The crowd-pleasing, Tony award-winning Suffs: The Musical has marched beyond Broadway for a North American tour kicking off at The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, Washington. Warning: for those of you thoroughly disillusioned with our current political climate, Suffs will relentlessly challenge your cynicism and confront your possible despair by overwhelming you with powerful stories of principled people fighting for justice and equality. Song after song, scene after scene, drips with advocacy for the pursuit of equality and justice through passionate, tenacious dedication. The musical introduces or reintroduces us to the women who tirelessly campaigned for a woman’s right to vote and have a legally recognized active say in the political and cultural discourse of America.
In the story’s journey, we gain a glimpse of the intergenerational and racial struggles that existed within and outside of the women’s suffrage movement in America, and we examine the timeless complications confronting every transformational movement. All of this is presented with the uncompromisingly hopeful conviction that people of integrity can transform the world if they work together for a worthy purpose. Is it preachy? Yes! But the good kind of preachy, where you get to say “Yes” and “Amen” to hearing a message that is true, right, and worth living for.
The vibe of the musical is very much Obama-era Democratic “Yes we can” optimism, but the story is not simplistic. There is recognition that certain gains served white communities or straight communities far more than more marginalized groups. Even so, the musical refuses to be cynical, and honestly, that is a breath of fresh air and a needed break from the apocalyptic doomsday messaging of social media. To be clear, I’m pretty much on the doomsday side, and my cynicism and disillusionment are off the charts; even so, I needed this musical to challenge my despair and to force me to confront the reality that substantive positive transformation is still possible.
Oh, before I forget, the best part of Suffs is not the message but simply the fact that it is a great-sounding musical. Great songs, great voices, great storytelling, no slow points, no throwaway tunes or scenes. It is just a really, really good musical. Comparisons to Hamilton are obvious and I think justified in all the best ways. In the historical musical genre, Suffs tells the story well, keeps the audience interested, makes us laugh, pulls at our heartstrings, and calls us to advocacy, or at least gets us to consider the possibility of doing something more than endlessly doomscrolling.
Shaina Taub (Book, Music, and Lyrics) has created a highly entertaining, powerfully sounding musical that will surely delight most audiences, except for that one guy who always has to be a downer in political discussions by proving to everyone that he is just a little bit more progressive than everyone else. Except for that guy, most people will love Suffs.
Every great musical has at least one great song. Suffs is full of powerfully pleasing songs that brought me to tears on several occasions. The vocal and acting talents of the ensemble cast are more than up to the task to bring this well-crafted musical to life. The captivating solos, precise harmonies, and climactic big ensemble musical moments soar. I particularly enjoyed the instrumentation accompanying the show. Some traveling shows rely on a small group of musicians, with way too much synthesizer instrumentation. I appreciated hearing actual stringed instruments accompany Suffs’ impactful, heartfelt songs.
Is all hope lost for our democracy? Maybe…but then again, maybe there is opportunity for committed radicals to band together and pursue justice. I don’t know if they will succeed, but their stories will be worth telling. Art matters. Suffs tells a story that matters, that could also possibly change the world. It has my vote.
Douglas Bursch is the author of Posting Peace: Why Social Media Divides Us and What We Can Do About It. He also hosts The Fairly Spiritual Show podcast.