By Kimberly Rau
Tony Award-winning “Suffs” by Shaina Taub is at the Providence Performing Arts center this week, offering a glimpse at the women’s suffrage movement and the strong women who fought for the right to vote.
We open in 1913 with Carrie Chapman Catt attempting to sweet talk a group of politicians into finally letting “mother vote,” a docile approach that has been failing the movement for 60 years at that point. Alice Paul, fresh out of college and full of ambition, wants to take a more direct approach with a march on Washington. Catt attempts to discourage Paul; Paul simply finds other women to stand with her, and the march makes national news. Over the next few years, President Woodrow Wilson keeps putting women’s rights on the back burner until tensions boil over, pushing everyone past their breaking points.
“In a world that’s gone crazy, is it crazy to hope?” an imprisoned, bruised (but not broken) Paul demands at one point. It’s a question that stands the test of time, to be sure.
Ultimately, of course, the 19th amendment is passed, but, as the cast points out, that’s only the beginning. While the show is loaded with optimism and lessons on perseverance, it doesn’t pull any punches: Fighting is hard, exhausting, and, sometimes, deadly. People get left behind (as journalist Ida B. Wells points out, a woman’s right to vote when Black men are still getting turned away from the polls doesn’t guarantee access for her community). There’s infighting, and abuse from those in power, but is it better to stand and fight, or simply sit back and hope someone finally decides it’s your turn?
“Suffs” is blessed with a strong score and an even stronger book. There were points toward the end of both acts where things started to feel a little long, but I don’t know what you could cut that wouldn’t detract from the narrative.
It’s also an all-women cast (yes, even Woodrow Wilson), and oh, what a cast it is. Maya Keleher delivers an outstanding performance as the bulldozer Alice Paul, never missing a beat in two and a half hours. The first time Keleher sings, you know she’s talented, but her Act 2 solo “Insane” tells you you’re in the presence of a rare instrument.
Her stage presence is more than matched with two powerhouse actors, Danyel Fulton as Ida B. Wells and Monica Tulia Ramirez as Inez Milholland. Fulton’s stage presence gives Wells gravitas even when she’s silent, but when it’s her turn to speak, it’s all eyes on her. There is a moment in Act 1 where Paul learns certain benefactors don’t want to share the march with Black women. Paul tells Wells she and the other Black women should stay in the back to keep the peace and “wait their turn” and the weight of Fulton’s silence in the face of such audacity is enough to take the air out of the room. (And then she lays Paul out in humbling fashion.)
Ramirez is labor lawyer and activist Milholland, who famously rode a horse at the first march and managed to keep a crowd of angry men back by holding her ground. Milholland is the backbone of Paul’s movement, managing to keep everyone headed in the same direction even as tensions threaten to fracture the movement. Everyone looks up to her, and Ramirez takes the opportunity to offer a fully realized, three-dimensional character you wish could be your friend, too.
That’s just a small sample of the talent “Suffs” brings to Providence. Marya Grandy is excellent as Carrie Chapman Catt, who butts heads with Paul right until the end, even as they fight toward the same goal. On press night, journalist Mary Church Terrell was played beautifully by Ariana Burks. Terrell had the same goal as Wells, but a different approach. Unlike Paul and Catt, Wells and Terrell found solidarity in their similarities instead of constantly fighting each other.
“Suffs” is as much a commentary on present society as it is historical reflection. It’s a vital piece of work, considering Woodrow Wilson has schools dedicated to him, but your teachers probably didn’t mention anyone besides Susan B. Anthony when/if they got around to suffrage. It’s two and a half hours long, but besides a moment here and there, it goes at a good pace, with enough music and dramatic moments to keep you engaged even if you’re not much for history. This one is well worth your consideration.
“SUFFS” runs through Jan. 25, 2026, at the Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset St., Providence. Tickets may be obtained at the box office, online at ppacri.org or by calling 401.421.2787
