Cole Escola's Oh, Mary!, regularly one of Broadway's top-grossing plays since it began performances at the Lyceum Theatre June 26, has officially recouped its production costs on Broadway, and is the first show of the 2024-2025 Broadway season to do so. The show was capitalized at $4,525,000.
The show has been breaking records since its run began. The production is the first in the Lyceum's history to join The $1 Million Club in a single week, and has since broken even that record nine more times. The twice-extended run is currently set to continue through January 19, 2025.
Written by and starring Escola, Oh, Mary! centers on famous First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. In Escola's demented take (or as press notes put it, "through the lens of an idiot"), Mary Todd becomes a madcap, cabaret-obsessed alcoholic.
The piece premiered at Off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre earlier this year in a run that was extended three times. The production earned two 2024 Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding New American Play and Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway play, both for Escola. The show also won the 2024 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Play.
The full Off-Broadway cast is back for the Broadway run, including Escola as Mary Todd Lincoln, Conrad Ricamora as Mary's Husband, James Scully as Mary's Teacher, Bianca Leigh as Mary's Chaperone, and Tony Macht as Mary's Husband's Assistant. Rounding out the company are understudies Martin Landry, Hannah Solow, and Peter Smith.
READ: Camp and the Art of Being Cole Escola
Escola's screenwriting credits include At Home With Amy Sedaris and The Other Two, and they've appeared as an actor in Difficult People, Mozart in the Jungle, At Home With Amy Sedaris, and Big Mouth, among others. They released a comedy special on YouTube titled Help! I'm Stuck With Cole Escola in 2021, and an homage to '70s westerns Our Home Out West in November.
Sam Pinkleton is directing the Broadway run after staging the Off-Broadway premiere. His full creative team is back as well, including scenic designer dots, costume designer Holly Pierson, lighting designer Cha See, composer and co-sound designer Daniel Kluger, co-sound designer Drew Levy, wig designer Leah J. Loukas, and music arranger David Dabbon. Casting is by Henry Russell Bergstein. Bryan Bauer and Ryan Patrick Kane are production stage manager and assistant stage manager, respectively.
Visit OhMaryPlay.com.
