Student Blog: Good Luck Getting to Your Seats

When I walked into the Music Box Theatre to see a Saturday matinee of Suffs in July of 2024, I expected to see a story of fiery feminism and the fight for women’s suffrage. What I didn’t expect was to feel that energy emanating three rows back from a modern-day trail blazer. 

One of the things I love about theatre is that shows stir deep personal emotions that are reflected in the reactions of the audience, and Suffs masterfully places its audience into the lives of feminist heroes. As I watched the stories of suffragists Alice Paul, Ida B Wells, and Carrie Chapman Catt come to life, the experience was punctuated by the presence of one of my own feminist heroes, former Secretary of State, U.S. Senator and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. 

The night before we saw Suffs, I was giving my mom the rundown of the show in our hotel room. I told her that Hillary Rodham Clinton and Malala Yousafzai were among the show’s producers, and jokingly said, “Wouldn't it be crazy if one of them were in the audience tomorrow?” 

The next morning we got ready, grabbed some Dunkin and headed to the theatre. The line snaked down the block and around the corner. The show was scheduled to start at 2:00 and, finally, at 1:40 they started letting people inside. 

We found ourselves navigating a maze of people. When we finally got to the usher and showed him our tickets, he paused before saying, “Good luck getting to your seats.” 

Then my mom gasped, leaned over to me and said, “That is Hillary Clinton!” 

Her actual words might have been a bit more colorful, and I will leave that to the imagination.

Standing near the bottom of the aisle we so patiently waited to navigate was a woman in a perfectly tailored blue pantsuit, beautifully coiffed hair resting just above her shoulders, greeting people who were taking seats near her. Just over her shoulder serious looking men, wires hanging from the ears, were scanning the crowd. In that instant, the line wrapping around the theater, the congested aisles, and the comment from the usher all began to make sense. It quickly dawned on me that my mom and I would be sitting three rows in front of HRC, which meant we’d be walking past her to get to our seats. 

As more people entered the theatre and realized who was in attendance, the excitement was palpable. Women around us were freaking out. We were freaking out. 

“Get your phone ready, Olivia,” my mom instructed. “Because hell or high water, we are getting a picture.” 

I watched in considerable amazement as my mom told HRC’s Secret Service detail that we’d only be a minute. Can you say B-O-L-D?

Then you would have thought she was merely making conversation at the store. 

“Secretary Clinton, excuse me, hello. I wanted to introduce my daughter Olivia, who will be a first-time voter this November."

That was all it took. I stood enamored as HRC turned her attention to me. 

For about 60 seconds (probably more), I had the undivided attention of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Best. Sixty. Seconds. Ever.

HRC asked how I felt about voting for the first time. I told her how excited I was to cast a ballot and how I was especially excited to be voting for a woman. (Kamala Harris had taken the reins just days before.)

She then talked to me about the importance of young people voting. She talked about the importance of encouraging my friends to vote. And then she looked at me and said, “We have to win.”

We.

We snapped that picture, made our way to our seats, and eventually watched the show we had come to see. But even before the curtain went up, I had already experienced a moment I knew I would remember for the rest of my life.

I think a lot can be summed up about theater in that one word. We. 

I do not want to equate theatre with politics, though Suffs is not the only musical with political overtones. But just as common values and beliefs guide political ideologies, there is so much commonality in the theater community, whether it be performers, people making things happen behind the scenes, or the faithful fans. 

We can be guided by principle, as is the audience in a show like Suffs. We can be bonded by experience, as many of us are in a show like Dear Evan Hansen or Mean Girls. We can see our country for what it has been – both beautiful and imperfect – and for what it could be, in shows like Suffs, Hamilton and Ragtime. 

I think people who love theater understand that it can be a uniting force. There is something comforting about a community built around stories, one that encourages us to step into someone else’s shoes and feel things we might never experience ourselves. You see it in the kids waiting outside the stage door in the cold, hoping for an autograph from their favorite actor. You see it in their parents, taking pictures and sharing in their excitement, and in the actors who come out with a Sharpie in hand and a smile on their faces after a long show. 

Not every show will come with a Hillary Clinton cameo, but every show has the potential to leave us with something just as meaningful: a stranger's kindness, a shared moment of excitement at the stage door, or the feeling that, for a little while, we were all part of something bigger than ourselves.