The Stars of Suffs Preview Their Sexy, Funny, Radical Broadway Musical

Suffs, Shaina Taub’s revolutionary new musical directed by Leigh Silverman, is set to begin its Broadway run on March 26 at the Music Box Theatre. Taub leads her self-penned production as suffragist Alice Paul, and is joined by a radically talented cast of femme-identifying and nonbinary performers who depict a handful women who helped enact the 19th Amendment. After rallying the press with a few musical numbers, the stars shared with The Broadway Show what it’s been like to bring this pivotal slice of history to life on stage.

“It’s called Suffs and it’s about the suffragist movement, but it’s not dry,” says Emily Skinner, who performs the dual roles of socialite Alva Belmont and Phoebe Burn, mother to Tennessee state legislator Harry Burn. “It is not a dry show. It is sexy, it is smart, it’s funny, it’s engaging.”

“Suffragette was a diminutive term that people used to kind of make them seem like Kewpie Dolls and not like radical reformers,” adds Jenn Colella, who plays suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt. “They called themselves Suffs. It’s so badass, and you can see people kind of light up when they get this new information.”

Taub, meanwhile, sees a simple story of camaraderie within Suffs’ grand historical scale. “Suffs is a story about a group of friends who take on the system and try to change the world and actually do it,” she says. “My friendships are so primary in my life. They’re as important as any other relationship, and I feel like that’s true for a lot of people—and a lot of women. I hope that Suffs is a show that you can see you and your friends in.”