SUFFS Will Celebrate Women's Equality Day and the Ratification of the 19th Amendment With Events

From August 18-26, Broadway’s two-time Tony Award winning musical Suffs will celebrate the 104th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, as well as Women’s Equality Day (August 26), through a series of activations in and outside of the Music Box Theatre.

The weeklong celebration will kick off at the August 18 matinee, commemorating 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.

In celebration of this historic date, the production has released on stage footage of Skinner performing “A Letter from Harry’s Mother,” which can be watched below:

“It is incredible that we get to celebrate this ratification anniversary with our audiences at the Music Box Theatre,” said Suffs Producers Jill Furman and Rachel Sussman, “- and it is even more powerful to be doing it during the same week that the first woman of color is going to officially become the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. The suffragists, some of whom are depicted in our show, paved the way for Kamala Harris, for Hillary Clinton, for Sonia Sotomayor, and for all the powerful women in government that get to hold office today. It’s an honor to share their stories and encourage audience members who are inspired by their achievements to get out there and vote this fall.” 

The celebrations at Suffs will continue through August 26, celebrated as Women’s Equality Day, when the 19th Amendment was officially signed into law. 

Suffs Equality Week events and partnerships:

• Sunday, August 18: The audience for this matinee performance is invited to wear white in celebration of the suffragists and will receive a sticker giveaway at the show.
• Tuesday, August 20: As a part of the Broadway League’s “Kids Night on Broadway” initiative, the audience will participate in a sing-a-long of “The March,” led by the Suffs company.
• Wednesday, August 21 (Evening Performance): Female-founded brewery, Talea Beer Co., will host a pre-show gift card giveaway at the Music Box Theatre.
• Thursday, August 22: Starbright Floral Design will host a post-show flower giveaway.  Additionally, 19 lucky audience members will be selected before the show to receive yellow roses at their seat.
• Friday, August 23: Haswell Green's will host a pre-show drink ticket giveaway at the Music Box Theatre.
• Saturday, August 24 (Evening Performance): This special performance in partnership with the League of Women Voters will feature a roll call including representatives from all 36 states that ratified the 19th Amendment. This performance will also feature a post-show talkback hosted by League of Women Voters, featuring LWV CEO Celina Stewart, historian Kimberly Hamlin, and journalist Erin Geiger Smith.
• Additional activations outside of the Music Box throughout the week will include:
  • The Drama Book Shop will display a suffrage reading selection in celebration of Suffs and surprise select patrons who buy from the display with a bookmark signed by the cast.
  • P.S. Kitchen will host a ticket giveaway to select patrons who order the Suffs specialty cocktail that will be on the menu during this week.
  • Haswell Green’s will have a Suffs themed cocktail, “Lavender Liberation,” available at the bar. There will be a ticket giveaway to select patrons who order the specialty cocktail during this week.
  • Gone to the Dogs will offer a 19% discount on all products in the store to customers who show a Suffs ticket stub or enter code SUFFS19 online. They will be giving away tickets to select customers who purchase merchandise from the Suffs in-store display.

To learn more about the Suffs Equality Week activations, fans can follow the show on social at @SuffsMusical. Tickets can be purchased through www.suffsmusical.com or by calling Telecharge at 212-239-6200.

About Suffs

Suffs is the Tony Award®-winning musical that’s making history on Broadway! Created by Shaina Taub, who is now the first woman to ever independently win Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score in the same season, Suffs has also been named Best Musical (Outer Critics Circle Award), received two Drama Desk Awards including Best Score.

It’s a given that the women of the suffragist movement—who called themselves “Suffs” for short—were brilliant, but as they fought tirelessly for the right to vote, they were also flawed, stubborn, passionate and funny. Suffs tells their story: the remarkable friendships, the heartbreak, and how this movement brought them together—or, in some cases, tore them apart. Produced by Hillary Clinton, Malala Yousafzai, Jill Furman, and Rachel Sussman, Suffs is a “theatrical masterpiece that demands to be seen” (Forbes) and a reminder that progress is always possible but never guaranteed.

 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. 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.

Rounding out the company are Hawley Gould (Lincoln Center Theater’s Camelot) as the Alternate for Alice Paul, Jaygee Macapugay (Here Lies Love) as Mollie Hay, and Laila Drew (Broadway debut) as Phyllis Terrell/Robin. The ensemble will feature Dana Costello (Pretty Woman) as well as Jenna Bainbridge, Monica Tulia Ramirez, and Ada Westfall making their Broadway debuts. The cast also includes Christine Heesun Hwang (Les Misérables National Tour), Chessa Metz (Broadway debut), Kirsten Scott (Jersey Boys), Housso Semon (Girl From The North Country), and D’Kaylah Unique Whitley (Dear Evan Hansen).

Suffs features book, music and lyrics by Shaina Taub, direction by Tony Award-nominee Leigh Silverman (Violet), choreography by Mayte Natalio (How to Dance in Ohio), scenic design by Tony Award-nominee Riccardo Hernández (Jagged Little Pill), costume design by Tony Award-winner Paul Tazewell (Hamilton), lighting design by Tony Award-nominee Lap Chi Chu (Camelot), sound design by Jason Crystal (Sweeney Todd) with associate Sun Hee Kil (Choir Boy), orchestrations by Tony Award-winner Michael Starobin (Next to Normal), music supervision and music direction by Andrea Grody (The Band’s Visit), and casting by Heidi Griffiths and Kate Murray (Soft Power). 101 Productions, Ltd. serves as General Manager.