Former Secretary of State, former Democratic presidential nominee, and former first lady Hillary Clinton, has notched yet another title in her historic career: Broadway musical producer.
Clinton joined forces with Broadway veteran Shaina Taub to shine a light on the real-life trailblazers at the heart of the suffragist movement, including Alice Paul (played by Taub), Ida B. Wells and Carrie Chapman.
Clinton and Taub joined “Morning Joe” on Thursday to talk about their experience producing the Tony-nominated musical, “Suffs,” and its significance today as women’s rights, once again, hang in the balance.
“In this election year, we need a lot of joy to be honest,” Clinton said on the show. “Going to see how the struggle finally ended for women to get the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment is not only a thrilling experience because of the extraordinary work that [Taub] has done in bringing this piece of history to life in such an entertaining way, but it’s so relevant today.”
The play follows key events in the suffragist movement, beginning in 1913 with the first large-scale political march in Washington, D.C. and culminating with the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
“Suffs” features an all-female and non-binary cast (Pres. Woodrow Wilson is played by a woman) and behind the scenes, the play is almost entirely led by women. Taub started the project more than a decade ago and is only the second woman to write the book, music, lyrics and star in her own Broadway musical, which is nominated for six Tony awards.
“I’m so excited to now get to share this story that I — growing up and going to public school — never learned about my own history, through a musical and through a cast album, that hopefully we can share with people all over the country to learn about where we came from and learn that women have done hard things in hard times and we can change the world again,” Taub said.
When she learned that Clinton saw the show in New York in 2022, she decided to write a letter to the former Secretary of State, asking her join the show as a producer. Clinton immediately agreed and jumped in, attending the cast’s first rehearsal, collaborating with Taub on the production’s creative process, and even hosting a DNC fundraiser at the show for President Biden.
“I was surprised and touched that Shaina had written to me, and then I started to think, storytelling is a big part of politics and it’s a big part of what we have to do a better job of in our country,” Clinton said. “We have to tell the story of our past, but we also have to tell the story of where we are right now and what we want for the future … [Taub] has a line which says progress is possible, not guaranteed … you have to fight for the future now, you can't just hope it’s going to turn out well.”
Indeed, the former Secretary of State wasn’t the only icon to recognize the show’s singularity in an election year — Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai also participated as a producer. “It carries a very strong message to women and girls that the fight may not be over yet,” Yousafzai told CBS recently.
“… We all feel a renewed sense of urgency to remind people and especially remind women of our electoral power,” Taub said. “When we come together, we can fight for our rights, and it feels more important than ever.”