Tony Nominee Susannah Flood Reveals Why She Was 'Never Afraid' of “Liberation”'s Nude Scene (Exclusive)

Dave QuinnTue, June 2, 2026 at 12:30 PM UTC

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Susannah Flood in 'Liberation' on Broadway
Credit: Little Fang -

Tony nominee Susannah Flood reveals why she was "never afraid" of Liberation's full-frontal nude scene

The actress tells PEOPLE a groundbreaking theater experience years earlier helped shape her approach to the Pulitzer Prize-winning play

Flood also opens up about motherhood, audience participation and the questions from Liberation she still can't answer months later

Susannah Flood knew exactly what she was signing up for when she joined Liberation.

The actress — a breakout on TV's Life & Beth and For the People, who earned her first Tony Award nomination for her leading role in the acclaimed Broadway play — says the production's much-discussed full-frontal nude scene never intimidated her, even though it was a non-negotiable part of the script.

"When you got the script for Liberation, it was like, 'Full nudity is required. It's not debatable,' " Flood, 43, tells PEOPLE. "They basically said, 'If you're not willing to do that, you cannot do the play. Sorry.' "

That might intimidate some artists. But rather than feeling nervous, Flood says she was excited by what the moment could accomplish for audiences.

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Susannah Flood at the 2026 Tony Awards 'Meet the Nominees' event on May 14, 2026
Credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty

She felt that way because she had been on the other side of a similar theatrical experience. "It's funny, a few years ago —like, 10, 12 years ago — I saw this Young Jean Lee piece called Untitled Feminist Show," she recalls. "And it was like seven or eight women totally naked for the entire play under fluorescent lighting the whole time."

At first, Flood says, she felt deeply uncomfortable as an audience member, "sweating" and wondering, "How am I as a viewer going to survive this?"

But a couple of minutes into the show, that feeling quickly faded. And instead, Flood was left with what she calls "one of the most exhilarating experiences I've ever had in a theater."

"I had the feeling of conquering my own inhibitions," she shares.

Betsy Aidem, Kristolyn Lloyd, Irene Sofia Lucio, Adina Verson, Audrey Corsa and Susannah Flood in 'Liberation' on Broadway
Credit: Little Fang

That memory stayed with her, and was one of the first things she thought about when she got the script for Liberation and saw that full nudity would be required.

"Maybe this is disappointing to hear, but I was never afraid," Flood says. "I was like, 'Well, I remember how thrilling it is to get over it as an audience member. And we're going to do that; they're going to be having that transformation.' So I was almost excited to create that experience for other people, because I knew how profound it could be.' "

While Flood makes the challenge sound simple in retrospect, what she accomplished in Liberation was anything but.

Susannah Flood takes her bow on opening night of 'Liberation' on Broadway in October 2025
Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty

Written by Bess Wohl, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play — which wrapped up its nearly four-month run at the James Earl Jones Theatre in February 2026 — followed a woman named Lizzie who steps into her mother's memories and revisits the feminist consciousness-raising movement of the 1970s, searching the past for answers about freedom, identity and womanhood.

As Lizzie, Flood anchored the ensemble drama, serving as both participant in the story and guide for the audience. She would often move between the narrative's past and present, breaking the fourth wall to wrestle in real time with the questions at the heart of the play.

It was an extraordinarily difficult line to walk on paper, but one that Flood brought to life effortlessly through the warmth, vulnerability and authenticity she brought to the role. Her ability to make every moment feel startlingly personal invited audiences to process the play's themes alongside her, creating an intimacy that transformed each performance into a genuine conversation rather than a traditional night at the theater.

That connection was aided by one of the production's most unusual rules: audience members surrendered their phones at the start of the performance and couldn't access them again until they left the theater.

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"You laugh, but I think that really did make a difference in the way people listened," Flood says. "This is a play about conversation; about what conversation can unlock for us. And you had to give up your cell phone, right from the beginning. So it was a unique opportunity to actually talk to people."

"I know this sounds crazy, but I wish every show did that," Flood says. "Because I don't think I've ever performed for audiences this engaged before."

Susannah Flood attends opening night of 'Liberation' on Broadway in October 2025
Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty

The other benefit of the conversation in Wohl's play was that it rarely led to easy answers — and that was precisely the point.

"I would stand up there and speak with the audience every night; like, really have discussions with them. And it was important to me to honor what people were saying, night to night," Flood recalls. "It was being coined in real time. And the questions that the play is asking — I mean, I knew eventually what I was going to say next, but I didn't have answers to those questions."

In fact, Flood still doesn't have answers, months after Liberation's performances ended.

"These are the questions that, whether I'm doing the show or not, I'm still waking up with in the morning," Flood says. "So that confusion you saw on stage? That is my personal confusion. And I guess the journey of the show is learning to really be okay with the possibility of humiliation, with being seen and with not knowing what you're doing."

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For Flood, those questions became even more complicated because she was exploring them while raising a young child of her own.

The actress is mom to a 3½-year-old son Abel, and during Liberation's run, she often found herself stepping off the stage after a performance only to return to the equally demanding role of parent. "With someone who's like, 'Come down on my wavelength and meet me here,' " she says with a laugh. "And you're like, 'When do I get to be on my own wavelength?' "

Susannah Flood and Betsy Aidem in 'Liberation' on Broadway
Credit: Little Fang

Yet Flood says motherhood also gave her a deeper understanding of one of the play's most emotional moments.

Asked about a pivotal scene she shared with costar Betsy Aidem — whose performance also earned her a 2026 Tony Award nomination — Flood says the sequence felt like a rare opportunity to experience something she no longer gets in her everyday life.

"I have kids. I never get to feel parented anymore. I'm always the person doing the parenting," she says. "So the idea that someone would be like, 'Let me give you a hug' — that could bring tears to my eyes right now. It's like, 'Help me. Help me. Please take care of me!' "

Fortunately, Flood says she found exactly that kind of support from Aidem each night onstage. "Betsy is an incredible, beautiful actress," she says. "We were a team, and I knew she was going to do that for me. So it was really just feeling somebody's arms around me."

Liberation is nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Play. The play recently announced a London production in 2027, with further stagings across the United States — including the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, Berkeley Rep in Berkeley, Calif. and the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. — coming in 2026-27.

That recognition is still hard to process for Flood. "The idea that it has lingered for people, and that people are still unpacking the experience," she says. "It's a privilege."

The 2026 Tony Awards will take place at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 7. The show will be broadcast live to both coasts on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, and will stream on Paramount+.

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