By SHARON EBERSON
Six things to know about the Suffs National Tour, presented by Pittsburgh CLO as the Benedum Center July 21-26, 2026.
- Suffs is about women’s struggles for voting rights before the United States passed the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. The legislation granted American women the right to vote almost 240 years after the Constitution was ratified.
- Some suffragettes were imprisoned and beaten for protesting for their rights. The struggle included generational and racial divides in the ranks of the women who led the fight for voting rights. Key figures included Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells, Carrie Chapman Catt and Molly Hay.
- Directed by Tony-nominee and Carnegie Mellon alumnus Leigh Silverman, the Broadway show won Tony Award for Best Book of Musical and Best Original Score for Shaina Taub in 2025. It also was nominated for Best Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Nikki M. James, as Ida B. Wells), and Best Costumes (Paul Tazewell). Taub also wrote the lyrics for Suffs, and starred as Alice Paul. Emily Skinner, CMU Class of ’92, played Alva Belmont and Phoebe Burn.
- All Suffs cast members, including male roles such as President Woodrow Wilson, are played by women. Among the touring cast, ensemble member Anna Bakun is a recent CMU graduate who was in productions of Pittsburgh CLO’s The Sound of Music and Sister Act. Laura Stracko (Alva Belmont/Phoebe Burn, u/s Carrie Chapman Catt) is a 2006 Pittsburgh CLO Summer Season alum, and a past PCLO intern. Maya Keleher stars as Alice Paul, along with Danyel Fulton as Ida B. Wells.
- Suffs opened on Broadway on April 18, 2024, and closed on January 5, 2025. A pro shot of the production appeared on the PBS series Great Performances in May.
- Pittsburgh CLO presents the discussion Contemporary Challenges for Women in Politics at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 23, in the Benedum Center Multipurpose Room. Pittsburgh politicians will discuss the challenges that women in politics face today, moderated by Megan Harris, host of City Cast Pittsburgh. “Learn how the legacy of the suffragists from Suffs paved the way for sociopolitical changes throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, and how women are still fighting today.” Register here: https://pittsburgh_clo.formstack.com/forms/rkm_suffs_panel_rsvp. Find other programs related to Suffs at https://www.pittsburghclo.org/shows/SUFFS.
🎟️ TICKETS: Pittsburgh CLO presents Suffs at the Benedum Center, Downtown, July 21-26, 2026. https://www.pittsburghclo.org/shows/SUFFS
🗳️ Questions about your rights? Visit the League of Women Voters at https://www.lwv.org/, The organizations tagline: Born from the suffrage movement. Built for this moment.
Categories: Arts and Ideas
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