SALT LAKE CITY — Members of the cast of "Suffs" visited Utah's Capitol Hill, where women in the state made their own history.
Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson and members of the group Better Days hosted the cast members at the women's suffrage memorial. Utah was the first state to have women voting and the first to elect a woman as state senator, back in the 1800s.
The Broadway play about women's suffrage is touring across the nation with performances this week in Salt Lake City. Lt. Gov. Henderson, who has long championed efforts to recognize Utah's role in the women's suffrage movement, told FOX 13 News she didn't wait to get tickets and enjoyed the show.
"I think it’s so important to remember what got us where we are today. We take so many things for granted and we forget how hard it was for women to earn the right to vote in the United States and even passing the 19th Amendment didn’t fully enfranchise all American women," Lt. Gov. Henderson said. "There were barriers and there are still barriers today that we need to fight for."
For "Suffs" cast members, the visit to Utah's Capitol Hill was a touching moment. They learned of Seraph Young, the first woman to vote in the United States; Martha Hughes Cannon, the first woman elected to state Senate; and how some of the people they play in the show visited Utah to campaign for women's rights.
"To be stepping in these steps, literally, these footsteps of these women it brights it to light. I’m going to be doing a different show tonight because of this," said Monica Tulia Ramirez.
"Oh I will, too," said Maya Kelleher. "It’s emotional. It was really hitting me to hear Alice Paul was here. Alice Paul was jailed with some of the women working here. It’s so real."
"Suffs" runs through Nov. 16 at the Eccles Theatre in downtown Salt Lake City.
