Have you ever seen a play that, after you left it, you thought: "I need to see it again?” Well, that's how I felt about Liberation by Bess Wohl after I saw it Off-Broadway earlier this year. I left the play, about feminists of the 1970s, buzzing, my notebook containing two pages’ worth of quotes. My personal favorite, and the one I'd been coming back to again and again: "A woman speaking uninterrupted is a radical act." I need that on a t-shirt.

So when it was announced that Liberation was moving to Broadway to the James Earl Jones Theatre, I was ecstatic. I get to see the show again, and spend more time with its multifaceted, funny, smart women. As someone who loves thought-provoking and emotional playwriting, that's my idea of a good time. But you may be asking yourself: What is Liberation and is it for me? Well, below are reasons why you might want to see Liberation, which will no doubt be one of the best Broadway plays of the 2025–2026 season. Plus, scroll down to the end for a special ticket deal for Liberation.

1. It's a Moving Story About Mothers and Daughters

Liberation opens with a character named Lizzie, who tells that audience that in the 1970s, her mother was a proud feminist, an ambitious journalist who didn't believe in the institution of marriage and who led weekly meetups with other feminists in Ohio. But then, her mother seemingly turned a 180, getting married, moving to New York with her husband, and seemingly putting aside her own aspirations in her journey towards motherhood. This leads her daughter to ask decades later: What happened? And, for women more broadly: “Why are we still so fucked?"

Lizzie's mother has died so she can't answer those questions for her daughter, but her daughter has tracked down the women in her mom's old "consciousness raising" groups to ask them those questions. So Liberation does two things at the same time: It dramatizes what those second wave feminists were discussing, and what challenges they were facing at home and at work. But it also is about a daughter trying to understand her deceased mom. The fact that playwright Bess Wohl can tell both of those stories simultaneously, not lose the audience, and still create an emotional wallop of a play....well that's a big reason why New York Magazine said: "Liberation Is the Best Play I've Seen This Season." I concur.

2. The Ensemble Cast

The cast of Liberation is so good that it is hard to pick a standout performance. I can wax poetic about the brilliant Susannah Flood, who smoothly inhabits both Lizzie and her mother (many times in the same scene). But then there's also Tony nominee Betsy Aidem as put-upon housewife Margie, Kristolyn Lloyd as the whipsmart Celeste, Irene Sofia Lucio as Italian immigrant Isidora, Adina Verson as the free-spirited Susan, and so many more. There's a reason why the eight-member cast won ensemble awards at both the Drama Desk and New York Critics Circle. Every single actor in the show plays such a complex and memorable character that you want to spend more time with each of them. If you were in a discussion group, these are the people you'd want to be in it.

And after you see Liberation, you will have a hard time choosing a favorite character—a credit to each of the actors, who makes a meal whenever they're on the stage.

3. It's the Catharsis We Need Right Now

We're living in dark times. Rights for women, the trans community, immigrants, and so many others have been rolled back. There's such political division that the thought of common ground and conversation seems antiquated and impossible. In the midst of all that, you might be thinking: Why should I see a play about feminism? I want an escape from politics! Well, Liberation will actually make you feel better about what's going on right in the world. The show is clear about its feminist leanings, but it is not didactic. Instead, it focuses on women who know what their values are and want to live by them, but life makes it hard to be perfect feminists.

Yet despite their frustrations, these women find comfort in talking together, even when they don't always agree. Liberation is the perfect show to watch in a theatre, because it shows us the value of human interaction and how important it is, when life seems chaotic, to find a community. That's a crucial reminder at a time like this—when it's easy to feel alone, change is still possible if we work at it together as a collective.

4. It's a Play For People Who Love Plays

If you're a fan of well-constructed, modern theatrical dramas, then you cannot miss Liberation. Plays about complicated parent-children dynamics have been the bread-and-butter of the American theatre since at least The Glass Menagerie. And Liberation delivers similarly gut-punching interpersonal moments.

At the same time, Broadway plays last season brilliantly balanced human pathos with wider political resonances (from Eureka Day to John Proctor is the Villain to Purpose). Liberation is a welcome, inventive continuation of that trend; it'll make you think and feel at the same time.

5. It Will Make You Want to Talk to Your Own Mother

After I saw Liberation earlier this year, I walked out of the theatre thinking: I need to go talk to mom. How many of us are only see our parents as authority figures, and not as individuals and humans? Liberation is about one daughter's journey to rediscover her mother. But the play also makes clear that parents lived a whole life before their children came into the picture. And perhaps the way to understand, even forgive, is to learn their stories and truly know them before it's too late. 

Liberation begins performances October 8, with opening night set for October 28. It will run until January 11, 2026. On Monday, September 22, Liberation will hold a special 24-hour flash sale online and in-person at the James Earl Jones Theatre, where tickets for the mezzanine will start at $70 while orchestra will start at $79. And the first 125 people at the box office will receive tickets for $19.70. The James Earl Jones Theatre is located at 138 W 48th St, and the box office opens at 10 AM.

Click here to purchase tickets.

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Photos: Liberation on Broadway

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