I really enjoyed Suffs, and thought that the inclusion of black women’s parallel fight for suffrage was mindful. It didn’t focus purely on suffrage for white women nor paint the main characters as completely morally correct— Ida B. Well’s script and performances highlighted the oppression of black women, not excluding injustices perpetrated by white women as well. Some potential challenges and responsibilities of portraying history in contemporary theater might include the language used, as well as not only telling a singular story in a fight that included so many people and groups. The suffrage movement was not without internal tension, between both the white women, black women, and with each…

Suffs on Broadway approaches the representation of the women’s suffrage movement in an easily digestible, contemporary reimagining, similar to how Hamilton attempted to represent the American Revolution through the lens of the founding fathers. Arguably, Suffs reimagined its historical event better, because it directly confronts the exclusion of African American suffragists multiple times throughout the musical while still bringing attention to their contributions, and features cross-gender casting. A challenge that these historical representations in contemporary theater often encounter is their portrayal of minority figures—what constitutes as authentic and meaningful representation? In reimagining, there is a balance between creative liberty and the responsibility of maintaining historical accuracy. What really stuck out…

The musical Suffs approaches the representation of the women’s suffrage movement by having the cast include many women that aren’t talked much about in history like Inez Milholland, yet they left a big impact on the movement. The musical attempts to connect the past with the future, which works very well with today’s recent events of the presidential elections. By seeing the struggles that women had to endure for the right to vote gives the audience a burden and responsibility to go vote this election and appreciate the right that they fought so hard for. One of the more impactful songs from the play is The March (We Demand Equality).…