Introduction to Four Shows on The Great White Way
Liberation, Reunions, Romy & Michele, Six
By: Victor Cordell - Nov 14, 2025
As an attendee of the American Theatre Critics Association Conference in New York City, I would like to thank the producers of all of the shows that generously provided press tickets to our members. Along with my wife and editor, Karin, I was able to see the four noted below, for which I am separately publishing individual reviews.
Although I had no overarching thought in mind when selecting shows to see, a powerful theme emerged, the notion of revisiting the past, and specifically of reunion. The very title of one show is Reunions, a New York premiere of a musical that ties together two turn-of-the-century (20th, that is) narratives, each about two people who find one another by accident after the passage of years. Another recent opening centers on a tenth-year high school reunion, Romy & Michele: The Musical. Next is the fantasy musical, Six: The Musical, in which the deceased six wives of Henry VIII get together and compete to find who suffered the most. And finally, in Liberation, a contemporary woman tries to understand her deceased mother better by meeting with her associates from a consciousness raising (read feminism) group from the early ‘70s.
The other unintended theme across the four selections is womanhood and different aspects of women’s rights. In Six, all performers, actors and musicians, are female, while the cast of eight in Liberation has only one token, part-time male. Romy & Michele focuses on the enduring friendship of two girlfriends and their clashes with the popular girls from their high school. And while Reunions is about couples, its emphasis concerns the agency of women at a time when men domineered.
Two incidents made Liberation special. First, our conference was fortunate to have a panel discussion comprised of the show’s brilliant playwright Bess Wohl, director Whitney White, lead actor Susannah Flood, and key actors Betsy Aidem and Kristolyn Lloyd. Their insights were informative and entertaining, and Karin and I were fortunate to see the play that very night. I’ll add that we had similar arrangements at past conferences with The Band’s Visit and Kimberly Akimbo: The Musical, which offered like experiences. You might expect that I would have a positive bias in reviewing Liberation because of personal contact with creatives and performers. I will note however that in the closing session of the conference, when attendees were asked what they liked the most and what they would like to see more of, Liberation led the way both for the panel discussion and for the play.
The other anecdote involves the actor Susannah Flood who portrays the character Lizzie, who often speaks of her dead mother. Susannah’s quite alive real mother was in the front row at our performance, and we knew in advance that this was the very first time that she’d seen her daughter on Broadway.
I’d like to express gratitude to Adrian Bryan-Brown, public relations manager, and Joan Marcus, still photographer, for Six: The Musical, who comprised a discussion panel at the ATCA Conference. Finally, and unplanned, Karin and I conversed for over an hour with Jeffrey Scharf, the creator and writer of Reunions, which was also illuminating.