When Suffs is licensed for regional theaters, its debut better be in DC. Its electrifying American national tour stop at the National Theatre exemplifies why. It’s not without flaws, particularly in the writing of its BIPOC characters. But it artfully blends fact and feeling, with uplifting energ y that was fitting amid a week of hope, after Trump’s name was removed from the Kennedy Center and as Democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George won DC’s Democratic mayoral primary.  This original musical explores the 20th-century women’s suffrage movement through the eyes of National Women’s Party organizer Alice Paul (Maya Keleher), as she butts heads with old-guard feminist Carrie Chapman Catt (Marya Grandy) and journalist Ida B. Wells (Danyel Fulton). The action follows the activists’ planning of the 1913 march on Pennsylvania Avenue before President Woodrow Wilson’s election, bringing national attention to women’s voting rights. It premiered in spring 2024, the last year of Biden’s presidency before Trump’s re-election. Playwright, composer, lyricist, and original Alice Paul Shaina Taub developed it over a decade, starting during Trump’s first administration. Its calls to action are so needed that the audience broke into unanticipated applause and vocal reactions many times on opening night: a testament to this show as a channel for protest. 4. Danyel Fulton (Ida B. Wells), Trisha Jeffrey (Mary Church Terrell), and Victoria Pekel (Phyllis Terrell) in the First National Touring Company of ‘Suffs.’ Photo by Joan Marcus, 2025. The performers assembled for this first national tour cast bring unique interpretations to the roles that energized this response. As Alice Paul, Maya Keleher is more of a traditional contemporary musical theater actor and singer than Taub, who has a distinctive voice. Keleher’s equal command of her bright mix and pure-power belt voice creates a dynamic, complex intensity in her performance. Her interpretation of “Finish the Fight” evokes the energy of the performance one would give as Katherine Plumber in Newsies — she’s passionate, plucky, spunky, and sparkly, making for a likable leader despite everyone calling her aggressive. She also captures Alice’s emotional gravitas as she pushes for the Equal Rights Amendment and does time in prison, particularly in the song “Insane.”  As the socialite Inez Millholland, who funds the effort and leads the parade on horseback, Monica Tulia Ramirez steps full-time into a role she covered on Broadway and at the Public. You can see why she’s been trusted with the part for so long; she is so cool. She brings larger-than-life extravagance and zest for life. As other voices in the movement, Marya Grandy provides careful poise, piercing judgment, and a beautiful soprano voice as Carrie Chapman Catt. Danyel Fulton is a calculated and powerful Ida B. Wells who is confident in her attack of Alice for putting the Black women in the back during the march. This tour also casts Asian women as tough immigrant organizer Ruza Wenclawska (Joyce Meimei Zheng) and delightful secretary Doris Stevens (Livvy Marcus), as well as a plus-sized woman as Alice’s loyal best friend Lucy Burns (Gwynne Wood). All three are wonderful, making “Great American Bitch” a raucously entertaining celebration of camaraderie by reclaiming the insult hurled at Doris at the march. Other highlights were Doris’s sweetly funny “If We Were Married,” Lucy’s soft, loving goodbye to Alice in “Lucy’s Song,” and the ensemble’s energy in the march songs like “We Won’t Wait” that capture palpable intensity and power, thanks to sweeping choreography with striking images like a chair procession (Mayte Natalio) and a wide open set with monument-like columns perfectly made for a tour (Christine Peter).  1. TOP: Marya Grandy (Carrie Chapman Catt) and company; ABOVE: Danyel Fulton (Ida B. Wells) and company, in the First National Touring Company of ‘Suffs.’ Photos by Joan Marcus, 2025. These songs feature soaring, standard musical theater melodies and beautiful lyrics that resonate with women’s struggles in general. One striking moment was “Is It Worth It?” in which Alice ponders whether her work is worth missing out on a full life with romance and family. It may be about fighting for women’s suffrage, but the lyrics could apply to any woman who tries at anything. For a career woman who’s missed out on a lot in life in the pursuit of meaningful work, it’s tear-jerking; the same could hold true for a woman who’s lost a recent love. For this critic, the biggest emotional breaking point was this show’s treatment of the suffragists of color who knew their vote wouldn’t be secured until later legislation (such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965). Ida calls Alice out for limiting Black women in the movement. She is then pushed to the sidelines with only her Black friends to talk to, Mary Church Terrell (Trisha Jeffrey) and her daughter Phyllis (Victoria Pekel). Though they resiliently hold hands, stand, and reprise “I want people to know I was here” when the 19th Amendment is ratified, being relegated to commenters on the story without being a central part of the action for most of the show feels unjust. In addition, although Asian women are cast as part of the core group, Taub’s book never gives them the opportunity to speak about the vote for Asian women. Being lumped in with white people for representation isn’t enough. And why was Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, who led a suffrage parade in 1912, a year before Alice’s, not even mentioned? As Ruza urges the audience to “Look me up” to know more about her life, it evoked the eerie fact that characters played by Asian actors can still be afterthoughts. However, I sobbed upon seeing Robin, a spirited young Black woman (Victoria Pekel), take her turn to call Alice out. She’s the next person to recognize what was done before isn’t enough, and take up the torch. Because this story isn’t over, and the fight isn’t over. It’s inspiring and hopeful. Yet it’s also exhausting to watch that kind of innocent optimism now, when the world is so heavy, and it’s tiring to exist as women of color who still have to fight to claim space. How much drive do we still have to fight? This show does so much so well, hits so hard in DC, and certainly achieves the emotional energy it sets out to ignite. We just need more theater that tells the stories that were put on the sidelines in this story and in history. That means we can’t rely on one story to tell everyone’s story. The fact that this has to be said means that this story lit a fire inside me as a female critic of color. My response comes from a place of aching to be seen, and in responding to a story that knows it needs more but cannot pack more facts and feelings than it already does to be a sensible story. As it stands, Suffs is one of the most politically charged pieces of musical theater to come through DC this year, and it inspired an unforgettable, visceral emotional reaction in this critic as, I’m sure, it will in local audiences who’ll find much to relate to. Running time: Two hours and 30 minutes, including intermission. Suffs plays through June 28, 2026, at The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC. Purchase tickets online or at the National Theatre box office. The national tour cast and creative credits are online here. SuffsBook, Music, and Lyrics by Shaina Taub Directed by Leigh Silverman Choreographed by Mayte NatalioMusic Supervision by Andrea Grody Original Broadway Scenic Design: Riccardo Hernandez Costume Design: Paul Tazewell Lighting Design: Lap Chi Chu Sound Design: Jason Crystal Hair and Wig Design: Charles G. LaPointe Orchestrations: Michael Starobin Vocal Arrangements: Shaina Taub, Andrea Grody, and Michael Starobin CAST President Woodrow Wilson: Jenny Ashman Ensemble/Speaker of the House: Anna Bakun Mollie Hay: Tami Dahbara Ida B. Wells: Danyel Fulton Carrie Chapman Catt: Marya Grandy Ensemble/Dr. White/Mailman: Marissa Hecker Mary Church Terrell: Trisha Jeffrey Alice Paul: Maya Keleher Doris Stevens: Livvy Marcus Phyllis Terrell/Robin: Victoria PekelDudley Malone: Brandi Porter Inez Milholland: Monica Tulia Ramirez Ensemble/Major Sylvester, Senator Burn: Jenna Lea Rosen Ensemble/Mrs. Herndon: Gretchen Shope Alva Belmont/Phoebe Burn: Laura Stracko Lucy Burns: Gwynne Wood Ruza Wenclawska: Joyce Meimei ZhengPrincipal Covers: Abigail Aziz, Ariana Burks Swings: Annalese Fusaro, Amanda K. Lopez, Merrill Peiffer Dance Captain: Amanda K. Lopez TOURING PRODUCTION TEAM Music Director: Dani Lee Hutch Music Coordinator: Kristy Norter Production Stage Manager: Stacy N. Taylor Associate Director: Lori Elizabeth ParquetAssociate Choreographer: Hawley Gould Tour Scenic Design: Christine Peters Technical Supervisor: Hudson Theatrical Associates, Evan RooneyCasting: The Telsey Office, Rachel Hoffman, CSAMakeup Design: Joe Dulude II Company Manager: Hilary HamiltonGeneral Management: 101 Productions, Ltd.  ...read more read less