Bess Wohl’s Liberation Wins the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The play earns Wohl her first Pulitzer, honoring a provocative story of women, legacy and liberation
(Photo by Sergio Villarini for Broadway.com)
What to Know
- Bess Wohl’s Liberation wins the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, marking her first Pulitzer and earning a $15,000 award after runs off-Broadway at Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre and on Broadway at the James Earl Jones Theatre
- The Pulitzer Prize for Drama honors distinguished plays by American authors; 2026 finalists include Bowl EP and Meet the Cartozians
- Liberation follows six women in 1970s Ohio seeking change and, decades later, a daughter examining their legacy—exploring themes of feminism, friendship and the meaning of liberation
The 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama has been awarded to Bess Wohl's Liberation, which made its world premiere off-Broadway at the Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre and later appeared on Broadway at the James Earl Jones Theatre. Liberation marks Wohl's first Pulitzer win. She will receive a prize of $15,000.
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is presented to a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life. The 2026 Pulitzer finalists are Nazareth Hassan's Bowl EP and Talene Monahon's Meet the Cartozians.
Bowl EP played the Vineyard Theatre off-Broadway last season. It follows Kelly K Klarkson and Quentavius da Quitter in pursuit of a name for their rap group. Through flirty interludes, cringey overshares and practicing their ollies, they grow increasingly closer. The play included live skateboarding and original music.
Meet the Cartozians was a part of Second Stage Theater's 2025-2026 off-Broadway season. The play is a story of culture and heritage, following two sets of Armenian Americans: one man fighting for legal recognition in the 1920s, while a century later, his descendant fights for followers and a competent glam team.
In Liberation, it's 1970 and somewhere in Ohio, six women meet on a basement basketball court, determined to shake up their lives and change the world. Fifty years later, one of their daughters tries to understand where things fell apart. The play is a provocative, wildly theatrical story that poses vital questions about friendship, legacy and the true meaning of liberation.
Wohl's other playwriting credits include American Hero, Pretty Filthy, Grand Horizons, Small Mouth Sounds, Camp Siegfried, Continuity and Make Believe.
Directed by Whitney White, Liberation starred Susannah Flood, Betsy Aidem, Audrey Corsa, Kayla Davion, Kristolyn Lloyd, Irene Sofia Lucio, Charlie Thurston and Adina Verson, who all reprised their roles in the Broadway production after the extended off-Broadway run. The limited Broadway engagement ended on February 1.
Watch an interview between Wohl and Broadway.com Managing Editor Beth Stevens for The Broadway Show below: