Aug. 27, 2026 - DENTON - Most people recognize the American women's suffrage movement as a long battle to obtain the right to vote in 1919.

What many don't realize is the sacrifice it took to achieve it. Consider the plight of suffragist Inez Milholland. She literally collapsed from exhaustion and died during a speech at the age of 30 during a string of train trips to advocate for women's voting rights.

And during a protest for women's voting rights the day before Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated, more than 100 women were physically assaulted and hospitalized.

These events occurred years before the 19th amendment would be ratified.

Milholland's story and those of other advocates are central to the theme of The Suffragist, a new musical by composer Nancy Hill Cobb and writer-lyricist Cavan Hallman that will premier Oct. 22. The musical is presented by Texas Woman's Musical Theatre program.

The idea for the show came when Cobb learned about the violence the suffragists faced in the fight to obtain rights. In history lessons, the mental and physical struggles women endured during that period are often minimized.

"I was over 60 years old and I was hearing all of these stories I had never heard about how hard it was to get the right to vote, because we take these things for granted I think," Cobb said. "There were train trips, parades and the women were being imprisoned. When I heard these stories I was like, 'this is a musical'."

The story centers around Alice Paul, who changed the tactics of the American Suffrage movement and her work with Carrie Chapman Catt, the president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association; and Ida B. Wells, who championed African American women's place in the fight. It also includes a tap dancing Woodrow Wilson, which you'll need to see the show to understand.

In the TWU production, director Lizz Bashore said she's including historic reference material in the adaptation, and has spent much of her time in the lead up to rehearsals researching the lives of the women featured in the show.

Paul, the protagonist and lead, traveled to England and learned about the Suffragettes as she continued her higher education studies and quickly joined those movements. When she returned to the United States, she used her experiences to shape the next wave of the American movement - oftentimes at odds with others over the best way to advance women's rights.

"All of these women are very smart in how they do things and they're also very snarky," Bashore said. "They aren't polite in their actions - they're as polite as they have to be to be heard and survive, but they are persistent and not afraid of conflict and I love that."

For Hannah Rhodes, the senior vocal performance major playing Paul in the show, taking on the role is teaching her about inner strength.

"During the callback process I came to the realization that she's really scared to be doing a lot of the things that she's doing, but I don't think the people around her know because of how headstrong she is, and sometimes she doesn't know," Rhodes said. "Getting the right for women to vote is so important to her that she doesn't let fear stop her in any way."

Having this role in her final semester and it coinciding with the university's 125th anniversary in a female-centered production makes it extra special, she said.

In this production, bringing forward the historical context of the time period will go beyond the story. It will be seen in some projection work on stage to show historical context as well as in the costuming, showing how restrictive corsets function as a depressor in society.

Integrating and presenting a historical show to a younger audience about these women ties into the legacy of TWU, making it the right production to commemorate the university's 125th anniversary.

"TWU has a legacy of championing women and they have had a history of forefronting for our sex, and I think this is another piece that is going to do that," Bashore said. "This will be a new, cool piece that TWU is producing and sponsoring that's both a history and a reflection."

There will be three performances of the show from Oct. 22-24 in Margot Jones Performance Hall on the Denton campus. Tickets will be $20 for general admission, $5 for seniors, free for TWU students and children under 12, and are on sale now.

Page last updated 2:43 PM, August 27, 2026