A musical about the suffragist movement? (Don’t say suffragette). Sounds about as exciting as a musical about the history of Alexander Hamilton.
We know Hamilton is amazing. But so is Suffs. My husband is a history buff and even he learned new things about this time in history.
Just as Lin Manuel Miranda’s talent was fully recognized in Hamilton, Shaina Taub shone in a similar way. This young (36) and exceedingly talented woman wrote the book, music and lyrics, AND starred as Alice Paul (she can sing too) was an inspiration. I went down a rabbit hole reading up on her after the show.
Suffs with kids: What will they learn?
One of the great things about seeing Suffs with kids is the representation. The cast is all women (and they play the male parts). The conductor is a woman (as are the orchestra members). As already mentioned, the show was written by a woman. It was directed by a woman. And there were other major roles behind the scenes played by women. They were strong, they were smart, they were funny, they were entertaining – and they were heroes. While women were fighting for the right to vote before Alice Paul came around, the young journalist (with a PhD) brought youthful energy and ideas into the movement, battling with the prim and proper nonconfrontational approach that clearly wasn’t working
The show follows Paul’s movement and how they weaved in and around the older group – sometimes they worked together, sometimes not – to finally get the states to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1919. Spoiler alert – sorry! Hard to believe that was just over 100 years ago.
Watching Suffs with kids, they will learn in the show about other injustices women had to fight (and you may too) about how women couldn’t get a credit card in their own name until 1974 – just 50 years ago. And the show does not shy away from shining a light on the rights of Black women either.
The other representation I wanted to mention was there’s an actress who uses a wheelchair. It is shocking how surprising that is to see on a Broadway stage, but hopefully there will be more like her showing that people with visible disabilities can also be Broadway actors.
The songs were great and you’ll leave happy and humming.
Anything to watch out for in Suffs with kids?
Overall the language and subject matter is spot on for kids. The only thing to warn you about is the song “Great American Bitch” where the last word is used and emphasized multiple times. And it comes up at other points in the show. So if you can handle that, the rest is just fine.
If you go to Suffs with Kids
Where: Music Box Theater
Length: Suffs is 2 hours and 30 minutes