Ensemble Arts Philly and the Shubert Organization present Shaina Taub’s Suffs

The relentless and devastating sociopolitical upheaval, both at home and abroad, can make witnessing entertainment—much less writing about it—feel meaningless. However, this moving production of Suffs is necessary viewing. As one of the suffragists sings: “In a world that’s gone crazy/Am I crazy to hope?” To watch this show is to engage in an act of hope.

Honesty about the movement

The musical follows three dynamos of the final leg of the suffragist movement, Alice Paul, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Ida B. Wells, and the other women and allies who led the last push to secure the 19th Amendment.

I was worried the musical would fall into a common trap of how we talk about the suffrage movement, which dismiss the failings of it—namely the back-seating and dismissals of the needs and contributions of Black women and other women of color. Though the movement earned all American women the right to vote in 1920, there were practices and legal loopholes that infamously held back women of color from accessing those rights for decades after the 19th Amendment was ratified. These women fought alongside their white compatriots nonetheless.

Thankfully, Suffs doesn’t avoid this. Instead, it is the tension and missteps of the movement that become the centerpiece of the narrative. Alice Paul (a spunky and earnest Maya Keleher) leads the charge of the younger generation of women who believe the time has come for more confrontational action to achieve the right to vote. She stands in opposition to Carrie Chapman Catt, the leader of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), who opted for a more politic approach to sway President Woodrow Wilson and other state politicians to act in the suffragists favor.

The challenge of coalition

Chapman Catt and Paul symbolize an evergreen strain of movement and coalition building: temperance vs. militancy. Despite their differences, both make calculated concessions along the way, such as Paul asking Black suffragists like Ida B. Wells to support her while simultaneously suggesting they hide themselves at the back of marches to placate Southern donors. It’s a sobering reminder of how women can unintentionally, or purposefully, tear one another down out of a misguided notion that it’s necessary to achieve a goal.

Keleher brings a bright, 21st-century physicality and demeanor to Paul, which plays well against the grounded and regal performances of Marya Grandy and Danyel Fulton as Chapman Catt and Wells, respectively. The ensemble is excellent across the board, though Livvy Marcus as the bookish Doris Stevens is especially charming with faultless comedic timing.

Effective staging

Direction by Leigh Silverman unifies the ensemble, but the one missed opportunity was the exploration of Chapman Catt’s relationship with Mollie Hay. Their queerness is fairly muted throughout the production, and some audience members on opening night nearly missed it altogether until the two shared a brief kiss towards the end of the musical (which earned a surprised gasp from the women seated behind me). Though their relationship isn’t largely explored in the story, bolder direction choices could have amplified it.

Scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez and Christine Peters and costumes by Paul Tazewell coalesce into an effective stage picture. The stage is always flanked by white Grecian columns—classical symbols of white male patriarchy. Tazewell opts for muted colors for most of the costumes, though strategically plays with brighter tones and fabrics to differentiate characters and highlight their traits, like lush purple velvets for the sultry Inez Milholland.

Keep marching

In the final song, “Keep Marching”, the ensemble offers these words:

“The gains will feel small and the losses too large
Keep marching, keep marching
You'll rarely agree with whoever's in charge
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.”

American women actively struggled for more than 70 years to win the right to vote, often at great personal loss, and women of color fought for even longer. May Suffs and other art galvanize and prepare us for what’s ahead.

Editor’s note: Before you go, did you know that BSR is celebrating 20 years at our Party with the Critics event on January 15? All are welcome! Get your tickets now.