Suffs on broadway... in 1915 and 2024

I made a pilgrimage to see Suffs at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway last month, and saw it on the 26th October, when the news was full of the US Presidential campaign.
​I was walking around the streets of Manhattan that weekend thinking of the incredible effort New York suffragists had made in the city 99 years earlier - in October 1915 - to make Votes for Women as visible as possible.

The fight for the vote in New York State had been active since the Seneca Falls Conference of 1848 and by 1913 the State Legislature had passed a women’s suffrage bill, but it needed to pass two more legislatures and a referendum by the voters in order to amend the State constitution. This crucial referendum was scheduled for the 2nd November 1915. An extensive campaign was organized in New York City in the final weeks and days leading up to the vote. A large parade saw over 25,000 suffragists processing up the city streets, and the weekend before the vote was packed with open air meetings, interventions, and events that made the campaign difficult to ignore for city dwellers. 

On the 27th October 1915 the NY Tribune reported that suffrage workers had arranged to be present and visible in every theatre in Manhattan - and had permission to make suffrage speeches between the acts in all but three theatres. I was intrigued! 

Here's what I've found from newspaper listings so far about what was playing on Broadway that night:

The NY Tribune reported on the 28th October that:

• At the Manhattan Opera House Miss Lilian Russell sat in a box with suffrage drapings, and Dudley Field Malone spoke after the curtain went down on the last act.
• At the Playhouse there were four boxes with suffragists Mrs D Clark Balch, Miss Ann Rhodes, Mrs Belle de Rivers, and Mrs Raymond Brown of the State Suffrage Association
• At the Globe Theatre Mrs Carrie Chapman Catt was in a box with Miss Mary Garrett Hay, chairman of the Woman Suffrage party, and Miss Mary Johnston and her sister
• At the Knickerbocker Theatre Miss Alice Carpenter and Miss Sylvia Pankhurst spoke. Mrs A.J.G. Perkins, Miss Friedman, and Mrs F.H. Cabot were there, and speeches were made between the first and second acts.
• At Maxine Elliott’s Theatre there were suffrage colours in a box for Mrs Villiard with guests Mr and Mrs Harold Villiard, Miss Janet Lyle, Henry St Claire Putnam and Miss Elizabeth Putnam.
• At the Lyric Theatre Mrs William Grant Brown represented the suffragists with Mrs Albert C Bage, Mrs William Einstein, Mrs Harry Rockwell and Mrs John Ford.
• At the Candler Mrs Richard Aldrich entertained Mrs John Grainger of Australia, Percy Grainger, J.Wylee and Miss Ruth Morgan.

There was also a visible suffragist presence reported at public film screenings that night: 

• “The Birth of the Nation” – Dr Ann Moore entertained six policemen
• Vitagraph Theatre – Mrs Frank Gillette with party inc Mr and Mrs Van Vile, Mr and Mrs Fred Hilliard, Mrs E.C. Norton and Mr and Mrs R.H. Reed.
• Casino – Mrs Henry Moskowitz entertained a party of administration bachelors.

Overall, the Tribune reported that “The regular stars expressed themselves as delighted with the between-act speeches and did not begrudge one twinkle of the suffragist galaxy”

How generous! It was certainly a good show of support from the well-to-do of society, and the theatre managers, producers, and owners.

Suffs the show, written by and starring Shaina Taub, portrays events and people involved the women's suffrage movement in the USA from 1913 to 1920, and features many key campaigners including Alice Paul, Inez Milholland, and Ida B. Wells, as well as those who took part in the 27th October theatre events such as Carrie Chapman Catt and Dudley Field Malone. 
I recommend it - it's an invigorating, moving, inspiring, entertaining and educational experience that is deeply researched, beautifully designed, and performed by an incredible cast.

I was particularly struck by the final song Keep Marching which acknowledges that the story of the long fight for women's voting rights shows that "progress is possible, not guaranteed" - something that the NY suffragists in 1915 also encountered in their state-wide campaign... but more of that in another blog post.

Suffs closes on Broadway on the 5th January 2025, but it has been announced that it will be filmed for posterity - if you can see it, do! ​