‘LIBERATION’: Audrey Corsa, Kristolyn Lloyd, Irene Sofia Lucio & Adina Verson. Photo: Little Fang.

LIBERATION
By Bess Wohl
Directed by Whitney White
Through February 1, 2026
James Earl Jones Theatre
138 West 48^th Street
https://liberationbway.com/

By Scott Harrah

Stories about feminism and the women’s movement more than 50 years ago might seem anachronistic to some. However, Bess Wohl’s Liberation, set in Ohio in 1970, is quite relevant and topical today. It’s disturbing to think that the same rights and freedoms feminists fought for back then are all issues women still face in 2025 America. Women must still fight for the right to choose and equal pay. They battle sexism and grapple with double standards in a male-dominated society. This production (which premiered off-Broadway this past winter at Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre) features one of the best ensemble casts on the New York stage in years.

‘Consciousness raising’ in an Ohio town

Lizzie (Susannah Flood) is a journalist in a small Ohio town and decides to start a “consciousness-raising” group. They meet weekly in a rec center’s basketball court to talk about women’s issues and ongoing struggles with men. She acts as narrator for the tale.

The story of young Lizzie is interspersed with that of her daughter in the 2020s. Ms. Flood also portrays Lizzie’s daughter in the present day, interviewing original group members years after her mother’s death. Her daughter wants to discover why her mother went from being a feminist activist to a more traditional woman later in life. Lizzie’s daughter wants to find out what happened to the group’s idealism over the years.

…And ladies of the club

One of the unique aspects of Liberation is the way it shows a microcosm of women from diverse backgrounds, races and socioeconomic levels, all facing similar oppression simply because of their gender. The only other women’s group that meets at the venue is a knitting circle.

Members of the sisterhood

The sisterhood of Lizzie’s group includes Margie (Betsy Aidem), the oldest member who has been married for decades to the same man. Joanne (Kayla Davion) is the group’s first Black member. She’s an author and feels slightly out of place because, as an African American, her level of oppression is far worse as a female woman of color.

Dora (Audrey Corsa) stumbles into the group unexpectedly, thinking it was a knitting club, but she’s frustrated as a beautiful woman working for a wine company, forced to grapple with sexism and objectification by the men at her job.

In addition, Isidora (Irene Sofia Lucio) is from Italy and the only immigrant. She has a unique perspective on women’s issues that differs from the American women. Susan (Adina Verson) is a radical feminist, while Celeste (Kristolyn Lloyd) is a Black woman who joins the group later in the story. Bill (Charlie Thurston) plays a key role in young Lizzie’s past.

A memory play from a woman’s perspective

Lizzie tells the audience at the beginning of the show that Liberation is a memory play. The show’s full title is Liberation: A Memory Play About Things I Don’t Remember. Memory plays often feature a main character recalling past events. Prime examples include The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and Betrayal by Harold Pinter.  Lizzie uses this method as present-day narrator to examine her mother’s past.

Women’s struggles remain consistent over decades

Playwright Bess Wohl captures the essence of intergenerational conflicts and the thorny issues related to activism. Ms. Wohl also shows how feminism and the ongoing fight for women’s equality are both different for every woman based on her circumstances and identity. However, the need for women to be heard, taken seriously by men, be paid a fair wage and also appreciated is something that has not changed much since the dawn of the women’s movement. Women today still are expected to have and raise children, work, manage a household and also live up to overwhelming expectations created by men and society in general.

Razor-sharp direction of an excellent ensemble

Director Whitney White does an outstanding job of directing this excellent ensemble. There are so many fine performances here that it’s difficult to single out any as standouts because each actress is so great in her own right. Susannah Flood does a remarkable job as narrator, young Lizzie and her daughter. Betsy Aidem is sensational as Margie, the eldest group member who has struggled living the only life she knows as wife to man who can do little for himself. Audrey Corsa is often poignant as the beautiful, naïve yet powerful career woman Dora. Kayla Davion as the intellectual Joanne is always entertaining with her nonstop wit, and Kristolyn Lloyd as Celeste, Irene Sofia Lucio as Isidora and Adina Verson as the militant feminist Susan are equally superb.

Liberation is a brutally realistic, consistently funny “herstory” lesson that speaks volumes about the inequitable state of women in past and present America. The play shows why there should not be anything “radical” about treating women as equal to men and giving women the respect they deserve. Without question, Liberation is one of the best dramas of the year.

Published November 1, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on October 29, 2025

‘LIBERATION’: Kristolyn Lloyd, Irene Sofia Lucio, Betsy Aidem & Audrey Corsa. Photo: White Fang.

‘LIBERATION’: Susannah Flood & Betsy Aidem. Photo: Little Fang.

‘LIBERATION’: The cast. Photo: White Fang.

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‘GRAND HORIZONS’: James Cromwell & Jane Alexander. Photo: Joan Marcus

GRAND HORIZONS
Written by Bess Wohl
Directed by Leigh Silverman
Through March 1, 2020
The Helen Hayes Theater
240 West 44th Street
(212-541-4516), www 2ST.com

By David NouNou

Sustaining a marriage for 50 years is difficult. However, writing a good, sustainable comedy that doesn’t sound or read like a script from a TV sitcom these days is even harder. Playwright Bess Wohl has achieved this feat with Grand Horizons. Watching Nancy (Jane Alexander) and Bill (James Cromwell) for a few minutes setting up their dinner table and sitting down to eat, and Nancy nonchalantly uttering “I want a divorce,” is a wonderful starter.

Nothing is extraordinary about this situation and this doesn’t mean the play doesn’t have its shortcomings and filler, but what is extraordinary is the genuine laughter that playwright Ms. Wohl achieves. Grand Horizons is the name of the retirement home that Bill and Nancy live in. The remarkable cast elevates the material to hysterical heights.

The divorce isn’t so much about Nancy and Bill but how it affects their two sons: the older Ben (Ben McKenzie), his wife Jess (Ashley Park), and their younger son Brian (Michael Urie), a high-school drama teacher. The three are there to form an intervention against this divorce. In the process they discover their own shortcomings, the disillusionment of unhappy parents as they were growing up and their parents’ own secrets. The divorce stems from Nancy discovering Bill has been “sexting” Carla (Priscilla Lopez).

The setups aren’t new but there is a freshness to the tone. There is crispness to the dialogue, but the humor also comes with fillers. One such scene is Brian bringing a one-nighter (Maulik Pancholy) to his parents’ home. The scene is to establish Brian’s feelings about his parent’s divorce but the one-nighter is horny and isn’t interested in anything but sex. The scene has genuine truths in it, but is highly implausible.

What keeps the material afloat is the wonderful acting by an all-star cast, and I must admit I am a sucker for an all-star cast. Starting with Jane Alexander, long absent from the New York stage, making a regal comeback. Having first seen her in The Great White Hope, though the material here isn’t as compelling, she hasn’t lost her touch or command of the stage. She, like fine wine, has matured with age but is still lilting and grand.

Having seen James Cromwell in countless movies and TV shows, it’s great to finally see him on the New York stage. He is crotchety, compelling and ideal in trying to sort his life out.

Michael Urie plays another gay character here, but is absolutely beguiling as the lost son trying to make sense of it all. He touches the nerve of why he has never been able to connect with another person and wrenches the heart with his sincerity.

Priscilla Lopez as Carla, the other woman, just dazzles in her too-brief scene with Jane Alexander as they are discussing what to do with Bill, and starting to talk intimately is civility done to perfection.

Ben McKenzie, Ashley Park, and Maulik Pancholy add to the comic hysteria at various stages in bringing in their own perspective to this scenario.

Comedy is such a rare commodity these days and we are in such desperate need to laugh during these hard times. Grand Horizons hits the funny bone and is a welcome start to the New Year.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 29, 2020
Reviewed at January 28, 2020 press performance.

‘GRAND HORIZONS’: Ben McKenzie & James Cromwell. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘GRAND HORIZONS’: Priscilla Lopez & Jane Alexander. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘GRAND HORIZONS’: Ashley Park & Ben McKenzie. Photo:Joan Marcus

‘GRAND HORIZONS’: Michael Urie. Photo: Joan Marcus.

“GRAND HORIZONS’: James Cromwell. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘GRAND HORIZONS’: Jane Alexander. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘GRAND HORIZONS’: Michael Urie & Maulik Pancholy. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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