‘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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‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Christopher Livingston & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

BIRTHDAY CANDLES
Written by Noah Haidle
Directed by Vivienne Benesch
Through May 29, 2022
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street

(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

Birthday Candles has so much going on and simultaneously not much is happening. We first get to see Ernestine Ashworth (Debra Messing) at the age of 17 making her first birthday cake as per her mother’s instructions, where the ingredients—floor, sugar, butter and salt—are of the utmost importance, and continues to bake them for the next 90 years of her life. This lengthy time span all takes place in 90 minutes.

At 17, Ernestine is pursued by the nerdy Kenneth (Enrico Colantoni) whose wish is to take her to the prom, but instead she goes to the prom and eventually marries the slick Matt (John Earl Jelks). They have a son Billy (Brandon J. Pierce) and a daughter, Madeline (Susannah Flood) and thus the begetting unfolds where grandchildren and great grandchildren come into the scene.

After 35 years of marriage, infidelity creeps into their marriage and Ernestine separates from Matt. Ultimately, Ernestine does find the true love of her life. I don’t want to give more plot information, but Ernestine gets to live beyond her 100^th birthday.

All the action takes place in the same kitchen throughout the years: the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, life and death. Ernestine not only lives a full life but ultimately a fulfilling life with hazards along the way. Things that I would say we all go through in some form or another throughout our lives.

Mr. Haidle has written this lovely piece about a person’s life that in good times life breezes past in an instant and in bad times, it can seem interminable. The intentions here are great, but in the theatre, scenes need to be fleshed out to make sense and not just jump from scene to scene at the sound of a bell. The problem here is the life that is talked about is just skimmed through and not fully realized. So much can happen in a lifetime but upon looking back, one’s life seems to have occurred in a flash. Life can go so fast.

Ms. Messing is a delight from start to finish. It is not easy to go from 17 to 107 and never leaving the stage to make any changes in her appearance. Her changes are made through her hairstyle, posture and voice. She does command the stage throughout.

Enrico Colantoni is excellent and heartbreaking as the ardent pursuer from the nerdy annoying teen to the patient, lovable old man.

As an older person, I can appreciate the fact of the speed of time, and how fast the decades fly; if only Mr. Haidle or any of us can find a way to make the good times in life move slower and last longer and be more meaningful.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 14, 2022
Reviewed at April 13, 2022 press performance.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: (left to right) Christopher Livingston, Debra Messing, Crystal Finn, John Earl Jelks & Susannah Flood. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: John Earl Jelks & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Susannah Flood & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Debra Messing, Christopher Livingston & Susannah Floood. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Enrico Colantoni & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Susannah Flood & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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