This moment is just right for 'Suffs'

Shaina Taub's Tony-winning musical informs and uplifts in its L.A. premiere.

- CHARLES MCNULTY

JOAN MARCUS RUZA WENCLAWSKA (Joyce Meimei Zheng) and company are part of the all-female and -nonbinary cast of "Suffs," in a touring production at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre that is smooth and smart, our critic says.

"Suffs," Shaina Taub's musical about how women finally secured the right to vote in America, won Tony Awards for its book and score.

It lost the best musical race to “The Outsiders,” but the respect it earned when it opened last spring on Broadway made it an unequivocal winner.

The show is having its Los Angeles premiere at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in a touring production that is smooth and smart. Taub’s work deserves nothing less than an A. The cast is excellent, the staging is graceful and the political message could not be more timely.

The show might not have the crackling vitality of “Hamilton” or the bluesy poignancy of “The Scottsboro Boys.” It’s a good deal more earnest than either of these history-laden musicals. There's an educational imperative at the heart of “Suffs,” which deals with a subject that has been marginalized in schools and in the collective consciousness.

The 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, was ratified in 1920, a little more than a century ago. The history isn’t so distant yet I'm sure I wasn’t the only one at Wednesday's opening who was learning about the forceful tactics that helped Alice Paul and her fellow suffragists push their movement over the finish line.

“Suffs,” a musical for the public square, is as informative as it is uplifting. It is above all a moving testament to the power of sisterhood. The struggle for equality continues to face crushing setbacks today, but Taub wants us to remember what can happen when people stand united for a just cause.