2026 Pulitzer Prize winner 'Liberation' wins Tony Award for best play

Bess Wohl’s “Liberation,” a drama about the 1970s women’s liberation movement, won the 2026 Tony Award for Best Play, adding to its Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play explores shifting timelines to reflect what has endured—and what has been lost—in the struggle for gender equality.

REUTERS

8 June 2026 at 01:37:20

2026 Pulitzer Prize winner 'Liberation' wins Tony Award for best play

Bess Wohl and team accept the Best Play award for Liberation during the 79th Annual Tony Awards in New York City, U.S., June 7, 2026.

Brendan Mcdermid / Reuters

NEW YORK — Bess Wohl’s “Liberation,” a drama examining the legacy of the 1970s women’s liberation movement, won the Tony Award for Best Play on Sunday, adding to its 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The play follows a group of women who form a consciousness-raising circle in Ohio, alongside a parallel storyline involving a daughter who later revisits the unfinished ideals and tensions of their movement decades later.

Moving between past and present, “Liberation” explores what has endured — and what has been lost — in the ongoing struggle for gender equality. The production was widely regarded as a leading contender throughout the awards season following strong reviews and multiple nominations.

The recognition at the Tony Awards cements the play’s status as one of the most acclaimed works of the year in American theater.

-Reporting by Kathryn Lurie; Editing by Howard Goller/Reuters