Bess Wohl (USA)
Authors / Theater
is an award-winning American playwright, screenwriter, and director. Her play LIBERATION premiered at Roundabout Theatre Company in New York in 2025 before transferring to Broadway. In 2026, it received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play.
Her Broadway debut, GRAND HORIZONS, was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 2020. Wohl’s plays have been produced at numerous theatres across the United States and internationally and have received honors including the Sam Norkin Special Drama Desk Award and the Georgia Engel Playwriting Award.
In 2027, Wohl returns to Broadway with SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS, directed by Joe Mantello and starring Julia Roberts, Paul Rudd, Sarah Paulson, Greta Lee, Martin Freeman, and Isaac Powell.
In addition to her work for the stage, Bess Wohl writes for film and television. Her directorial debut, BABY RUBY, starring Noémie Merlant and Kit Harington, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022.
Her plays include LIBERATION, CAMP SIEGFRIED, GRAND HORIZONS, SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS, CONTINUITY, AMERICAN HERO, and MAKE BELIEVE.
Works
LIBERATION
2025
Premiere: Roundabout Theatre Company, New York City
German premiere: December 2022, Komödie am Kurfürstendamm at the Schillertheater, Berlin
with Franziska Walser and Edgar Selge, among others.
Directed by: Titus Selge
“A … very successful production, well cast throughout … that also has a lot going for it in terms of theatrical technique.” – Patrick Wildermann, Der Tagesspiegel
GRAND HORIZONS
2019
Premiere: New York City
German premiere: December 2022, Komödie am Kurfürstendamm at the Schillertheater, Berlin
with Franziska Walser and Edgar Selge, among others.
Directed by: Titus Selge
“A … very successful production, well cast throughout … that also has a lot going for it in terms of theatrical technique.” – Patrick Wildermann, Der Tagesspiegel
SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS
2015
Premiere: New York City
In the silence of the woods, six city slickers meet at a silent retreat. As these strangers confront their own problems, both profound and absurd, their vows of silence collide with the painfully human need for contact.
Bess Wohl’s beguiling and insightful play is full of awkward and charming humor. It brilliantly captures the unique eloquence of a silent retreat, asking how we address life’s biggest questions when words fail us.
“Leaves you moved, refreshed and, yes, maybe even enlightened.” — New York Times (Critic’s Pick)