Liberation

by Bess Wohl

It’s 1970. Somewhere in Ohio, six women meet on a basement basketball court to form a consciousness-raising group, 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 play that poses vital questions about friendship, legacy and the true meaning of liberation, investigating what we inherit, what we forget, and what we’re still fighting to understand. (Concord Theatricals)

Genres: Plays, Feminism, Theatre, Fiction, Drama

Paperback

Published January 1, 2026

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A multi-award winner (including a Pulitzer and a Best Play Tony) which nevertheless did not take Broadway by storm, its run lasting only 3 months.

The play didn't seem to reap any kind of benefit from *when* it was being produced. Had it arrived during a [D] administration, there might have been more of an audience receptive to it. But the current Broadway trends don't lean in the direction of something this introspective and inventive.

Upon finishing a read of the script, I felt I actually had to go back and read it again. Part of the reason for that is that it's the kind of play that would play on a stage better than it reads on paper. The style plays around with structure (by turns, we're in the past, and the present. and the present future). As well, a few actors double-up in their role-playing.

Also, the environment shifts while the setting remains essentially the same: a basement gymnasium (in Ohio) - which serves to frame the play in a nest of testosterone and patriarchy.

This is largely a memory play. Lizzie is remembering her mother, who was active in the Women's Liberation movement in 1970. For that, the mother set up a regular meeting of a consciousness-raising group, for which a cross-cultural handful of women showed up.

As part of that memory, Lizzie meets up with a few of those women in the present future, to discuss what the 1970 group not only actually did but to determine how much good the group accomplished.

Lizzie is doing this because, now in retrospect, she can't see liberation's legacy:

LIZZIE: And recently it's been feeling like things might be going in the wrong direction - so I guess my question is -
ISIDORA: Why are we still fucked.

'Liberation' isn't a play about answers but, instead, one designed to put the movement in perspective. It's at its most incisive when the suggestion is made that male tactics undermined progress:

LIZZIE: ... we did it to ourselves, all of us. Nobody wants to talk about that, but it's true. ... They got so far under our skin, they burrowed in there so deep that we do their work for them now.

The nail that sticks out must be hammered down. True with the movement; true with any part of society that speaks out against the status quo.

I don't know that I'd call this 'a mood play' yet that might be its best description. It's taking society's temperature.

So, no, it's not surprising that the play didn't have a long Broadway run. It's a set-up that promotes discussion and reflection. At the moment, it didn't seem to matter much that it is full of scintillating dialogue and has wonderful roles for actors. The way our society is at the moment - and how screwed up our government is - meaningful progress simmers on the back-back burner.

We can only live in hope that things will turn around sufficiently in the spirit of equality - but that feels like a long road. That could [sigh] just be what life is.

[ollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

#crying

[Nina Gold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in one sitting, because it was 1.) short and 2.) phenomenal. I love Bess Wohl’s writing. Camp Siegfried is one of my dream plays to perform, and now this one. Trying to understand your mother through your own memories? Wondering if your mother would have been happier if she hadn’t had you? It’s like she wrote it for me and my mom.

There’s an interesting phenomenon happening in a number of feminist plays at the moment, where they name the fact that they are sitting and doing a play about feminism while the people in power steamroll our rights. It’s the endless problem of talking about something vs. doing something, which they also discuss in this play. But at the same time, theater has always been an outlet for radicalism, a form of protest, an avenue of social change. I think the problem is less about the play itself- because people will always create art to try to understand themselves, to try to reflect the world and influence their audience- and more what a state of passivity we’ve entered. Wohl addresses that in the play as well, the lost sense of community and solidarity within our generation.

Also, I find that the plays I’m reading that call out their own flaws within the text are written by women. Playwrights socialized as men don’t do that as much. A half-baked idea I’m pondering: do women write plays with self-reflection and self-critique because they are conditioned to be more aware of their own flaws than men? Or is this a reckoning by white, female playwrights with white feminism (because admittedly, the plays I’ve read and seen recently that do this are all by white women)? Probably, it’s a mixture of both. I don’t think that this was a drawback in this play at ALL; it’s more accurate to name the ways that racism and sexism overlap, intersect, and divide us. I just also see women (myself included) holding themselves back because they are trying to get things right, whereas men have been taught that getting things done is most important; my friend and I were recently discussing that men are not taught to fear consequences of getting things wrong in the same way as women. So maybe there’s that aspect as well.

I wonder if a play is stripped of its political and social power when the only way for it to be seen is to function within the framework of a huge, money-making industry like Broadway. This play is so powerful, but capitalism is inherently at odds with art. We need to dismantle this institution. Guerrilla-style Liberation by Bess Wohl.

Overall- I really, really loved it. Excited to work on it soon.

[Courtney :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing writing! Loved this play! I think it would be more powerful in person though!

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this just won the Tony for Best New Play last night (as well as the Pulitzer a month ago) and was the final one of the four nominees for me to read - and hate to say it but was probably my least favorite!! It's still a fine play and I think one really has to see it to appreciate it - but I just couldn't relate much to the topic of '70's Women's Liberation.

One thing I did like is that once you get to know the characters, it is fairly easy to keep them all straight - but mainly as they fall in to fairly stereotypical categories: the sexy secretary, the Italian immigrant, the older trad house-frau, the mannish lesbian, the black caregiver, the narrator.

The narrator's mother is played in turn by several of the OTHER characters, as well as the narrator herself, which was initially a mite confusing, but as I said, probably works well in production. As most of the reviews noted, the play has some pacing issues and doesn't quite stick the landing.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/th...
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/202...
https://ew.com/liberation-review-broa...
https://variety.com/2025/legit/review...
https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/r...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA75H...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jTPN...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHdiy...

[Addy Canzano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This play changed who I am fundamentally as a person. I was able to catch it five times during its Broadway run and finally she’s been published and I can read it constantly. Thank you Bess wohl

[Cate Ginsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do we understand our mothers

[Ally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t recommend this more. Pertinent, cathartic, profound. This play really captures the feeling of wanting to do more but not enough, self set rules and the feeling of violating them, and the intense standards women hold eachother to and sometimes when it gets in the way. I think this represents well intended and powerful women, and the inevitable mistakes they will make. Must read right now.

[Brooke Cousins · Rating 5 out of 5]

like a very strong 4.5 that's getting rounded up. i love women: the sequel. i mean, you can't watch that clip of her finally having the conversation with her mother and not feel something. need to be in this asap

[Craig Werner · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I were still teaching my freshman seminar on the 1960s, Wohl's play would definitely be on reading list. It's an excellent triangulation of feminism of the 2020s and 1970s. The cast of characters teeters on the edge of stereotypical but pulls back at the crucial moments. No easy answers about whether and how much things have changed, but in good Brechtian fashion, it forces readers/viewers to move beyond their received phrasings. Would love to see this performed.

[Avery Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

it’s 12:09am, i finished lib, im sobbing, and i want a lib tattoo i already know what i want.

[Peyton Woolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best play I’ve ever read and perhaps my favorite work of art I’ve experienced thus far in my life?

[Brian McCann · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an outstanding play. A well-deserved Pulitzer. Wish I saw it on Broadway. Looking forward to a first-class regional production.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant, but sadly necessary play about women; the more things change the more they stay the same! A memory play, told in a wonderfully 4th wall breaking way, told lovingly, told angrily, told tenderly, told boldy, told pleadingly and most important TOLD! A fantastic piece!

[Julia (Shakespeare and Such) · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

3.4/5 stars — makes you comfortable in a good way, covers a lot of ground but also recognizes that feminism is such a complex topic that you can’t examine every issue in encompasses in one play while still focusing on character work (while still trying to touch on a lot of it, and I respect that). I do enjoy a fourth wall break, but I’m not a big fan of an entire, what-the-constitution-means-to-me style format where I feel SO spoken at for so much of the play, it’s just not my favorite. also how juicy to tell a story about your mom the radical feminist but then be like “well but she wasn’t feminist enough” like !!! girl let’s have the class unpack that in an essay for sure

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Pacing: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

[Ez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried seeing this at Roundabout and I cried again reading it.

[PC · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.3)

Liberation was a nice read! The first act was standard and sort of forgettable. I thought that First Act was similar to John Proctor, which would be preachy and bit obvious. With that being said, I really enjoyed the second act. The second act explore more complex themes within the feminist movement.

I admired that the second act opened with full nudity. Often people only see breast, which is so sexualized, but I appreciate that this section include the whole female physique. Moreover by having different types of bodies that have their own beauty and weaknesses, the audience realizes body diversity. Also, that women are very harsh on themselves and think that some other women will always have it better.

This play really explored relationship. We see the shaky friendships between these women and the intergenerational relationship between Lizzie and her mother. We see how troubles with obtaining female equality affect future generations, especially will Lizzie still fighting the same battles as her mum.

We also see intersectionality. Black women having a different experience and some women viewing their race before gender and other women doing inverse. Although we do not fully go into intersectionality, we do see black women struggle to get grounding within the feminist movement.

Also, I love that this play focuses on how radical feminism can negatively impact good men. Bill was loving, respectful, and supportive of Lizzie. But he was treated very shabbily, because she projected macro trends onto a man who did not act like that. Although I wish Bill was the norm, there are some men like him, and they do get pushed over a bit.

Finally, I loved that this play showed that support groups can simultaneously be a safe space for encouragement and space where people feel judged.

[Jessica · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Kind of eh?? Like I'd go see a production of it and it would be fun to be in, but the structure of it and the story kinda did nothing for me, even though the characters are good. Also anytime there's a hint that maybe the feminists were too radical in their drive so they ate their own for petty grievances I'm like. Oh totally that's why feminism has stagnated toootally it's those damn women expecting too much of each other and the world.

Also why is Daddy Jakey in this show anyway.

But like yeah it's cool it made it to broadway and the characters disagree with each other so there are multiple views (though ultimately the playwright does decide the last word).

I guess I only have so much patience for memory plays. I get that if you're a playwright by career and you want to grapple with something in your life you write a play about it because that's your medium. But it seems like that's a journal entry and the better show a lot of the time could be invented without your stand-in as the narrator.

Exceptions to this exist, of course. I think What the Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schrek works quite well because it is largely one person onstage. Letters from Max by Sarah Ruhl definitely tends more toward navel-gazing but worked for me because of the chemistry between the actors in the production I saw and the place I was at mentally when I saw it (deep in my existential crisis). I am guessing that, similarly, I would enjoy this play if it is acted and directed well!

[Codey Odachowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second I heard of this play, I was intrigued. Not only by the premise, but the fact that the moment this play touched down in New York, people were talking about it.

Sure enough, it went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and then the Tony Award for Best Play…so naturally I had to read it.

This play follows a group of women from all different backgrounds in the 70’s who decide to get together in a stinky basement gymnasium to discuss all things Women’s Liberation. Ranging in topics from radical protests to how to get their bum husbands to do the dishes every now and then, this play covers it all, from all viewpoints.

The thing I love about this play, and what Bess Wohl did, is she introduced topics, but didn’t just give her opinion on them. Each topic was throughly discussed and debated in a way that allows the reader to truly hear all sides of something. Because at the end of the day, common decency and understanding is the most beneficial form of protest.

I fully recommend this play!

[Amandanoel · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up... I'm sure based on clips I've seen that seeing it staged would be 5 stars vs the reading of it...
This play made me laugh and cry and wonder in what contexts I'd feel comfortable being in it/directing it... it was so moving in the ways it refuses to give simple answers or resolution. It is unflinching in showing how far and not so far we've come, how are we have to keep fighting and how frustrating that feels. Some of the speeches are SO moving. I'd love to see a production/look forward to more regional theaters getting the chance to produce it.

[giuliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

The asides were definitely giving Fleabag. I really love how comedy is worked into this one. Some really well written jokes.

And I do think the comedy is saying something. That, maybe, we shouldn’t take our activism too seriously. Or maybe, instead, we shouldn’t mistake seriousness for the importance of activism. That heavy sense of seriousness makes the struggle for liberation less…human? More structural, maybe? And that heaviness forces activists to get in our own way.

Humor is shared. Humor makes community thrive. And you can’t have activism without a strong sense of community.

[Theo Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

great at sketching in all the details of its numerous characters quickly and vividly. really felt like act two moved too quickly and awkwardly. I think it also doesn’t know what to do with its guilt of representation - think this was unsatisfyingly included. Not sure what satisfaction in that regard would, however, actually look like. I need to read more Bess Wohl! Really liked the slippage between past and present, mother and daughter, though.

[Anna Kefalas · Rating 5 out of 5]

“‘I’m going to go home. For now. And I’m going to have the conversation. This conversation. And we’ll see, we’ll see where it goes. Every story is a brick in the wall. Yours is one too. (She looks at the audience one final time. Offers an invitation.) (An opening.) So, go ahead. You can take it from here.”

blew my mind. deserving of all the awards and stars in the world. and let me tell you, much discussed nude scene and ending scene did not disappoint.

[wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A captivating play centering on the early period of the Women's Liberation Movement. A group diverse women meet in the 1970's was known as a conscious raising group. Optimism abounds at first but this attempt becomes a struggle unity as their different backgrounds come into play. It takes place in Ohio where I have lived and still do so the play takes me back to that era as I am old. A deserving play that garnered the Pulitzer Prize.

[Mimi Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

all i knew about this was the nudity and maybe that’s part of the issue at hand. i also laughed out loud at the parts (hi sorry i won’t spoil it) in which the play-within-a-play situation gets complicated for the narrator. and also i cried. but hey what’s new

this is so phenomenal and i need to see it or i’ll die

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved. Loved how this jumped in and out of eras, and the effort of trying to understand your mother in the context of her time. And your dad. And motherhood and daughterhood. I didn't think I'd want to spend any time with women in the 70s -- because it's awkward to see how much we've lost and how constrained we were -- but it felt brave and satisfying.

[Dexter Nardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good! It feels very honest, but I don’t know it also feels like there’s something lacking. Not much happens and the characters don’t really change? I don’t know. I feel dumb for not enjoying this more. Also, the framing narrative felt way too similar to a shitty play I saw earlier this year (like way too similar)
Still good though!

[Kennedy Soong Bouchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow…this was a lovely read. It was an interesting exploration of the weight of decision that rests on the backs of women, and the different ways each character carried that particular weight.

So interested in how all the shifts are portrayed on stage. I was imagining some crazy jumps.

[mengwe · Rating 5 out of 5]

cast me. i wanna play celeste but im too young rn.

[Erika Renkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolute favorite play to date


also fascinating to see the progression of edits from off-broadway to Broadway to publication