Shaina Taub's Suffs has set a 2024 Broadway bow at the Music Box Theatre. Opening night is April 18, 2024, but the first preview date has not yet been revealed. Jill Furman and Rachel Sussman are producing the Broadway premiere, with Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai as co-producers.
With a book, music, and lyrics by Taub, the musical examines the suffragists and forgotten women who worked against divides and oppression as part of the fight for the right to vote. Set in the years leading up to the 19th amendment, the musical explores the movement's victories and failures. Suffs played a multi-times extended world premiere run Off-Broadway at The Public Theater in 2022 with Taub starring as Alice Paul. Casting for the Broadway run, by Heidi Griffiths and Kate Murray, has not yet been announced.
Director Leigh Silverman will again direct the Broadway production, which will otherwise feature a largely new creative team. Aside from returning music supervisor and music director Andrea Grody, the Broadway creative team will include Suffs newcomers choreographer Mayte Natalio, scenic designer Riccardo Hernández, costume designer Paul Tazewell, lighting designer Lap Chi Chu, sound designer Jason Crystal, and orchestrator Michael Starobin. 101 Productions is serving as general manager.
That new creative team seems to indicate that the upcoming Broadway run will be substantially different from the piece's Off-Broadway world premiere, which received mixed reviews. Furman told The New York Times that Taub has revised the musical heavily, changing songs and reducing the running time following audience and critical feedback.
"We are elated to welcome Secretary Clinton and Malala to our Suffs producing team,” says Furman and Sussman in a joint statement. "As powerful role models, they each inspire millions around the globe in their rigorous fight for equality, and we are honored to have two such profoundly dedicated and courageous advocates supporting us on Broadway."
“I am thrilled to join with the team behind Suffs in bringing Shaina Taub’s remarkable musical about the unsung heroes of the American women’s suffrage movement to the Broadway stage—where it rightly belongs," adds Clinton. “And I can’t wait for audiences to experience this soul-stirring slice of long-overlooked American history; both entertaining and enlightening, Suffs paints a vivid picture of the necessary battles for democracy and equality that are still being fought today.”
“I loved Suffs when I saw it last year at The Public Theater," says Yousafzai. "Many women around the world are still fighting for equality—and we draw inspiration and strength through learning the stories of those who came before us. I am honored to support Shaina and this production, and I hope Suffs echoes beyond Broadway to reach audiences worldwide."
Visit SuffsMusical.com.
