Broadway Reviews Theatre Review by James Wilson Liberation by Bess Wohl. Directed by Whitney White. Scenic design by David Zinn. Costume design by Qween Jean. Lighting design by Cha See. Sound design by Palmer Hefferan and Ben Truppin-Brown. Hair and wig design by Nikiya Mathis.
In interviews, Wohl has said that the play was inspired by her own mother, a 1970s feminist activist and writer who played a major role in a women's consciousness-raising group. Conversations with women actively involved in the movement, along with research into second-wave feminism, provide the historical frame, and Liberation offers an instructive portrait of the era. The play transcends mere fact-based documentary theatre and moves into the realm of an ingenious work of art through its acute humanity and joyous inventiveness. Subtitled, "A Memory Play about Things I Don't Remember," Liberation masterfully depicts the fraught relationships among women with differing visions of a feminist revolution, simultaneously showing how these ideals are embodied by an adult woman in our own time. Lizzie (Susannah Flood), the central character, assumes a complex role: she stands in for the writer, acts as the play's narrator and documentarian, and assumes the part of her mother, who launched the group meetings. Lizzie frequently breaks the fourth wall to comment on the proceedings yet also steps aside to observe the intimate and hypothetical details of her mother's relationship with her father, Bill (Charlie Thurston). Recalling recent works like Paula Vogel's Mother Play, Heidi Schreck's What the Constitution Means to Me, and Lisa Kron's Well, Wohl puts her own spin on a structure that creates a fascinating dramaturgical–to reference another genre-busting show–strange loop. The flashback scenes are set in the 1970s at a rec center's basketball court (so meticulously designed by David Zinn that you can practically smell the lingering musty odors of tube socks and tank tops) somewhere in Ohio. The assemblage includes a diverse range of women from varying age groups, economic statuses, and racial backgrounds. Margie (Betsy Aidem) is the oldest member, who identifies as a housewife and has come to the meeting to find respite from her retired husband. "I'm here," she confesses, "because I need things to get me out of the house so I don't stab him to death." She's only partially joking.
Dora (Audrey Corsa), initially the most naïve member, joined the group accidentally after mistaking the first meeting for a women's knitting circle. Though the discussions on external oppressions manifested inwardly serve as a catalyst for all the characters, Dora seems to experience the most profound development. The play's delineation of a women's collective (which Wendy Wasserstein satirized in The Heidi Chronicles)), offers a cogent microcosm of the fragile alliances forged during the era of second-wave feminism. The fractures within the movement that splintered across the fault lines of class, race, and sexual orientation are both subtly and explicitly stated. During one scene, for example, Susan wears a t-shirt emblazoned with a logo for the "Lavender Menace," an allusion to the pronounced homophobia in the movement. (Qween Jean's costumes and Nikiya Mathis's hair and wig design perfectly convey the period while Cha See's lighting and Palmer Hefferan and Ben Truppin Brown's sound design expertly provide the temporal transitions.) In another scene, Joanne (Kayla Davion), a mother of four perpetually hunting down her sons' forgotten backpacks, explains her dilemma: while she would entertain the idea of attending the meetings, they are held when women like her are preparing dinner for their families. She scoffs, "You make a women's group that women can't come to. See what I mean? And this is exactly–no disrespect–but this is exactly the kind of, the kind of liberal bullshit that drives me bananas." The play perceptively recounts the shifts in the movement, warts and all, yet it never comes across as preachy nor exploitative, even with the inclusion of a lengthy nude scene. (Audiences are required to secure their phones in Yondr pouches for the duration to protect the performers.) This sensitivity is a credit to Wohl's discerning ear for the language and temperament of the people and times. The play also benefits immensely from the brilliant direction of Whitney White. There is not a wrong note in the staging or in the casting. I am quite confident that Liberation will have a long life at regional theatre companies, but it seems to be in its perfect form (and it has weathered the move from its previous location two blocks south beautifully). I can't imagine, for instance, a more ingratiating, amusing, and heartbreaking Lizzie than Flood. The night I attended, she was completely attuned to the audience and incorporated their reactions into the performance. We were not just watching the play; we were welcomed into it. But hers isn't the only exceptional performance. Every cast member seems to have sprung fully formed from the playwright's imagination. This is one of those rare productions in which each performer has become so entwined with the character that all future iterations will most assuredly be a pale imitation. In truth, I look forward to testing my hypothesis.
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