All Hail the 19th Amendment! - The Tony Award-Winning Musical SUFFS Celebrates the Women (and a few good men) Who Fought for Gender Equality at the Ballot Box

It’s a midterm year, and between now and November, we’re going to hear a lot about the importance of voting. (If you miss the March 3 primary, you’ll have another shot at casting your vote on Nov. 3.) 

So, the March 10 arrival of SUFFS is especially timely. The Tony Award-winning musical chronicles the American suffrage movement and tells the stories of a few of its leaders who demanded that the patriarchy include them (and every woman since) in the democratic process. 

Suffs was created by Shaina Taub, an actress, singer, musician and composer and the first woman to win Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score in the same season.

Brandi Porter is among the all-female cast, although she portrays Dudley Malone, an aide to President Woodrow Wilson who gave up his political career to be on the right side of history. We chatted with Porter about her character, the musical and why it feels like essential viewing right now.

(Brandi Porter as Dudley Malone and Jenny Ashman as President Woodrow Wilson)

Blumenthal Arts: How’s the tour going?
Brandi Porder: It’s amazing. Audiences are loving this story Shaina wrote.

She always said she wanted this show to tour. There’s so much history in it, and not all of it has been shared.

In a time when voting rights are being threatened, this show is a call to action. You’ll find yourself laughing, crying, learning and, I think, being amazed. I mean, these women were the first to march on Washington.

Blumenthal Arts: So, this is not a show aimed at just women?  
Brandi Porder: Oh, no. It’s for everyone. Bring your sons, daughters, your parents. Bring everybody.

Blumenthal Arts: You play a male character. Do you and other women playing men look like men?

Brandi Porder: One of our crew members saw me heading, in costume, to the dressing room I share with two castmates. He rushed in to say, “Excuse me, ladies. There’s a man walking into your dressing room!”  

Blumenthal Arts: Well, kudos to the costume designer and hair and makeup team. Is there anything different about playing a man?
Brandi Porder: No. I think it boils down to attention to the truth, no matter who you’re playing. Since Dudley was a historical figure who was here and really did these things, we need to tell his truth. I feel a responsibility to him.

Also, Dudley supplies the comic relief, but I try to make sure he doesn’t come off as too funny. Because what he did was important. He stood up for something bigger than himself. He couldn’t bear to stay attached to a system that harmed people, and he left in protest.

Blumenthal Arts: Was the real Dudley really Woodrow Wilson's Chief of Staff?
Brandi Porder: No. He was a lawyer and Collector of the Port of New York, which was a very powerful position at the time. But he really did write a letter of protest to Wilson that was published in The New York Times and is featured in Suffs in the song, “Respectfully Yours, Dudley Malone.”

Dudley always believed women deserved the right to vote, and he thought Wilson would eventually be the person to make it happen.  

Blumenthal Arts: Oh, wow. Lots of eras throughout history have needed a Dudley.
Brandi Porder: I always say to my castmates, especially Jenny Ashman, who plays Wilson: In a world of Wilsons, be a Dudley.

Blumenthal Arts: That needs to be on T-shirts! Dudley has a love story in the musical. Is that accurate?
Brandi Porder: Dudley was married and divorced before he met [Suffragist] Doris Stevens, whom he eventually married. But he’s a bachelor in the musical - one who's married to his work.

Blumenthal Arts: Do you have a favorite song or moment in the show?
Brandi Porder: I have many, but one of my favorite songs is “Wait My Turn,” sung by Ida B. Wells, who’s played by Danyel Fulton.

Ida was Black, and as a Black woman in America, I know how hard it’s been. Black women still have to justify and explain. I’ve heard that from my grandmother, who’s always stressed the importance of voting.

(Danyel Fulton as Ida B. Wells and SUFFS Company)

After Ida is told to go to the back of the march, allegedly for her safety, she tells the other suffragists, basically: You talk about inclusivity, yet you won’t let Black women stand alongside you. It’s a gorgeous moment. Danielle’s voice is so stunning, and she’s so graceful. She embodies this woman. It feels like she’s carrying the ancestors with her.  

Blumenthal Arts: You mentioned that this is a show that can make you laugh and cry. It sounds like this might be a moment for a Kleenex.
Brandi Porder: It really is. But there are others, and I don’t want to spoil them.

Blumenthal Arts: Fair enough. I can see why Shaina wanted this show to tour now. With the midterms this fall, there couldn’t be a better time for Suffs to hit the road.
Brandi Porder: Exactly. This show is a reminder to people that their voices matter. All voices matter.

There’s a line in the musical that says: “I want my daughter to know that I was here.” I feel that, too, about being part of Suffs. I want my people, future generations, to know I was here. Playing Dudley feels like my small contribution.

My niece saw the show and was in tears by the end. She’s 15, and she was asking me, “What can I do? How can I be active?”  

All the women portrayed, from Inez Milholland to Alice Paul to Doris Stevens, are from very different backgrounds. But they came together, despite their differences, for a common cause.
 

(Monica Tulia Ramirez as Inez Milholland and SUFFS Company)

Blumenthal Arts: I’m so glad you’re giving Ida, Dudley and the others their due. These are people who deserve to be remembered.
Brandi Porder: They really are. And I have to add to that list the Delta organization [Delta Sigma Theta, a sorority founded at Howard University and committed to public service and social justice]. I hadn’t known until Suffs that the Deltas, including [honorary member] Mary Church Terrell were a big part of women securing the right to vote.

There are just so many women we never learned about who made big sacrifices for us to have this right. They made this possible at a time when everything seemed impossible. And that gives me hope.

(Maya Keleher as Alice Paul and SUFFS Company)