Lesson of the Day: ‘Friendship, Betrayal and the Fight: “Suffs” Tells the Suffragist Tale in Song’

Lesson Overview

Featured Article: “Friendship, Betrayal and the Fight: ‘Suffs’ Tells the Suffragist Tale in Song” Jennifer Schuessler

Shaina Taub was a theater child growing up with a keen interest in civil rights, history and social change. She became a playwright, songwriter, and musician. In 2014, after reading about the women’s suffrage movement, the campaign to win women the right to vote, Taub decided to write a musical about it. Her musical “Suffs” opens in New York City in April.

In this lesson, you will read about “Suffs,” listen to some of its songs and then come up with an idea for a theater production of your own that portrays a social movement.

Warm-Up

Listen to the song “How Long” from the musical “Suffs,” which was originally titled “Suffragist”:

Next, answer the following questions:

• What are your thoughts about this song? Which lines are your favorites?

• What do you notice about the singing people?

• What is the song about What two things did you learn about this historical moment from it?

• What do you think the title of the song “How Long” means?

Questions for Discussion and Writing

Read the articleAnswer the following questions.

1. What is “Suffs” about? What time does it occur?

2. What were some aspects of the suffrage movement, and the people involved, that fueled Taub’s interest in creating a musical about it?

3.Listen to Nikki M. Jones as Ida B. Wells, a journalist and suffragist, sing “Wait My Turn” from “Suffs.” What is this song about? What role did race play within the suffrage movements? How did Taub consider it for the musical?

4.Can you think about other examples of history, social movements, that were portrayed in theatre, film, TV, or song? What is the power and potential of portraying history through art

5. Do listening to these songs and reading about “Suffs” spark your interest in learning about the suffrage movement, or other political movements? Why or not?

6.How do you see the fight for suffrage relating to current events?

Moving on

Taub was inspired to write “Suffs” after reading the book “Jailed for Freedom” by Doris Stevens about the women who fought for the right to vote in the United States. Lin-Manuel Miranda was inspired to write “Hamilton” after reading “Alexander Hamilton,” Ron Chernow, historian

Think of a social movement in history that is interesting to you, such as the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s, Native American activism, the fight for L.G.B.T.Q. rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, women’s rights movements or the current struggles against voter disenfranchisement.

Imagine that you were asked to create a musical about this movement. Write a synopsis for your musical, make a publicity poster and write one of its songs.

Here are some prompts that will help you think about your production.

• What is your musical about What social movement does it explore?

• Which historical figures would you choose to be the stars? Are you more interested in real-life characters than in creating new ones?

• What would be the most important moment in a musical?

• What would you call your production?

Additional Teaching and Learning Opportunities

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