa Soo as Inez Milholland, Hannah Cruz as Ruza Wenclawska, Nadia Dandashi as Doris Stevens, Ally Bonino as Lucy Burns, Grace McLean as Woodrow Wilson, Tsilala Brock as Dudley Field Malone, Jenna Bainbridge as Harry T. Burn, Aisha de Haas as Alva Belmont and Phoebe Burn, Jaygee Macapugay as Mollie Hay, Cassondra James as Mary Church Terrell, J. Riley Jr. as Phyllis Terrell , and Ada Westfall as Mrs. Herndon.
Broadway (2024)In October 2023, it was announced that the show would transfer to Broadway in spring 2024. Among the producing team is former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and activist Malala Yousafzai. The show is directed by Leigh Silverman.[8] In January 2024, full casting was announced. Most of the Off-Broadway cast, including Shaina Taub, Jenn Colella, Nikki M. James, Nadia Dandashi, Ally Bonino, Grace McLean, Tsilala Brock, Jenna Bainbridge, Jaygee Macapugay, and Ada Westfall, reprised their roles. Phillipa Soo's role of Inez Milholland was filled by fellow cast member Hannah Cruz, who was in turn replaced as Ruza Wenclawska by Kim Blanck, a newcomer to the production. Emily Skinner, Laila Erica Drew, and Anastaćia McClesky also joined the cast, respectively replacing Aisha de Haas, Cassondra James, and J. Riley Jr. as Alva Belmont and Phoebe Burn, Mary Church Terrell, and Phyllis Terrell.[9] The production has a new creative team with choreography by Mayte Natalio, scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting by Lap Chi Chu, sound by Jason Crystal and Sun Hee Kill, orchestrations by Michael Starobin and music supervision/music direction by Andrea Grody.[10] The show began previews on March 26, 2024 with an official opening on April 18 at the Music Box Theatre.[11] At the time of the show's premiere, Taub became the second woman in Broadway history to "to write the book, music, lyrics, and star in her own musical".[2] Cast and characters
SongsOff-Broadway (2022)Act I
Act II
Broadway (2024)Act I
Act II
Awards and nominations2022 Off-Broadway Production
2024 Broadway Production
ReceptionOff-BroadwayThe Off-Broadway production of Suffs received mixed to positive reviews.[17] The production's cast, score, and direction received praise, but criticism was leveled at the musical's book, runtime, and overall structure. Juan A. Ramirez of Theatrely believed the musical's first act was too focused on narration and historical information, finding the second act vastly superior due to depicting vivid onstage conflict. He also felt the musical's criticism of the suffragists for excluding black women rang hollow due to it having no overall effect on the actual narrative.[18] Raven Snook of Time Out gave the musical four stars out of five but opined that, despite efforts by the production to highlight Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell, their story still felt sidelined by the overall narrative.[19] In an overall positive review for Variety, Marilyn Stasio also found the second act superior but rushed, feeling the already nearly three-hour show could be longer to accommodate it.[20] Suffs was compared prior to opening night and in multiple reviews with Hamilton, which like Suffs is a historical musical that debuted in the Newman Theater at the Public, featuring Phillipa Soo in a starring role, and attracted similarly sold-out audiences.[21] Maya Phillips, writing for The New York Times, noted that Suffs seemed to be trying to avoid potential criticisms similar to ones that had been leveled at Hamilton for its politics around women and slavery. Phillips opined this fear of leaving out information actually worked to the detriment of the story, voicing that the show felt "bloated with information".[22] Helen Shaw of Vulture also found the Hamilton comparison "unavoidable". Shaw praised the musical's portrayal of divisions within the suffragists movement, but she felt that Taub's music and Silverman's staging lacked the variation needed to carry the story. Nevertheless, Shaw saw potential in the musical's future development: "Just a few amendments to go, and, like a certain Constitution I could mention — it might be truly great."[23] BroadwayThe Broadway production of Suffs saw mostly positive reviews.[24][25][26][27] Frank Rizzo, writing for Variety, called the production "smart, inspiring and thoroughly entertaining," noting that the show covered seven years of events "efficiently and effectively with artful modulations of intensity, humor, sadness, spunk and joy". He also praised Taub's "rich musical palette" and the choice to focus on internal division's within the women's suffrage movement rather than male pushback to the movement.[28] Elisabeth Vincentelli of The Washington Post wrote that "while it did not magically morph into a great show, Version 2.0 is tighter, more confident, often rousing and downright entertaining." She praised the revisions which placed more focus on the ensemble and which better acknowledged the shortfalls of the white suffragists to include their Black counterparts, but felt that the book did not explore each character enough.[29] See also
References
External links
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