“SUFFS” The Story Behind the Broadway Musical

As the critically acclaimed, Tony Award-winning musical “SUFFS” prepares for a national tour, we’re thrilled to welcome producer Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, writer and star Shaina Taub, and actress Tsilala Brock for a Women’s History Month program. Executive Director of The Rep Will Trice will moderate.

Join us on Thursday, March 27 at 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET for a special and insightful conversation about the show’s development and creation — plus, stay for an exclusive performance from “SUFFS!”

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

“SUFFS” is about the brilliant, passionate, and funny American women who fought tirelessly for the right to vote. It underscores the tale of women’s rights and voting rights, racism and sexism, political expediency, and moral obligation. It is about how citizens can work to make change and why protest is patriotic. The women of “SUFFS” try to answer the question they ask themselves: “How can we do it if it’s never been done?” A question for all of us to consider today.

ATTEND: Register here to attend the program in person at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre or to tune in live online.

ASL interpretation is available during our programs.

Clinton Presidential Center Presents is a partnership between the Clinton Foundation, Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas, and Clinton Presidential Library.

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Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton has spent over five decades in public service as an advocate, attorney, First Lady, U.S. Senator, U.S. Secretary of State, and presidential candidate. As 67th U.S. Secretary of State, her “smart power” approach to foreign policy repositioned American diplomacy and development for the 21st century. Clinton played a central role in restoring America’s standing in the world, reasserting the United States as a Pacific power, imposing crippling sanctions on Iran and North Korea, responding to the Arab Awakening, and negotiating a ceasefire in the Middle East. Earlier, as First Lady and Senator for New York, she traveled to more than 80 countries as a champion of human rights, democracy, and opportunities for women and girls; she also worked to provide health care to millions of children, create jobs, and support first responders who risked their lives at Ground Zero. In her historic 2016 campaign for President of the United States, Clinton won 66 million votes. She is the author of ten best-selling books, host of the podcast You and Me Both, founder of the global production studio HiddenLight Productions, a producer of the Broadway Musical “Suffs”, Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast, and a Professor of Practice at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University where she co-founded the Institute of Global Politics. She and former U.S. President Bill Clinton have one daughter, Chelsea, three grandchildren: Charlotte, Aidan, and Jasper, and reside in New York.

Shaina Taub is a two-time Tony Award-winning and Grammy-nominated songwriter and performer. She starred as Alice Paul in the Broadway production of Suffs, for which she won Tony Awards for both Best Book and Best Score, Outer Critics Circle Awards, and a Drama Desk Award. She received a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album for the cast album “Suffs.

She’s an artist-in-residence at The Public Theater, where Suffs first premiered. She has created and starred in acclaimed musical adaptations of Twelfth Night (Drama Desk and Drama League nominations) and As You Like It (Obie Award). She wrote the lyrics for The Devil Wears Prada, with Sir Elton John, which opened in the West End in 2024. Her musical theater writing has earned her numerous awards. She has released three solo albums and Her songwriting for television includes Sesame Street, Central Park, Julie’s Greenroom starring Julie Andrews, and the Emmy-nominated opening number for the 2018 Tony Awards, co-written with Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban.

She was included on the 2024 Time100 Next list of rising leaders and has been recognized for her activism with the Workers Circle Activism Award; the League of Women Voters’ Tribute Award; Monumental Women’s Moving History Forward Award; and the Michael Friedman Freedom Award for activism from the NYCLU Artist Ambassadors program which she co-chairs. www.shainataub.com

Tsilala Brock is an actor and writer who recently made her Broadway debut in Suffs as Dudley Malone. National Tour: Book of Mormon. Select Regional Theater: Blues for an Alabama Sky (Barrington Stage), Parable of the Sower (SIFA, NYUAD), Twelfth Night (Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse). TV: “Mysteries of Laura”, “Happyish”, “Broad City”. Carnegie Mellon University Alum. A proud Bermudian-American storyteller. Find more at tsilala.com.

Will Trice is the Executive Director of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, where he oversees the strategic, finance & administrative, and marketing & fundraising functions of the theatre. Prior to his appointment there in 2019, he served as a producer for nearly 30 productions on Broadway, the West End, and National Tours. He is a three-time Tony Award Winner for All The Way starring Bryan Cranston, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf; and The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.