‘Suffs’ review: A moving musical march that’s not quite there yet
19.04.2024 - 03:21
/ nypost.com
2 hours and 30 minutes, with one intermission. At the Music Box Theatre, 239 W. 45th Street.The suffragist characters of the musical “Suffs,” which opened Thursday night at the Music Box Theatre, rarely take a breath to celebrate their victories.
As soon as they achieve something monumental, such as securing a rare meeting with President Woodrow Wilson or finally getting the right to vote, another lofty goal appears on the horizon. Or there’s a dispiriting setback. They’re never done.They’ve gotta keep marching.Much the same could be said about the show, itself, written by and starring Shaina Taub.
Even after a 2021 run at the Public Theater, which garnered less-than-enthusiastic reviews, and a later workshop to reshape it, “Suffs” still feels frustratingly unfinished. To be sure, it’s much better now on Broadway than it was downtown. The clunky set of white steps from the previous version has been thankfully scrapped and replaced by more user-friendly wooden panels and weighty Capitol Hill pillars.
The lousy opening has been replaced by an OK one called “Let Mother Vote.” And narratively, Taub’s musical is cleaner and not so Wiki-fied anymore. The characters are better defined and more human — funnier. Still, while never less than likable, “Suffs” comes short of being riveting.The seven-year plight of Alice Paul (Taub), a fervent pioneer for women’s rights, and her scrappy upstarts Lucy Burns (Ally Bonino), co-founder of the National Women’s Party, socialite Inez Milholland (Hannah Cruz, magnetic), Polish union organizer Ruza Wenclawska (Kim Blanck) and legal rights advocate Doris Stevens (Nadia Dandashi) is easy to root for.They fought — and succeeded — to get women the vote during the 1910s.What they don’t get today
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