Following a lauded world premiere earlier this year produced Off-Broadway by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Bess Wohl’s “Liberation” will make the leap to Broadway this fall for a 14-week limited run, with previews beginning Oct. 8 at the James Earl Jones Theatre.
Directed by Whitney White (“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”), “Liberation” is a time-jumping ensemble piece set in 1970s Ohio, where a group of women set on changing the world gather for a weekly consciousness-raising group in the basement of their local Y. The narrative also follows a present-day woman exploring her mother’s feminist past.
The Off-Broadway production won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble, and a New York Drama Critics Circle citation for Best Ensemble Performance. Wohl’s prior plays include “Grand Horizons,” “Small Mouth Sounds,” and “Camp Siegfried.”
‘Hamilton’ launches citywide scavenger hunt
Hamilfans, get ready to take your shot. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of “Hamilton” on Broadway, the hit musical has launched a citywide scavenger hunt in partnership with NYC Tourism + Conventions. Running from August 4 through August 24, the contest invites fans to explore 12 iconic New York City locations tied to the show’s themes, history, and cultural impact. Participants must download the HamApp, uncover location clues (released via the app and @HamiltonMusical social channels), and post photos from at least three different sites using the #HamiltenNYC hashtag and the app’s special photo filters. Three winners will receive a pair of tickets to see “Hamilton.”
Metropolitan Opera to Bring Back Free Summer Screenings
The Metropolitan Opera’s Summer HD Festival will return to Lincoln Center Plaza from August 22 to September 1, offering 11 nights of free outdoor screenings on the façade of the opera house. Highlights from the Met’s 2024–25 Live in HD season include Verdi’s “Aida,” Strauss’s “Salome,” Puccini’s “Tosca,” and Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” The festival kicks off with a special screening of Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” the Leonard Bernstein biopic, co-presented with Film at Lincoln Center and Netflix. Contemporary offerings include Jeanine Tesori’s “Grounded” and Daniel Catán’s “Florencia en el Amazonas.” More than 2,500 seats will be available each night on a first-come, first-served basis. Full schedule at metopera.org/hdfestival.
‘Pygmalion’ Returns in Off-Broadway Revival
Gingold Theatrical Group will mark its 20th anniversary with a new revival of George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” directed and adapted by David Staller, beginning October 22 at Theatre Row. Best known as the source material for the classic musical “My Fair Lady,” “Pygmalion” remains one of Shaw’s most enduring and incisive works, and a provocative satire of class, power, and identity. The new staging takes visual inspiration from the iconic line drawings of Al Hirschfeld, who was both a lifelong Shaw admirer and closely associated with “My Fair Lady,” having immortalized its stars, Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, in his unmistakable style. The Gingold production seeks to channel Hirschfeld’s theatrical whimsy while re-centering Shaw’s satirical voice. Gingold Theatrical Group, which is dedicated to the works and ideals of Shaw, has presented all of Shaw’s plays through its Project Shaw reading series and has produced a full-scale Off-Broadway revival each season in recent years.
