Keep Marching…

By Jamie Bullins

Suffs, The Lied Center for Performing Arts, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 7:30 pm. 

“Now is the next time.” 

I must admit that my experience and knowledge of the woman’s suffrage movement on the way to the 19^th amendment is not the deepest area of my study. As well as my experience and knowledge of Shaina Taub’s Suffs before I saw it last night. But what a pleasant and poignant surprise. 

Not a man in sight, those characters are played masterfully by the cast. As is each role throughout. That doesn’t mean there are not standouts, there just are too many to mention. Well, I should at least point out Maya Keleher (Alice Paul) and Monica Tulia Ramirez (Inez Milholland). They move the story with a strength and presence. And, of course, they have a lot of help. It was news to me to meet the character Doris Stevens, played by Livvy Marcus, from Omaha (Doris, not Livvy), who received cheers from the audience upon her first entrance and introduction.  

There are two things that carry a musical, the sound and the ensemble. And I need to mention both here. As I previously mentioned, the whole cast is phenomenal. Every song, every character. Once you meet them, you willingly follow them through each moment of the story. And as far as the sound goes, I have a director friend who says that if you can’t understand and hear every word in a musical, just don’t do them. There are shows that I’ve seen at the Lied in the past that was not the case. Which can be quite unfortunate. But not Suffs. Every word crystal. And for someone who had never heard any of these songs before, an absolute necessity. 

The music? The songs? Good work and certainly a great package/framework throughout for the story. There are phrases that will stick with me. But I‘m not sure, without further listening that any of them are exceptional earworms. Extraordinary songs include “Finish the Fight”, “Worth It”, and “Keep Marching”. There are contemporary American musical styles that will sound familiar to your ear, particularly if you listen to a lot of modern musicals. Is any of that distracting to the story or detracting from the quality of this production? No, of course not. You should see this show. 

And the technical elements are less fancy pants than you might be used to, but super well done and quite striking in their simplicity. The strong use of the cyclorama to make certain staging of the ensemble impactful, good stuff. And Paul Tazewell’s clothes? Superb, as always. Hell, you should go see the show just for the parade of fabulously designed and constructed hats. Kudos to the millinery team. You know, I am a costume designer, so there’s that. 

I’m quite fond of a certain Truman quote, “The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know.” Suffs is an example. Show me something from the past to teach me more about today. 

Stories we tell can change us, remind us of who we are, where we are, and how we got here. Suffs reminds us that change can happen, if people stand up. No matter how long it takes, the ones who go the distance can incite even the most unbelievable shifts in history. There are innumerable musicals still to be writ about our forefathers (and foremothers) who brought us to where we are today. Those who refused to wait their turn. 

Thank you, Lied Center, for having me as your guest, and keep telling your stories. 

If you go: You can catch Suffs May 6, 7, 8, 10 at 7:30 pm, and May 9 at 2:00 and 7:30 pm. Reservations are encouraged and can be made online.  

Jamie Bullins is a member of the faculty in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at UNL, since the fall of 2017, and the Artistic Director of Angels Theatre Company here in Lincoln. He is an educator, scenographer, director, and playwright and has been at it for almost 30 years now. 

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