Liberation
Closing: April 06, 2025Liberation - 2025 Off-Broadway History , Info & More
Laura Pels Theatre
Harold & Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre 111 West 46th Street New York, NY 10036
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.
Liberation - 2025 - Off-Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Liberation
'Liberation' review — Bess Wohl's memory play is sharp and witty
7 / 10
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.
Liberation: We’ve Come So Far…Or Have We?
8 / 10
Her new play—the ambitious, slightly overstuffed Liberation, which just opened off-Broadway at the Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre—continues her pattern of unpredictability: It’s a memory play of sorts, set largely in the 1970s in a basement basketball court of an Ohio rec center. (David Zinn’s scenic design is period perfection, down to the janky metal folding chairs; you can almost hear the buzzers and smell the stale sweat socks.)
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Interview: Claire Warden on the Intimacy Movement: 'There Is Space for Everyone'
by Caitlin Hornik - March 31, 2025
by Caitlin Hornik - March 31, 2025
This March, BroadwayWorld is excited to spotlight five incredible female theatre-makers who are changing the game from offstage. In this final edition of 'Female Theatremakers' we are catching up with Broadway Intimacy Director Claire Warden.
Interview: Bess Wohl on Writing the Women’s Lib Movement in 2025: 'It's Meeting the Moment'
by Caitlin Hornik - March 24, 2025
by Caitlin Hornik - March 24, 2025
Who run the Broadway world? Girls. This March, BroadwayWorld is excited to spotlight five incredible female theatre-makers who are changing the game from offstage. In this second edition of 'Female Theatremakers' we are catching up with acclaimed playwright Bess Wohl.
Photos: Gloria Steinem Stops By LIBERATION Off-Broadway
by A.A. Cristi - March 13, 2025
by A.A. Cristi - March 13, 2025
On Tuesday evening, Gloria Steinem attended the new feminist play, Liberation, and visited with the cast and creative team after the show. Check out photos from her visit!
LIBERATION Now Extended Through Early April at Roundabout Theatre Company
by Chloe Rabinowitz - March 3, 2025
by Chloe Rabinowitz - March 3, 2025
Roundabout Theatre Company will present a one-week extension of the critically and widely-acclaimed world-premiere of Liberation by Bess Wohl, directed by Whitney White. Learn more!
Backstage Bite: Bess Wohl and Whitney White Go Back In Time to Cook Up a LIBERATION Cheese Ball
by Joey Mervis - March 2, 2025
by Joey Mervis - March 2, 2025
Backstage Bite is back! In this episode, Katie is joined in the kitchen by the creators of Roundabout's hit play, Liberation- playwright Bess Wohl and director Whitney White. Watch in this video as they join forces to make a 70's-Style Cheese Ball and check out the full recipe below!
Review Roundup: LIBERATION Opens at Laura Pels Theatre
by A.A. Cristi - February 20, 2025
by A.A. Cristi - February 20, 2025
From Tony Award nominees Bess Wohl (Grand Horizons) and Whitney White (Jaja's African Hair Braiding) comes Liberation, a provocative and revealing new work about what really goes on when women meet behind closed doors.
Photos: Inside Opening Night of Bess Wohl's LIBERATION
by Jennifer Broski - February 21, 2025
by Jennifer Broski - February 21, 2025
Roundabout Theatre Company celebrated opening night of the world-premiere of Liberation by Bess Wohl, directed by Whitney White. Check out photos from opening night here.
Photos: Meet the Cast of LIBERATION; Now in Previews
by Chloe Rabinowitz - February 5, 2025
by Chloe Rabinowitz - February 5, 2025
Roundabout Theatre Company is presenting the world-premiere of Liberation by Bess Wohl, directed by Whitney White. The play is now in previews. Get a first look at a portrait of the cast here!
Photos: The Cast of LIBERATION Off-Broadway Meets the Press
by Jennifer Broski - January 16, 2025
by Jennifer Broski - January 16, 2025
The company of the world-premiere of Liberation by Bess Wohl, directed by Whitney White and presented by Roundabout Theatre Companym met with the press ahead of performances. See photos here!
Betsy Aidem, Kristolyn Lloyd & More to Star in LIBERATION World Premiere at Roundabout
by Chloe Rabinowitz - January 6, 2025
by Chloe Rabinowitz - January 6, 2025
Roundabout Theatre Company has revealed the complete cast for the world-premiere of Liberation by Bess Wohl, directed by Whitney White. See who is starring and learn how to purchase tickets.
Liberation History
Other Productions of Liberation
| 2025 | Off-Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Company Off-Broadway Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
| 2025 | Broadway |
Broadway |
Liberation - 2025 Off-Broadway Awards and Nominations
Note: Award winners will appear on a background
| 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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