Nikki M. James (‘Suffs’) on portraying the ‘unflinching’ Ida B. Wells in a musical about ‘incredible, powerful, flawed’ suffragists [Exclusive Video Interview]
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“I think it’s just the stark reality of all the things that happened to this one person and the level of clearheaded determination she had,” shares Nikki M. James of what surprised her the most about Ida B. Wells, the suffragist she portrays in the new musical “Suffs” on Broadway. An early version of the musical by writer and composer Shaina Taub described the civil rights icon as “unflinching,” which the actress says is the “perfect word” for Wells. In addition to her “huge hutzpah,” the Tony Award winner admires how she balanced “all of her unbelievable work” with motherhood, which is something she herself is doing now, opening a new musical in New York while raising an 18-month-old child. “I just am in total awe of her and it’s a connection I think we share,” she adds. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
James’ journey with “Suffs” began long before the show opened at the Music Box Theatre on April 18, having partaken in readings, workshops, and the Off-Broadway production at the Public Theatre over the past decade. The version audiences see now looks different than previous iterations because, as the performer shares, Taub has taken “away some of the recitative… there were fewer book scenes, there was a lot less spoken text,” a change she believes “really highlighted the story.” Despite the different form the show takes, the actress stresses that “the core of this story has not,” which she describes as a tale of “the determination and the friendship and the collaboration and the conflict of a group of incredible, powerful, flawed people who—no small feat—changed the Constitution of the United States of America.”
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James first appears on stage to deliver the incredible number “Wait My Turn.” It is the final days of planning the 1913 suffragist march in Washington, D.C., and Alice Paul (Taub) feels she must ask the Black suffragists to march at the back of the procession in order to maintain the support of the delegations from the Southern states. As the actress says of the importance of the number, “Movements are not without their flaws and without their demons, and people hold biases, people are willing to make compromises.” She characterizes the song as a “record stop” in a musical that has been gaining momentum toward the pivotal march scene for its first 20 minutes, which is an “important reality check.” “I will tell you it’s difficult do to,” admits the Tony winner, sharing, “A tiny part of me worries that I’m going to come off being too angry – that stereotype that for better or for worse runs in the back of my head.” But even so, she affirms, “Once I start saying these words that feel really true, they feel true for Ida in 1913 when she says it and they feel true for me right now as a person of color.”
Wells did indeed march in 1913 and the musical includes the character in the rousing Act 1 number “The March,” though James has a bit of a different part to play in the song than the other ensemble members. As the performer explains, the real-life Wells “was standing on the sidelines” before she “just stepped into line and continued through the march.” The scene in the musical recreates that “boldness,” especially because her “presence there is also meant to send a message to the women behind me.” The actress calls this moment in history “a 360° act of defiance” that is “really thrilling.”
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One of the most powerful scenes in “Suffs” is Wells’ reaction to hearing the news that Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment and that women’s suffrage would become law. Wells enjoys the win for a moment before telling to her friend and fellow suffragist Mary Church Terrell (Anastaćia McCleskey) that this law will not apply to all women. In this moment, James says, “Nikki the actor, the person, is as present as Ida. I think that moment is the natural evolution.” As she explains, it would be another half century before the Voting Rights Act would become law and in that time “Black Americans are going to be doing it mostly on their own.” “It’s one of my favorite moments and it’s also the part I look least forward to doing,” confesses the actress, particularly “hearing sniffles in the audience, hearing people catch their breath.” The musical ends with an acknowledgement of the work that remains unfinished in the anthem “Keep Marching,” which James characterizes as “an indictment, a prayer, a call to action… We’re basically saying, this story is not over, this story is happening in this country and in countries all over the world.”
“Suffs” marks James’ return to Broadway as a performer for the first time in a decade; her last appearance was in the revival of “Les Misérables” that opened in March 2014. She declares that to return with this project “feels totally right,” particularly because “in those 10 years, I have been so expanded as a performer.” Looking back on her Broadway roles – Lorraine in “All Shook Up,” Nabulungi in “The Book of Mormon,” for which she won a Tony Award, and Eponine in “Les Mis” – she reflects, “It actually feels really nice to be reintroduced to Broadway as a grown woman. I spend so many years playing ingenues or urchin girls… I’ve played many girls.” “Suffs” affords her the opportunity to bring “some gravity, some weight,” and she adds, “I get to show off some of the other colors of my personality.” “Thank God this is the show that brought me back to Broadway. I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this show,” beams the actress.
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