"Suffs" at The Music Box Theatre is a history piece set to music. Based on the suffragettes in the early 1900's, the musical first opened at The Public and it is written and starred by Shaina Taub as Alice Paul. In first seeing Taub on stage she remained me of Lila Taylor as Valerie Solanas in "I Shot Andy Warhol" Gruff, and ruff around the edges, she spares no prisoners in trying to get woman to vote. Going against the grain of the older, more genteel ladies, Paul is bare knuckles to the point where she ends up in jail.
The musical for the most part is enjoyable with a few exceptions... the show is a bit preachy, condescending at times. The staging is a whole lot better than when it played at The Public; cheap steps are replaced by mahogany paneling. Riccardo Hernandez did a brilliant job staging this big musical. Paul Tazewell's costumes are first rate and Lap Chi Chu supported the show with some deft glam lighting. Director Leigh Silverman has some good moments and some that are not so good. The plot goes from sensational to slow all throughout the two hours and fifteen minutes. The all woman cast goes at a sprinters pace from start to finish, leaving the audience wondering when it will level off. Taub never has us happy for the woman, rather she has them off starting the ERA right after they have been granted the right to vote. This part of the show is confusing because why not end the performance after the 19th Amendment has been passed? It weakens the plot by having the woman not satisfied with this huge victory, it comes off as thankless.
As some songs are really resonant... "Let Mother Vote", "The March" (really strong), "Show Them Who You Are", "The Young Are At The Gates", and "Finish The Fight", others are weak and fall flat. The choreography (Mayte Natalio) is never that noticeable; more bland than anything, we never are awed by the dancing here.
As an all woman cast both Grace McLean as Woodrow Wilson and Tsilala Brock as Dudley Malone are never believable as men. As a period piece (Hamilton comes to mind), Shaina Taub cannot handle the lead. Unlike Manuel who wrote and starred in Hamilton, Taub never overwhelms us with her acting, singing nor dancing. The book, music and lyrics were all written by her but she should have yielded the lead to someone who could have carried this musical to the finish line. Like "Funny Girl", this show will be much stronger when she exits the show as the lead. Whereas Feldstein was awful, Lea Michele brought the show to new heights.
"Suffs" for the most part is enjoyable, it does have some holes in it and they are very noticeable. It is much improved from its days at The Public, yet it is not as of yet completely tight as a Broadway show.
No Bull With Raging Robert, Broadway Bob, Tony Awards, Hamilton, The Lion King, Aladdin, Harry Potter.
