"SUFFS" Is The New "RAGS," And The Female "1776!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                          Thanks to our friends Ellen and Victor, who got relatively inexpensive tickets, we saw "SUFFS" two week ago Sunday.  I had been intrigued by its presentation on the TONY Awards, so when this opportunity came up, we grabbed it, and it was worth it.

                                             "SUFFS" bears comparison with "RAGS," because both deal with periods in early twentieth century history.  And both have haunting, melodic scores, which I cannot tell you how refreshing it was being in a Broadway house, hearing such.  The problem "RAGS" had was it was never conceptualized as "SUFFS" is, ending up more as an overly talky book musical than the sung through show with soaring songs, which it might have been, and deserves someday to be.  Hey, it took 42 years to get 'Merrily' right.  Perhaps the same someday will be done with "RAGS."

                                                 As for "1776," well "SUFFS" has not only an all-female cast, but an all-female orchestra.  Not since "The Secret Garden" has there been such a powerhouse of female creativity on Broadway.

                                                  Oh, and how is this?  In this year's TONY roster of nominees for "Best Musical," "SUFFS" and "Hell's Kitchen" shared the honor of being two musicals that first started out downtown at The Public Theatre.  "SUFFS" was there in 2022, and took two years to get to Broadway, due to Covid.  But how many years have boasted two shows that began at The Public?

                                                     "SUFFS" moves easily from scene to scene, with conceptual settings that make it all seem seamless, like one environment, and thirty-six--count them! -musical numbers.  The score is haunting, rousing, and fun; one number "G.A.B.," an acronym I cannot reveal, is a solid showstopper, among so many showstoppers."

                                                        At the helm of it all is Shaina Taub, who not only wrote the Book, Music and Lyrics, winning TONYS for both, but plays the lead role of Alice Paul.  A tiny dynamo with a gigantic voice, Miss Paul is a force to be reckoned with, given her remarkable creative, efforts and her performance power, reminding me of the young Alice Playten.  The entire ensemble is uniformly outstanding, but I must say Hannah Cruz as Inez Mulholland, Emily Skinner as Alva Belmont and Phoebe Burn--some cast members double up as characters--and Kim Blanck as Ruza Wenclawska are standouts.

                                                               "SUFFS" deserves to be seen, not only for its theatrical excellence, which includes Leigh Silverman's direction and Mayte Natalio's choreography, but because audiences will get a glimpse into history never taught in my time, which makes me question if it is now.  Before "SUFFS," I had no idea any of these women were real; I went in thinking they were to be archetypes, and, to an extent, they are, but all lived and breathed and died as portrayed on stage.  Less known than the Founding Fathers of "1776" "SUFFS" forces the audience, in a uniquely musical theater way, to examine a slice of American history seldom known or acknowledged.  It is both entertaining and educational.  And what is the last Broadway show we can say that about, darlings???????????????

                                                                  How apt "SUFFS" opened in this crucial election year.  May it inspire people to get out and vote, come November.

                                                                   Meantime, flock to the Music Box Theatre, sit back and enjoy this show's blazing theatricality.