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"Let Me Tell You" is a series of columns from our expert editors about NYC living, including the best things to do, where to eat and drink, and what to see at the theater. They publish each Tuesday so you’re hearing from us each week. Last time, Things to Do Editor Rossilynne Skena Culgan shared tips for how to de-stress on Election Day; point still stands.
I woke up in the middle of the night on November 6 with a smattering of lyrics in my head as I scrolled the election results: "The gains will feel small and the losses too large ... Progress is possible, not guaranteed ... It will only be made if we keep marching."
If you've seen the musical Suffs, you know these lyrics finish the show with a powerful call-to-action imploring us all to remember the fight of the suffragists who solidified women's right to vote after a decades-long struggle. No matter who you voted for this election, allow me to implore you to go see this powerful show before it closes on Broadway on January 5.
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Suffs explores the history of suffrage in a refreshingly unsanitized way that doesn't shy away from the movement's flaws. You'll witness the tensions among leaders, especially the old guard versus the up-and-coming rabble-rousers. Acting as Ida B. Wells, Nikki James underscores the racial injustices in the American suffrage crusade. It's hard to watch the scenes when suffragists are imprisoned and gagged with feeding tubes. Also hard to watch, particularly in 2024: The scenes with lying politicians.
It's not all bleak, though. There's the delightful song "Great American Bitch," which spurred some excellent merch. Jenn Colella's resonant performance as Carrie Chapman Catt. The goosebump-inducing rendition of "The Young Are at the Gates"—"open up, the future's here, the young are at the gates."
I saw Suffs twice, sobbing through it the first time and staying in composed reverence the second time. The story brings alive the tale of how our nation passed the 19th Amendment, and it underscores the importance of activism, fair elections and democracy.
No, it's not the kind of glitzy Broadway show with tap dancing, jazz hands, sequined costumes and star-crossed lovers (although there are a few charming love stories!). Instead, this show begs audiences not to look away from the poignant history of the era in a year when women's rights were on the ballot once again.
“This show begs audiences not to look away from the poignant history of the era in a year when women’s rights were on the ballot once again.”
After a successful Off-Broadway run, Suffs opened on Broadway this spring with Hillary Rodham Clinton and Malala Yousafzai serving as co-producers. The musical won two Tony awards, one for best book and another for best score. That's a huge credit to Shaina Taub, the second woman in Broadway history to write the book, music, lyrics, and star in her own musical. Despite the awards, the acclaim, and the trailblazing nature of the show, Suffs will close less than a year after its debut on the Great White Way. The show has struggled to sell enough tickets to offset its costs, per the New York Times.
I can't help but wonder—given the state of *gesturing widely* everything—do we as a society even care about women's stories?
Hamilton, the legitimately incredible story of our male founding fathers, has been on Broadway for nearly a decade. Globally, the show has earned more than $1 billion in revenue, Forbes reported. Suffs, meanwhile, is still trying to recoup a $19 million investment.
The shows tackle similar concepts—American history told with contemporary storytelling by gifted wordsmiths. Of course, the shows are different. Suffs leans twee compared to Hamilton's swagger, and Suffs' musical repertoire veers traditional, rather than upending the canon. But Suffs does what other shows have not: It passes the mic to women. With an entirely female or nonbinary cast, it literally gives women a voice, a seat at the table, representation, equity. It’s deserving of our time and attention. If you liked a story about America’s forefathers, then celebrating our foremothers is a must, too.
“If you liked a story about America’s forefathers, then celebrating our foremothers is a must, too.”
After the curtain closes on Broadway for Suffs, it will begin a national tour in fall 2025, as Playbill reported. While I'm sad to see the show leave Broadway, I'm delighted that it will travel to cities across the nation. I hope it can serve as an emissary for its message about the ongoing fight for gender and racial equality.
I have to wonder what the suffragists who fought for women's right to vote would say to our country now, a century later. Their story is a reminder to look back as we chart a path forward.
Earlier this year, Taub said that when she feels cynical or disillusioned about our democracy, she thinks about the Suffs.
"I think about what they did 100 years ago, in way harder times against even more insurmountable odds before social media, before the Internet, before radio. It gives me hope again, so I've imagined for the end of the show, what would the Suffs say to us now?" she says. "I imagine they would give us a pep talk, a warning, a blessing."
As the Suffs sing: "The path will be twisted and risky and slow; But keep marching, keep marching; Will you fail or prevail? Well, you may never know; But keep marching, keep marching; 'Cause your ancestors are all the proof you need; That progress is possible, not guaranteed; It will only be made if we keep marching, keep marching on."