The company on stage in the first national tour of Suffs (Photo by Joan Marcus)
RICH LOPEZ | A&E Writer
Rich@DallasVoice.com
Broadway at the Bass is serving up some serious history education this season. The series at Bass Hall just closed Hamilton, and now a new chapter of American history hits the stage Aug. 4-9 when Bass Hall presents Suffs, the Tony Award-winning musical centered on the women who fought for women’s right to vote.
The Fort Worth stop is the first national tour’s only Texas engagement, and it is the final city for this run.
Cast member Gwynne Wood (they/she), a queer theater artist based in New York, stars as Lucy Burns, the activist who founded the National Woman’s Party with her close — very close? — friend Alice Paul.
As a queer nonbinary person today, 30-year-old Wood finds a particular significance in the show. But given the fact that the tour continues right in the middle of their newlywed bliss, there is another side to their feelings. They married earlier this year on one of Wood’s days off, and then the actor had to leave their new spouse get back on the road. So, as Suffs comes to an end, Wood has some unsurprisingly mixed feelings.
“It’s crazy to get married and then go continue traveling around the country,” they said. “It is a bittersweet feeling to end the show, but I’m excited to get home and spend time with [their spouse] and finally plan our honeymoon.”
Although her character never marries, Wood’s penultimate number in Suffs, “Lucy’s Song,” is a moment that deeply resonates with Wood considering their new marriage.
“She sings, ‘I’ll never be far from you,’ and that small lyric of devotion and love and friendship, that feeling of ultimate security that she has with Alice Paul, I feel that in my own relationship,” Wood explained. “When I’m halfway across the country from [their spouse], and I sing about that devotion — I feel that harder than ever now.”
Wood is also going to miss their stage family as they move on with their new family. And although Wood is no stranger to the road or to big shows, Suffs has stood out for them.
“Performing with this cast has been one of the greatest joys of my career, and to not sing with them everyday is kind of hard to believe,” they said. “We are so tight-knit, and we have the same goals and work ethic.”
The potential impact of that last song Wood will sing for this tour — a performance that will happen in Cowtown — is not lost on them.
“I think singing that final song is going to hit so insanely hard,” they acknowledged. “I feel daunted by that.”
The melancholy is real, but there are still many joyful and enlightening takeaways for Wood. For them, Suffs brings an important piece of history to the stage in a time where escapist theater seems to have a stronghold.
“Now, I do love a joyful show with all the singing and dancing and happy endings,” they said. “But being on the road with this show, I’ve seen how people across this country are very interested in this as politically relevant and even inspiring.”
Wood continued, “The people that come to see our show experience, I think, such a catharsis. We’ve had dignitaries come and meet with us, saying they feel inspired to fight back against today’s injustices. And that’s very moving for me. I think our role as artists is to include the audience and make them feel seen and make the world better in some way.”
A show about inequity and second-class status probably couldn’t be more relevant, considering the state of our country. But at the same time, there are those who want to go back to that time before the age of the suffragists. Who? Most notably those in the internet subculture of “tradwives,” who use social media and smartphones to promote traditional gender roles — efforts primarily aimed at women by women.
“It’s interesting because that’s addressed in the show even if it wasn’t intended,” Wood said. “In the show, there is a character who is the epitome of what these tradwives want to be, and she is the one who encourages the right to vote to get ratified.”
Is that irony lost on any tradwives who see the show? For Wood, it’s genius that this was real history and not a fabrication for the show.
“I just want to tell these tradwives that feminism doesn’t mean you can’t stay at home and be fulfilled. But any version of feminism that wants to take away choices does not liberate anybody.”
Wood continued, “To be queer and portraying this historic woman who fought for equality — it’s empowering.” And while women were fighting for voting rights, they added, queer and trans folks were right there, fighting alongside them — just not out loud.
“I’m honored to take their story with me as a queer person. And though there’s nothing explicit about Lucy being queer herself, my version is an homage to the love in her heart to her most devoted friend, her ride-or-die — Alice.”
For tickets, visit BassHall.com.