Melissa McCarthy Hopes to Return to the Stage After Investing in SUFFS

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actress and comedian Melissa McCarthy discussed the Broadway musical Suffs (for which she serves as an investor), the power of live theater, and her hopes to return to stage work in the future.

She recalled seeing Suffs for the first time and thinking it was "insane that this isn’t taught in every school, and we don’t all know these incredible women... I just thought like, 'Yeah, it’s relevant.'"

Though this is the first time McCarthy has invested in a Broadway show, the actress has a background in theater. She started her acting career onstage and revealed that she hopes to return to her theater roots. "...I think when my girls are in college, I will try desperately to work live onstage again. I just think it’s a really powerful art form."

She went on to discuss the possibilities of working on Broadway, saying "There’s just nothing quite like it, that connection to the audience... I don’t know if it makes me crazy, but I really love that feeling of “We’ll see how tonight goes,” because any night could be different..."

She praised Shaina Taub's "balancing act" with Suffs: "When you can do that with humor, and with real drama, and you can mix in just like gorgeous music, it’s really entertaining. It doesn’t feel like a teaching moment."

Read the full interview HERE.

Suffs stars book writer, composer, and lyricist Shaina Taub in the role of Alice Paul, making her only the second woman in history to write the book, music, lyrics and star in her own Broadway musical. The show centers around the women's suffrage movement in the early twentieth century.

In addition to Taub, Suffs also stars Tony Award winner Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon) as Ida B. Wells, Tony Award nominee Jenn Colella (Come From Away) as Carrie Chapman Catt, Grace McLean (Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812) as President Woodrow Wilson, Hannah Cruz (MCC’s The Connector) as Inez Milholland, Kim Blanck (Signature Theatre's Octet) as Ruza Wenclawska, Anastacia McCleskey (Waitress) as Mary Church Terrell, Ally Bonino (Broadway debut) as Lucy Burns, Tsilala Brock (The Book of Mormon National Tour) as Dudley Malone, Nadia Dandashi (Broadway debut) as Doris Stevens, and Tony Award nominee Emily Skinner (Side Show) as Alva Belmont/Phoebe Burn.

Suffs is currently playing at the Music Box Theatre.

Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas