Bess Wohl’s Liberation won the 2026 Tony Award for Best Play, marking the first victory by an American woman in the category in nearly four decades and establishing Wohl as only the second woman overall to claim the honor.
Quick Facts
- Last American woman to win Best Play was Wendy Wasserstein in 1989 for The Heidi Chronicles
- Liberation also won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama last month
- The play was nominated for five Tony Awards total at the 79th ceremony
- The play centers on a feminist consciousness-raising group in Ohio during the 1970s
The play, directed by Whitney White, explores a consciousness-raising group formed in 1970 and follows a narrator describing her mother’s role in creating the group while inserting herself into the imagined setting. Wohl has said the plot was partly inspired by her mother, Lisa Cronin Wohl, who worked for Gloria Steinem’s Ms. Magazine.
In her acceptance speech, Wohl thanked her mother and daughters, saying she wanted to honor women everywhere who have the courage to use their voice. The play ran on Broadway from October through February and was well-reviewed, though it did not pull in large audience numbers before winning the Pulitzer Prize and announcing a 2027 London run.
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Liberation wins Tony Award for Best Play, historic win for Bess Wohl
Liberation beat out other contenders including Giant, a play about author Roald Dahl and antisemitism that won the 2025 Olivier Award for best play during its London run, and Little Bear Ridge Road, about an estranged aunt and nephew reconnecting. The play was nominated alongside Death of a Salesman and other major Broadway productions in a competitive year for drama at the Tonys.
Wohl is the first woman to win the Tony Award for best play since 2009, when French playwright Yasmina Reza took home the award for God of Carnage. The win represents a significant milestone for American female playwrights on Broadway, coming on the heels of the play’s Pulitzer recognition.
Sources
- The Hollywood Reporter — reported the win, historic context for American women playwrights, and Wohl’s acceptance speech
- Broadway.com — confirmed the 2026 Tony Award for Best Play
- Los Angeles Times — reported the award and Pulitzer Prize context
- BroadwayWorld — confirmed the Best Play win
- The New York Times — reported live Tony Awards updates confirming the win
