From Tony Award® nominee Bess Wohl (Grand Horizons) comes Liberation, directed by Roundabout’s inaugural directing fellow and Associate Artist, Whitney White (If I Forget, Marvin’s Room).
It's 1970: somewhere in Ohio, six women meet on a basement basketball court, determined to shake up their lives and change the world. Fifty years later, one of their daughters tries to understand where things fell apart. A provocative, wildly theatrical world premiere that poses vital questions about friendship, legacy, and the true meaning of liberation.
Wohl’s writing is sharp and witty, toggling back and forth between humor and heartbreak with natural ease. But given the length of the show, the two acts of the play can feel like they’re spiraling after a while. Even so, the characters are personable enough that it’s easy to get lost in their worries. Wohl’s charming, fourth-wall-breaking lead is played with an endearing desperation by Susannah Flood, who navigates the time jumps between 1970 and the present well. And though she has comparatively fewer lines than the rest of the cast, Kayla Davion’s turn as Lizzie when the narrator needs to take herself out of her mother’s shoes is one of the most powerful scenes in the show.
If you were a woman in 1970, by almost every standard, you were regarded as a second class citizen in this country. You could not get a credit card or mortgage without a responsible man to co-sign for you. Abortion was illegal across the land; no matter your education or experience, you had fewer opportunities and were likely to earn less than your male counterparts; and despite all your protests and your dogged determination to gain equal rights, true equality eluded you. That’s the backdrop for Bess Wohl’s beautifully evocative play entitled Liberation. And given recent setbacks for women in the political landscape, this timely work resonates in a deeply personal way.
| 2025 | Off-Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Company Off-Broadway Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
| 2025 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Whitney White |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Play | Bess Wohl |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Wig and Hair Design | Nikiya Mathis |
| 2025 | Drama League Awards | OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A PLAY | Whitney White |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play | Betsy Aidem |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play | Liberation |
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