Photos & Video: SUFFS Honors 104th Anniversary of the Ratification of the 19th Amendment

On the evening of Saturday, August 24 Broadway’s two-time Tony Award winning musical Suffs celebrated the 104th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment with a special post-show “roll call,” hosted by Suffs’ own Anastaćia McCleskey, that featured several members of the Suffs cast as well as several notable guests including Audra McDonald, Will Swenson, Kelli O’Hara, Alex Edelman, Montego Glover, Kate Baldwin, Jennifer Mudge, Christopher Sieber, Pulitzer prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, Gotham FC player McCall Zerboni, Gen Z Voting Activist Annie Wu Henry, The League of Women Voters CEO Celina Stewart, activist Charlotte Clymer and more. 

These special guests represented all 36 states that ratified the 19th Amendment. After all of the states were represented individually the audience joined in reading the original language of the 19th Amendment out loud together followed by host Anastaćia McCleskey asking the crowd to show their support for the 19th Amendment, which was met with a resounding “aye!”
 
The audience was also treated to a post-show talkback hosted by League of Women Voters, featuring LWV CEO Celina Stewart, historian Kimberly Hamlin, journalist Erin Geiger Smith, and Suffs cast members Dana Costello and Kirsten Scott.
 
“Some shows happen at just the right time in history,” said Tony Award winning actress Kelli O’Hara, who represented the state of Oklahoma. “Suffs feels so prescient and perfect for where we are as a nation right now, and it feels like the perfect gift for my daughter, for all our daughters and sons.”
 
This special celebration commemorated the date that Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment when 24-year-old State Senator Harry Burn cast the deciding vote. Burn, a staunchly anti-suffrage legislator, was convinced to change his mind at the last minute due to an impassioned telegram from his mother, Phoebe Burn, asking him to vote yes. This letter is dramatized in a pivotal moment in Suffs, with Tony Award nominee Emily Skinner in the role of Phoebe Burn and Jenna Bainbridge in the role of Harry Burn.
 
“Only 48 hours after watching Vice President Harris accept her party's nomination and stick the landing on the best closing speech of my lifetime, it gave me such great joy to celebrate the 104th anniversary of the 19th Amendment with the cast and crew and friends of Suffs,” said activist Charlotte Clymer, who represented the state of Texas. “I've seen this musical twice now, laughed and cried throughout it, and felt it speak to my heart how far we've come as women in this country. Walking onstage with so many brilliant activists, artists, and leaders during the state roll call is an experience I'll never forget. And representing my home state of Texas, which I dearly love, particularly as a trans woman, was an honor I can't adequately put into words. This is a show for everyone about a country that should be for everyone, and Saturday night could not have expressed the beauty of that concept more powerfully.”
 
“I love the show so much because it's both extremely entertaining and a document,” said comedian Alex Edelman, who represented Massachusetts. “So it's a monumental achievement of commemoration and creativity. I'm guessing my odds of participating in the creative side of the show are slim - though I'm happy to stand in for Jen or Shaina should I be called to - but I was thrilled to be part of the commemoration. What a joy to be a part of it, what a joy to represent Massachusetts, what a joy to get to be that close to Kelli O'Hara.”
 
“As a woman that stands on the shoulders of Mary Church Terrell, being present to participate in the 104th anniversary of the 19th Amendment touched me to my core,” said Reverend Nicole Duncan-Smith, representing the state of Pennsylvania. “I felt the spirit of my 22 founders in the very room and could hear their collective mantra “lift as we climb.” There is still much work to do, for having the vote is not enough. We must protect it and actualize it, that is the only way that we honor the work of the suffragists that made our vote a reality.”