Suffs Star Nikki M. James Says Work of Suffragists Paved the Way for Kamala Harris' Presidential Campaign

Nikki M. James, who earned a 2011 Tony Award for memorably creating the role of Nabulungi in the Tony-winning The Book of Mormon, is currently back on Broadway in another celebrated performance in the award-winning musical Suffs at the Music Box Theatre.

James brings great dignity and her rich, powerful voice to the role of Chicago journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells. Suffs follows the women who bravely fought for the right to vote; Wells was vocal about Black women's right to vote even when white suffragist leaders wanted to ignore the issue.

James has been with the Shaina Taub musical—which picked up 2024 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score Written for the Theatre—since a 2017 workshop as well as the subsequent 2022 Off-Broadway engagement at the Public. She was also Tony-nominated for her performance in the timely show, which will play its final performance January 5, 2025, following 24 previews and 301 regular performances at the Music Box. Suffs, however, will keep marching on when it launches a national tour next September from Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre, with casting and additional details to be announced.

On Broadway James has also charmed audiences in Les Misérables, All Shook Up, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, while her additional theatrical credits include A Bright Room Called Day at The Public, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin for Encores! Off-Center, Romeo and Juliet and Caesar and Cleopatra for the Stratford Festival, Julius Caesar and Shaina Taub’s Twelfth Night for Shakespeare in the Park, and Lincoln Center Theater's Bernarda Alba and Preludes. On screen James has been seen in Daredevil: Born Again, Severance, Proven Innocent, Braindead, and Spoiler Alert.

In the interview below for the Playbill series How Did I Get Here—spotlighting not only actors, but directors, designers, musicians, and others who work on and off the stage to create the magic that is live theatre—James explains how her connection to Ida B. Wells has grown over the years and how she was able to heal when her confidence was shaken.

Where did you train/study?
Nikki M. James: I went to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts to earn my bachelor’s degree in drama. My focus was on musical theatre. Although I received wonderful training there, this is the kind of discipline where you never stop “training” or studying. I continue to study with incredible coaches privately for acting and voice. I've taken and continue to take classes with teachers and artists that inspire me, and every time I see theatre or watch a movie, I’m learning something.

Was there a teacher who was particularly impactful/helpful? What made this instructor stand out?
I’ve had some incredible teachers in my life. It would be so difficult to name just one. The best of them pushed me outside of my comfort zone, while also always making me feel safe to fall or fail. My freshman year acting teacher Marty New is still a dear friend and mentor. My high school choir teacher Mrs. Spyros pushed me to sing more choral music. My high school choreographer Michael Scannelli taught me to tap. My current acting coach Bob Krakower keeps me honest. My current voice teacher Sarah Brown is opening up parts of my voice I didn’t know existed. My first singing coach Bob Marks helped me get into college and prepared me for all my early auditions. I could go on!

Anastacia McCleskey, Laila Erica Drew, and Nikki M.James in *Suffs* Joan Marcus

You started workshopping Suffs in 2017. What’s the biggest way the character of Ida B. Wells changed from the version you played then to how she’s seen on stage now?
It is so hard to identify one way Ida has changed over the years. There was the addition of the second-act number for the Public Theater’s production, which then developed into more of a duet with Mary Church Terrell for the Broadway iteration. I think the most impactful changes have been subtler. I have experienced a deepening in my understanding of who Ida is. My connection to her as I become a mother grew more nuanced. It’s been a very rewarding journey.

Can you share what the company was feeling the day it was announced Kamala Harris was going to be the Democratic presidential nominee?
The energy in the theatre on the day Joe Biden endorsed Kamala for the presidency was electric. As the curtain rose for the top of the show, the audience burst into “Kamala” chants. On stage each night, it feels like the thread between the women we are portraying and the woman running for the highest office in the land became clearer. People like Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell and Alice Paul fought for the right to vote, and because of their fight, a presidential campaign like Kamala Harris’ is possible. The show has always felt timely, and now it feels even more so.

You were assistant director for the revival of Once On This Island. What was that experience like, and would you be interested in directing more?
Standing beside my dear friend Michael Arden during the process of bringing Once On This Island to life was a true highlight in my career. Michael is an artist of big vision, and he has the biggest heart. No one loves good storytelling like he does. It was so much work—hard and fulfilling work! It was a real gift to be able to witness firsthand how much effort it takes from every single person working on a show to get a production off the ground. I will definitely direct again, I’ll assist, and I’ll consult—when the project is right.

Nikki M. James and LaChanze at the opening of *The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin*

Is there a classic role in a play or musical you would like to tackle?
So many! I would be excited to do more classical theatre. And I have a small fantasy of bringing back Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin…

What do you consider your big break?
My first big break was singing “The Greatest Love of All” at my kindergarten graduation. Everything else has paled in comparison. In all seriousness, each “big break” leads to a new path. There have been many highlighted moments, but this is a career of accumulated successes and setbacks. And as I am still forging my path, it’s difficult to pick out one moment. Maybe the “big break” is still ahead of me.

What is the most memorable day job you ever had?
I loved selling lipstick in Barneys New York.

Tell me about a job/opportunity you really wanted but didn’t get. How did you get over that disappointment?
It’s hard to talk about this specifically without betraying confidence. But there was a job I didn’t get many years ago, and I was told I didn’t get it because of my race. I will never know if this is true, but hearing it really shook my confidence. It was the first time I was really faced with the reality that my “talent” alone wasn’t going to get me where I wanted to go. For many years after that, I counted myself out and sold myself short expecting other creative teams to have that same attitude. It was a difficult experience, and one that I don’t wish upon any other young actor. I am lucky that I was able to heal to some extent by building up a career I am very proud of, and by collaborating with directors and designers and actors who have supported me.

What advice would you give your younger self or anyone starting out?
Say “thank you” more, for both the good and the hard experiences. Each of these moments will become a part of your foundation.

What do you wish you knew starting out that you know now?
How to better rest and reset. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.