Women’s fight to vote gets musical treatment in ‘Suffs’

As someone who grew up in Easton, actor Livvy Marcus is thrilled to return to Massachusetts on her national tour debut. Starring as suffragist Doris Stevens in hit Broadway musical “Suffs,” Marcus will get to perform for a large number of family and friends. But there’s one specific group she’s most looking forward to seeing in the audience.

“I’m really excited for the men in my family to see this show,” Marcus told the Boston Herald. “Obviously it’s a safe place for women to cry, and be upset, and be galvanized. It’s also a really cool way for men to see the place they can have in the women’s liberation movement as well.”

“I think it’s so important for people to bring their sons and their daughters,” she added.

“Suffs” looks at the peak of the epic and heroic campaign to ratify the 19th amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote in 1920 — it plays March 17-29 at the Emerson Colonial Theatre. With a book, music and lyrics by Shaina Taub, “Suffs” traces the effort through secret strategizing, public lobbying, fund raising, and infighting as older suffragists clash with more progressive women’s rights activists.

“There’s an idea that the women’s suffrage movement was this very singular thing where women used their voices for the first time to politely ask to vote,” Marcus said. “That’s not at all what happened. It was the combination of legislative action, civil disobedience, and permitted protesting. It really had it all.”

“Suffs” comes on the heels of Broadway shows anchored in history and about heavy, important topics — see “Hamilton,” “Six,” “What the Constitution Means to Me.” While Marcus acknowledges the heaviness, she likes that in her role as Doris Stevens she brings some brightness, some levity to show.

“I feel a very personal connection to a very vital role to any musical that handles serious topics, and that’s comedic relief,” she said. “The thing that Shaina (Taub) does better than anyone is (writing) about something that all women are familiar with: using humor to cope. If I had seen ‘Suffs’ and not known anything about the creative team, I would know that it was written by a woman because Shaina’s lightness and buoyancy around some of the darkest subjects could only come from a familiarity with those feelings.”

Taub’s ability to blend light and shadow speaks to the show’s emotional scope. Marcus points out that the leaders of the women’s suffrage movement didn’t always see eye to eye. Yet no one is diminished or dismissed for bringing a different viewpoint to the cause.

“There’s an unbelievable amount of internal conflict that gets addressed throughout the show,” she said. “But it’s handled with such a tender touch toward everyone’s opinion.”

“Suffs” is a history lesson for everyone. It’s a dynamic show that doesn’t shy away from the dark but, as Marcus proves on stage, humor and heart can help capture a wide range of audience members.

For tickets and details, visit boston.broadway.com