Music Theatre International Adds Suffs to Its Licensing Catalogue

Music Theatre International has acquired the licensing rights to Shaina Taub's musical Suffs, which ended its Broadway run at the Music Box Theatre January 5. With a national tour on the horizon, the title is not yet available for companies to license. A release date is to be announced.

Set in the years leading up to the 19th amendment, Suffs explores the Women's Suffrage movement's victories and failures with a book, music, and lyrics by Taub. The show was filmed December 20-22 for airing on PBS' Great Performances, with a premiere date to be announced. A national tour is also set to launch this fall. The show, which played a 2022 Off-Broadway world premiere run at The Public before its Broadway bow, received six 2024 Tony Award nominations, including for Best Musical, winning in Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score, both for Taub.

"I'm so thrilled that Suffs has found such a wonderful home at the legendary MTI,” says Taub in a statement. “It has long been my dream that this show be made accessible to schools, communities, and theatres everywhere. I hope new generations find empowerment and inspiration in getting to tell this story themselves. I encourage productions to create ensembles where as many different people as possible get to participate. For example, while on Broadway, the male characters are wonderfully played by women, I'm excited to see theatres open those roles to boys and men as well, and all performers, regardless of gender. Everyone gets to be a suff. The show now belongs to the future, and I can't wait to see how it lives on."

“We are honored to welcome such an important and enjoyable work into the MTI catalogue," adds MTI President and CEO Drew Cohen. "Shaina Taub has mined the depths of history to create a piece that is just as riveting and emotional today as it was over 100 years ago. We can’t wait to see Suffs playing on stages all across the country.”

Interested theatres can sign up to be emailed when rights become available at MTIShows.com.