MickeyJoTheatre Podcast Episode Summary

Liberation (James Earl Jones Theatre, Broadway) – ★★★★★ REVIEW

Host: Mickey Jo (MickeyJoTheatre)
Date: December 7, 2025

Episode Overview

In this deeply insightful episode, theatre critic and content creator Mickey Jo delivers a comprehensive review of Liberation, the new Broadway transfer of Bess Wohl’s play at the James Earl Jones Theatre. Framed around themes of feminism, intergenerational dialogue, and the search for communal understanding, Mickey Jo explores not just the much-discussed nudity onstage but the heart and honesty of the play’s structure, writing, and performances. He praises Liberation as the standout production of his two-week New York theatre trip and calls it a vital piece of contemporary theatre.

Key Themes and Discussion Points

1. Moving Past the Sensationalism: The Role of Nudity (02:25–05:07)

• Mickey Jo opens with a self-deprecating joke, immediately noting, “What a wildly ignorant misunderstanding of the message of the play would it be for me to decide to [review it nude]” (02:25).
• The yondr pouches (locking up audience phones) are explained: initially tied to the surprise of the nude scene, but he stresses the play’s depth goes far beyond shock factor and should be discussed accordingly.
• “I really want the conversation around Liberation ... to move beyond the nudity of this moment. ... This is a very powerful scene of feminine community and connection” (03:23).

2. The Ingenious Framing Device (05:07–12:06)

• The play is introduced through a metatheatrical device: “we meet a character onstage who is a placeholder for [Bess Wohl], portrayed by Susannah Flood, who introduces herself as the playwright” (05:18).
• Mickey Jo unpacks how this framing gives the audience “the vantage point of its direction,” making clear from the first moment that the play is both a historical look at feminist movements and an ongoing conversation with today.
• He praises the play’s directness: “There are certain pieces of theatre where I think if I hadn’t read the director’s note… I would have taken something entirely different away from it. ... Liberation is able to, in such an easygoing premise, articulate its perspective on itself” (08:14).
• The structure reflects an “intergenerational conversation that can only happen through theatre… a Ouija board kind of a medium for her to feel connected to her mother, who has since passed away” (10:12).

3. Characters and Community: A Multi-Faceted Portrait (12:06–19:42)

• Each scene depicts meetings of a 1970s Ohio consciousness-raising group, anchored by Bess Wohl’s mother, Lizzie. The group is intentionally intersectional—“different races, different cultural backgrounds, different sexualities, different stances on different issues” (05:58).
• Mickey Jo highlights several members:
  • Margie: A lifelong housewife confronting her sacrifices and her lack of options (13:12).
  • Dora: A younger woman facing workplace misogyny—and navigating suggestions about “getting by on her looks” (13:54).
  • Lizzie (the mother): The reluctant leader—“trying to reconnect and understand the young, passionate woman her mother was” (14:47).
  • Joanne and Celeste: Both Black women, whose relationship reflects “a deliberate acknowledgment of the play’s own shortcomings... as well as a shortcoming of traditional feminist movements” (16:18).
  • Susan and Isadora: Round out the group, each with unique circumstances; Isadora is “the explosive catalyst for conversation” (18:46).
• The narrative acknowledges the limitations of any one person’s perspective and the playwright’s attempts to “address the limitations of your own understanding” (18:07).

4. Staging, Structure, and the Signature Scene (21:38–29:56)

• The structure is “reasonably straightforward”—the narrative “skips over certain chapters,” focusing instead on pivotal moments in the group’s development (21:41).
• A key device is the use of post-group interviews (now-elderly women reflecting on past events), indicated by changes in lighting and posture: “You gain an awful lot not just by hearing all the perspectives at the time, but by hearing what they think 50 years later” (22:43).
• The renowned nude scene: “They go around in a circle and all talk about a part of their own body, something they like and something they don’t... this beautiful conversation … gives way to profoundly honest reflections on life” (23:30).
  • Especially notable are the older woman’s reflections and a Black woman’s discussion of living within her body.
  • “It felt like a real privilege as an audience member to have had the opportunity to bear witness to that level of emotional honesty” (24:39).
• The direction by Whitney White is lauded for being “so expertly done, so laser focused,” and David Zinn’s set—a “high school gymnasium with locker-room realism”—receives special mention (25:51).
• The intimacy direction, period costumes (by Qween Jean), and wigs (by Nikiya Mathis) are praised for authenticity and character detail (26:32).

5. Performances: Ensemble Excellence (29:56–36:49)

• Susannah Flood as Lizzie/Bess: “...like someone who has taken a potion and gone back in time to live inside the body of their parent. Kind of Back to the Future style…” (30:09).
• Charlie Thurston as Bill: “He does good work in these moments of necessity... it’s important that men have some kind of a role and a voice in women’s stories” (30:47).
• Leanne Hutchison (u/s) as Isadora: “She is the fluorescent light bulb in the middle of the room” (31:35).
• Kedren Spencer (u/s) as Joanne: “Duality... is so fascinating, the subtle differences in what she plays” (32:09).
• Audrey Corser and Adina Verzon: Both deliver fully three-dimensional performances, “each with their own grievances, personalities … each has the capacity to surprise us” (32:54).
• CrystinLloyd as Celeste and Betsy Adam as Margie: The two standouts
  • CrystinLloyd: “She carries such attention... effervesces into this emotional outpouring, this confession of indecision… a staggeringly complex, heart-wrenching monologue about grief” (33:50).
  • Betsy Adam: “Perhaps the most sorrowful examination of women’s liberation arriving years too late... She has a monologue about listing her household responsibilities for her husband—the impossibility of all this for her in the rear view mirror” (34:44).
• The “theatrically magical metamorphosis” at the end: Margie plays Bess’s mother so Bess can ask her the impossible posthumous questions (35:42).
  • “The answers … are deeply honest and perhaps cathartic” (36:29).

6. Takeaways and Call for Support (36:49–end)

• Mickey Jo hopes “this play can foster intergenerational dialogue”—urging audiences to call their mothers and tell friends: “What I think this play is going to do once you get your phones back unlocked out of the yonder pouches is make you want to call your mother ... and three friends and tell them how great Liberation is on Broadway” (37:42).
• On marketability: “Feminism and, you know, women’s stories, stories labeled as such, are a hard thing to market and sell… But this is important. It’s an important story about humanity” (37:17).
• Final thoughts: “Smart, brilliant, theatrically exciting writing... honest and meaningful… triumphant” (37:56).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the framing device:
  “This is Bess the playwright, imagining her mother’s life as a feminist in the 1970s ... An intersectional group of women, different races, different cultural backgrounds, different sexualities...” (05:58)
• On honesty in theatre:
  “There are certain pieces of theatre where ... if I hadn’t read the director’s note or the playwright’s note beforehand, I would have taken something entirely different away from it. ... Liberation is able to ... articulate its perspective on itself” (08:14).
• On witnessing the pivotal nude scene:
  “It felt like a real privilege as an audience member to have had the opportunity to bear witness to that level of emotional honesty” (24:39).
• On Margie’s sorrow:
  “Perhaps the most sorrowful examination of women’s liberation arriving years too late... The impossibility of all of this for her in the rear view mirror” (34:44).
• On intergenerational connection:
  “What I think this play is going to do ... is make you want to call your mother. And once you have finished that phone conversation, call three friends and tell them how great Liberation is on Broadway” (37:42).

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:25] – Introduction, context of the play, and moving past discussions of nudity
• [05:07] – Introduction of the metatheatrical framing device
• [12:06] – Group dynamics and breakdown of main characters
• [21:38] – Staging, structure, and the significant nude scene
• [29:56] – Standout performances and ensemble dynamics
• [36:49] – Final reflections, broader significance, and call to action

Tone & Style

Mickey Jo’s review is witty, passionate, and thoughtful—blending scholarly theatre critique with accessible commentary. His tone is heartfelt, personal, and deeply invested in fostering dialogue, both about the play and within the wider cultural conversation on feminism and generational understanding.

Final Thoughts

This episode stands as both an impassioned call for more nuanced engagement with women’s stories onstage and as a celebratory endorsement of Liberation as a critical and emotional highlight of modern theatre. Mickey Jo urges listeners to support the play, reflect on their relationships with mothers and daughters, and participate in ongoing conversations about equality and progress.

Recommended for:

• Theatre fans interested in new writing and innovative staging
• Anyone curious about contemporary representations of feminism onstage
• Listeners seeking thoughtful, balanced reviews with a rich sense of context and community

Episode available on podcast platforms and MickeyJoTheatre’s YouTube.