Given that she wrote the music, book and lyrics for “Suffs,” the national tour of which opens Wednesday in Chicago, it’s perhaps inevitable that two-time Tony winner Shaina Taub is often compared with Lin-Manuel Miranda, as is her show with “Hamilton.”
“I’m a huge fan of Lin-Manuel, and I believe that every musical builds on what has come before,” Taub said in a phone chat with me last week. “But everyone learns the story of the American Revolution. Almost no one learns about the suffrage movement.”
“Suffs,” which I reviewed on Broadway in 2024 and counts former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton among its producers, charts the progress of women’s suffrage in the United States leading up to the 1920 ratification of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Real-life characters include Alice Paul (originally played by Taub herself), Carrie Chapman Catt and Chicago’s own Ida B. Wells.
Taub said that she admires and has been closely involved with the mostly new touring cast, which she said kicked off last September. Chicago is one of the last engagements of this Equity company as the tour is closing next month. Already, Taub said, she has released the title to some dozen high schools, part of the Educational Theatre Foundation and Music Theatre International’s “The Young Are at the Gates” grants.
“The schools have not had to pay anything,” she says, describing her many conversations with some of the girls (and drama teachers) who have been able to play or direct the playing of these suffrage heroes. Once the tour is complete, you can expect to see the show also become available for regional professional houses and colleges.
But this week is Chicago’s one and only chance to see Leigh Silverman’s Tony-nominated, original Broadway production.
Meanwhile, Johnny Galecki, a veteran of the Steppenwolf Theatre but best known for his TV work on “The Big Bang Theory,” is to star in a show at the Lookingglass Theatre: “Kowalski,” a work by Gregg Ostrin that explores the first meeting of Tennessee Williams and Marlon Brando. Galecki, whose past Chicago productions include “Pot Mom” at Steppenwolf Theatre, will play Williams. Other casting is yet to be announced.
Brando, of course, shot to fame after the 1951 movie version of Williams’ 1947 throbbing masterpiece, “A Streetcar Named Desire.”Although coming to Lookingglass in the Water Tower Water Works on Michigan Avenue, this is a commercial production that technically is a rental of the Lookingglass space and is to be presented rather than produced by the venerable Chicago theater company. “Kowalski” has already been produced Off-Broadway at The Duke on 42nd Street in New York. The piece is set in a Provincetown, Massachusetts, beach house, and takes place over just one night. Aside from the 23-year-old Brando, other characters include the Texan director Margo Jones (who had her own tumultuous association with Williams) and Pancho Rodriguez, Williams’ lover at the time and, some would say, his most important muse.
“Kowalski” has been said to be eyeing a Broadway run. Galecki, however, is a new addition to the cast. The Chicago production first was announced in New York; a bizarre choice for a show that will need to attract Chicago audiences.
Opening night is Sept. 19. Tickets go on sale July 15 at lookingglasstheatre.org.
A new initiative is underway to provide grant funding for individual Chicago productions that are not part of a resident company’s season.
The Independent Productions Initiative was founded by playwright LC Bernadine and uses Chicago’s Redtwist Theatre as its fiscal sponsor. According to Bernadine, the group has now raised more than $200,000 and awarded grants to nearly 60 projects, all being undertaken by independent teams of producers, directors, writers, actors and designers. Board members include Robert Falls, former Goodman Theatre artistic director and the noted arts philanthropist (and playwright) Peter Handler.
The idea would seem like a good fit for an era when it is easier to get a single show up and off the ground rather than to package a season; something that is especially true for itinerant companies. The idea here is to plug a vital philanthropic gap because most foundations support established institutions, not individual projects. Bernadine told me that the recipients are mostly not non-profit entities, but donors can receive tax relief by donating to the nonprofit initiative. Bernadine’s initiative is similar to some journalistic projects focused on newspapers, including this one. IPI gave grants to 23 productions in 2025 and to 34 productions in 2026.
The Joseph Jefferson Awards has said that it continues to explore options for the future of its non-Equity awards.
“Our members’ focus remains strictly on evaluating artistic and technical excellence on stage, rather than serving as a governing body or investigative group for the production process,” the committee wrote in an email. “For that reason, we stand firmly behind our annual award nominations and honors. While we understand the deep feelings surrounding past honors, we believe our most impactful path forward is to focus on the future — with an emphasis on establishing greater clarity in our internal procedures and actively supporting the Non-Equity community’s efforts to foster a safer, more supportive environment for all creative minds to develop their craft.”
Chris Jones Recommends
“Theater of the Mind” in an open run by the Goodman at the Reid Murdoch Building; “Octet” from July 15 to Aug. 2 by Raven Theatre at the Goodman; “Pandemonium, Please Hold” in an open run on the Second City Mainstage; “Leopoldstadt” through Aug. 16 at Writers Theatre; “Untitled Vampire Play” through July 12 by Lookingglass Theatre in Water Tower Water Works; “Champions of Magic” through Aug. 23 at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building; “A Little Night Music” through Aug. 9 at the Marriott Theatre; “Iceboy!” through Aug. 9 at the Goodman Theatre.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
