Liberation is a 2025 American memory play by Bess Wohl. Developed by the Roundabout Theatre Company, it explores second-wave feminism, memory, and the complexities of social change across generations. The play premiered off-Broadway at the Laura Pels Theatre in February 2025, directed by Whitney White, and transferred to Broadway in October 2025 at the James Earl Jones Theatre. The production won the 2026 Tony Award for Best Play. On May 4, 2026, it was announced that Bess Wohl won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Liberation.
Premise Set in Ohio in 1970 the play opens in a rec-centre basement where Lizzie convenes a consciousness-raising group of women. Fifty years later Lizzie's daughter looks back to try to understand her mother's radical past. Structured as a memory play, the narrative shifts fluidly between past and present, with the narrator directly addressing the audience.
Productions Off-Broadway (2025) Liberation premiered off-Broadway at Roundabout's Laura Pels Theatre. Previews began on January 31, 2025, with an opening night on February 20. It ran until April 6, having extended a week from its originally planned closing date of March 30. The production was directed by Whitney White. The creative team included David Zinn (scenic design), Qween Jean (costume design), Cha See (lighting), and Palmer Hefferan (sound).
Broadway (2025) In August 2025 it was announced that a Broadway production had been scheduled at the James Earl Jones Theatre for a 14-week engagement. Previews started October 8, with an opening on October 28, 2025. The original off-Broadway cast reprised their roles. The engagement was later extended by three weeks to February 1, 2026.
London (2027) In May 2026 a London production was announced for 2027. Daryl Roth, Eva Price, Rachel Sussman, Eleanor Lloyd Productions, and Eilene Davidson Productions are involved in the transfer.
Cast and characters +CharacterOff-BroadwayBroadway2025LizzieSusannah FloodMargieBetsy AidemDoraAudrey CorsaJoanneKayla DavionCelesteKristolyn LloydIsidoraIrene Sofia LucioBillCharlie ThurstonSusanAdina Verson
Reception The play received widespread acclaim from critics. Sara Holdren of Vulture praised it as "the best play I've seen this season", lauding how it "balances the intensely personal and the broadly civic, the ethical and the theatrical, with extraordinary rigor and grace".
The Week remarked that the play "takes an old form and shakes it like a freshly laundered sheet in the breeze", singling out the cast's performances in a "growing wave of charisma, camaraderie, tenderness, and tension".
The Wrap declared that "2025 has already delivered its first great new play", commending Wohl's deft mixture of sobering, funny, provocative, and "totally engaging" elements and noting her narrator is "even more direct and efficient ... than the Stage Manager in Our Town".
Some reviewers offered more reserved praise. Rachel Graham of TheaterMania observed that while the play does create "multidimensional characters and deftly balances a personal story with the history of the women's movement", ultimately "the landing doesn't quite stick", though "there's enough to keep the thoughtful Liberation in the air throughout its two-and-a-half hours".
Awards and nominations Off-Broadway production Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref. 2025Drama Desk Awards Outstanding PlayOutstanding Director of a PlayWhitney WhiteOutstanding Wig and HairNikiya MathisOutstanding EnsembleThe cast of LiberationOuter Critics Circle AwardsOutstanding New Off-Broadway PlayOutstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway PlayBetsy AidemLucille Lortel AwardOutstanding PlayOutstanding DirectorWhitney WhiteOutstanding Lead Performer in a PlaySusannah FloodOutstanding Featured Performer in a PlayBetsy AidemOutstanding Costume DesignQween JeanNew York Drama Critics CircleBest Ensemble The cast of LiberationDorian AwardOutstanding Off-Broadway ProductionOutstanding Lead Performance in an Off-Broadway ProductionSusannah FloodOutstanding Featured Performance in an Off-Broadway ProductionBetsy Aidem
Broadway production Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.2026Drama League AwardsOutstanding Production of a PlayDistinguished PerformanceSusannah FloodPulitzer Prize for DramaBess WohlTony Awards Best Play Bess Wohl Best Leading Actress in a Play Susannah Flood Best Featured Actress in a Play Betsy Aidem Best Direction of a Play Whitney White Best Costume Design of a Play Qween Jean
Notes
References
External links Official Roundabout Theatre Company page for Liberation Broadway.com page for Liberation Playbill production page for Liberation