This is a busy time for Broadway plays. "Suffs" is a new play co-produced by Hillary Clinton. Let's just say the show isn't selling out.
In fact, for the week of May 5, Broadway box office numbers show that "Suffs" is at the bottom of the list of shows in terms of ticket sales. In other words, seats in the theatre are not being filled for her play.
35 shows are playing on Broadway right now. Those shows include "Harry Potter and The Cursed Child," along with classics like "Romeo & Juliet," Sweeney Todd" and "Moulin Rouge! The Musical."
The Broadway League, the Broadway Theatre Industry's official site, released data for the week of May 5. "Suffs" only reached 81% capacity during eight performances that week. It put the show in the bottom 23% of all the shows that week.
Can we talk about the name of the play? It's dumb and I would guess that most people don't know what it means. It's probably an attempt to be cool, or something, but it fails.
The play is three hours long and it is about the women's suffrage movement of the early 1900s. The show's website reads that Suffs "boldly explores the victories and failures of a struggle for equality that’s far from over."
That play description doesn't even appeal to me. I love American history and I support women's rights, but three hours of women's equality and what sounds like playing into a narrative that women are still victims in today's society is not how I would spend my hard-earned money. Given the opportunity to see a Broadway play and the choices available, "Suffs" wouldn't even be considered.
The play first opened on Broadway last month, following an Off-Broadway run that started in 2022 in New York City’s "The Public" theater. The musical was by singer-songwriter Shaina Taub, directed by Leigh Silverman, and produced by lead producers Jill Furman and Rachel Sussman, along with co-producers Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai.
Vice President Harris’s niece, Meena Harris, is another producer on the stage play.
Malala Yousafzai? Yes, that Malala Yousafzai. The Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate at the age of 17. Meena Harris? Hmm. She tried to cash in on her clothing business when Kamala became vice president. She's written children's books. Who knew she was Broadway-bound?
According to Playbill, the cast is "entirely female and non-binary." I'm surprised that they didn't cast a trans actor in a leading role. Think of the headlines...
Grace McLean plays President Woodrow Wilson, so there's that.
Hillary said she relates to "all of" the characters in the play. She spoke about how hard it is to make change.
"I know how important it is to have relationships with the people you’re working for, as you’re taking risks and you’re doing things that have never been done, whether it’s running for president in my case or having a march on Washington in 1913 to try to convince the president and the Congress to adopt the amendment to let women vote," she said.
The former U.S. Secretary of State added, "But more than that, I see it as relevant today. We have a lot of challenges in our country."
Poor Hillary. Ever since she lost the election in 2016, she's been bouncing around from issue to issue, trying to stay relevant. It's long past time for her to retire and enjoy her remaining years with her grandchildren. She has worn people out with her constant sore loserism. She is the most privileged woman in the country. Yammering about how hard things are for women (and her) is just jumping the shark at this point.
She's afraid that Trump might win in November. She has never been good at reading a room. Hillary may be in for another rude awakening in November.
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