Oh, Mary! (play)

Last updated
Oh, Mary!
OhMarryBwayPoster.jpg
Broadway Promotional Poster
Written by Cole Escola
Date premieredFebruary 8, 2024
Place premiered Lucille Lortel Theatre
Original language English
GenreComedy
Setting White House, Washington, D.C., 1865

Oh, Mary! is a comedic stage play written by American playwright Cole Escola. [1]

Contents

The show will open on Broadway on July 11, 2024, at the Lyceum Theatre, transferring from its Off-Broadway run at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. [2]

Synopsis

The show is a comedic spoof on the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, with Escola (who identifies as non-binary with they/them pronouns [3] ) portraying the lead character of Mary Todd Lincoln in drag. The show is set in the days leading up to the night of Lincoln's assassination while watching Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre. The show portrays Mary as someone who longs to live a life away from politics and be a vaudeville performer, while Lincoln uses her as a beard to hide his sexuality, and is often away from home dealing with the issues of the Civil War, leaving her alone in the White House. [4]

Production history

Off-Broadway (2024)

The play premiered Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on February 8, 2024, with previews beginning January 26, 2024. The show had a planned closing date of March 24, 2024, however due to high ticket sales and critical acclaim, the play extended twice, first from March 24 til May 2, 2024 and then until May 12, 2024. [5] The title is taken from the LGBT slang term of gay men being referred to as a Mary. [6]

Broadway (2024)

On April 24, 2024, it was announced the show would transfer to Broadway for a limited twelve week run at the Lyceum Theatre. The show is written by Cole Escola and directed by Sam Pinkleton, and will mark Escola's Broadway debut as a performer and playwright. Previews are expected to begin June 26, 2024 with a run scheduled from July 11, 2024, until September 15, 2024. [7] The show features original music by Daniel Kluger and arrangements by David Dabbon. Scenic design is by the design collective knowns as dots with costumes by Astor Yang and Holly Pierson. [8]

Original cast and characters

CharacterOff-Broadway
2024
Mary Todd Lincoln Cole Escola
Abraham Lincoln Conrad Ricamora
Louise, Mary's Chaperone Bianca Leigh
Simon, Abraham's AssistantTony Macht
John Wilkes Booth, Mary's Acting Coach James Scully

See also

Awards and nominations

2024 Off-Broadway production

YearAwardCategoryNomineeResultRef.
2024
Drama League Awards Outstanding Production of a PlayCole EscolaPending [9]
Outstanding Direction of a PlaySam PinkletonPending
Distinguished PerformanceCole EscolaPending
Conrad RicamoraPending
Off-Broadway Alliance AwardsBest New PlayWon [10]
Outer Critics Circle Awards John Gassner Award (new American play preferably by a new playwright)Cole EscolaWon [11]
Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway PlayCole EscolaWon
Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway PlayConrad RicamoraNominated
Drama Desk Awards Sam Norkin Off-Broadway AwardCole EscolaWon [12]
Outstanding Featured Performance in a PlayConrad RicamoraPending

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Vogel</span> American playwright

Paula Vogel is an American playwright. She is known for her provocative explorations of complex social and political issues. Much of her work delves into themes of psychological trauma, abuse, and the complexities of human relationships. She has received the Pulitzer Prize as well as nominations for two Tony Awards. In 2013 she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucille Lortel</span> American actress

Lucille Lortel was an American actress, artistic director, and theatrical producer. In the course of her career Lortel produced or co-produced nearly 500 plays, five of which were nominated for Tony Awards: As Is by William M. Hoffman, Angels Fall by Lanford Wilson, Blood Knot by Athol Fugard, Mbongeni Ngema's Sarafina!, and A Walk in the Woods by Lee Blessing. She also produced Marc Blitzstein's adaptation of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, a production which ran for seven years and according to The New York Times "caused such a sensation that it...put Off-Broadway on the map."

<i>The Lieutenant of Inishmore</i> Comedic stage play by Martin McDonagh

The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a black comedy by Martin McDonagh, in which the 'mad' leader of an Irish National Liberation Army splinter group discovers that his cat has been killed. It has been produced twice in the West End and on Broadway, where it received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. In 2014, The Lieutenant of Inishmore was ranked in The Daily Telegraph as one of the 15 greatest plays ever written.

Lonny Price is an American director, actor, and writer, primarily in theatre. He is best known for his New York directing work, including Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd, Company, and Sondheim! The Birthday Concert. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his creation of the role of Charley Kringas in the Broadway musical Merrily We Roll Along, Neil Kellerman in Dirty Dancing, and Ronnie Crawford in The Muppets Take Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Ripley</span> American actress (born 1963)

Alice Ripley is an American actress, singer, songwriter and mixed media artist. She is known, in particular, for her various roles on Broadway in musicals, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal and Side Show. She most recently played three roles in the short-lived Broadway musical, American Psycho. Alice Ripley has released albums with her band, RIPLEY, including the single, "Beautiful Eyes", released in February 2012. She also performs as a solo artist, while in February 2011 she released Alice Ripley Daily Practice, Volume 1, a stripped-down collection of acoustic rock covers.

Stephen Adly Guirgis is an American playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. He is a member and a former co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company. His plays have been produced both Off-Broadway and on Broadway, as well as in the UK. His play Between Riverside and Crazy won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Foundation, with additional support from the Theatre Development Fund.

Amy Herzog is an American playwright. She is known for her poignant and character-driven plays that explore themes of family dynamics, personal relationships, and the complexities of human experience. She has received a Drama Desk Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award.

<i>Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike</i> 2012 comedy play by Christopher Durang

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a comedy play written by Christopher Durang. The story revolves around the relationships of three middle-aged single siblings, two of whom live together, and takes place during a visit by the third, Masha, who supports them. They discuss their lives and loves, argue, and Masha threatens to sell the house. Some of the show's elements were derived from works of Anton Chekhov, including several character names and sibling relationships, the play's setting in a country house with a vestigial cherry orchard, the performance of an "avant-garde" play by one of the main characters, and the themes of old vs. new generations, real vs. assumed identities, the challenges of a woman growing older after successes in a career that seems to be ending, the hope and carelessness of youth, intrafamilial rivalries, and the possible loss of an ancestral home.

Conrad Wayne Ricamora-Jensen is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Oliver Hampton on the ABC television series How to Get Away with Murder (2014–20). As a stage actor, he is noted for his roles in the original Off-Broadway musicals Here Lies Love and Soft Power, which premiered in 2013 and 2019, respectively. He made his Broadway debut in the 2015 revival of The King and I.

<i>Far from Heaven</i> (musical) Musical

Far From Heaven is a 2013 musical with a book by Richard Greenberg, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie. The musical is adapted from Todd Haynes's 2002 film of the same name. The musical tells the story of Cathy Whitaker, a 1950s housewife, living in wealthy suburban Connecticut as she sees her seemingly perfect life begin to fall apart. The musical deals with complex contemporary issues such as race, gender roles, sexual orientation and class.

Michael Louis Chernus is an American actor. He has acted on film, television, and the stage. He is perhaps best known for his role as Cal Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019). Chernus played Phineas Mason / Tinkerer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: Homecoming, which was released on July 7, 2017.

Sam Gold is an American theater director and actor. Having studied at Cornell University and Juilliard School he became known for directing both musicals and plays, on Broadway and Off-Broadway. He has received the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical, a Tony nomination for Best Director of a Play, and nominations for four Drama Desk Awards.

Joshua Harmon is a New York City-based playwright, whose works include Bad Jews and Significant Other, both produced Off-Broadway by Roundabout Theatre Company.

Bad Jews is a dark comedy play by Joshua Harmon. After a beloved grandfather dies in New York, leaving a treasured piece of religious jewelry that he succeeded in hiding even from the Nazis during the Holocaust, cousins fight over not only the family heirloom, but their "religious faith, cultural assimilation, and even the validity of each other's romances."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cole Escola</span> American comedian, actor, and singer

Cole Escola is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known for his cabaret work and appearances on the television series Jeffery & Cole Casserole (2009–2010), Difficult People (2015–2017), At Home with Amy Sedaris (2017–2020), Search Party (2016–2022), and Big Mouth (2022–present).

Larry Owens is an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer. He received a Lucille Lortel Award and a Drama Desk Award for his leading performance in the off-Broadway musical A Strange Loop. He has acted on television shows including Search Party, High Maintenance, Modern Love and Abbott Elementary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L Morgan Lee</span> American musical theater actress

L Morgan Lee is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the 2022 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in A Strange Loop on Broadway, making history as the first openly transgender actor to be nominated for a Tony Award.

<i>Mary Jane</i> (play) Play written by Amy Herzog

Mary Jane is a two-act dramatic stage play written by American playwright Amy Herzog. The play had its World Premiere at Yale Repertory Theatre in 2017 and officially premiered on Broadway on April 23, 2024. The Broadway cast is led by Rachel McAdams in the titular role. The play won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play in 2018. The play is semi-autobiographical and based on Herzog's daughter Frances, who was born with nemaline myopathy and died at age 11 in 2023.

<i>Stereophonic</i> (play) Stage play written by David Adjmi

Stereophonic is a dramatic stage play with music, written by American playwright David Adjmi. Music written for the play was composed by Will Butler from the indie rock band Arcade Fire. The play follows a fictional rock band on the cusp of superstardom as they struggle through recording their new album set from 1976 to 1977. The production debuted at Playwrights Horizons off-Broadway in 2023 before transferring to Broadway at the John Golden Theatre in 2024.

References

  1. hollywoodreporter.com Oh Mary Play Will Transfer<accessed 04/27/2024
  2. "Oh, Mary!". www.iobdb.com.
  3. Jones, C. T. (February 6, 2024). "Cole Escola Is Revolutionizing Queer Comedy".
  4. Barone, Joshua (February 27, 2024). "Review: 'Oh, Mary!' Turns an Unhinged Bit Into Real Theater" via NYTimes.com.
  5. Rabinowitz, Chloe. "OH, MARY! Extended Off-Broadway Through Early May". BroadwayWorld.com.
  6. "15 Old-Timey Names for 'Gay'". www.advocate.com.
  7. McHenry, Jackson (February 8, 2024). "Oh, Mary! The Play Was Hilarious, Mrs. Lincoln". Vulture.
  8. "Additional Casting Announced For OH, MARY!". www.theatrely.com.
  9. "2024 Drama League Award Nominations announced". Theatermania. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  10. "Dead Outlaw and Oh, Mary Among Winners of 13th Annual Off-Broadway Alliance Awards". Playbill. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  11. "Dead Outlaw, Stereophonic Lead 2024 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations". Theatermania. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  12. "Drama Desk Award Nominations 2024". Theatermania. Retrieved April 23, 2024.