Broadway's Oh, Mary! is getting a new titular star. Glow star Betty Gilpin will succeed writer Cole Escola as Mary in the campy comedy at the Lyceum Theatre beginning January 21, 2025, part of a newly announced extension for the play. Gilpin will play a limited eight-week engagement in the work, performing through March 16.
The already-multi-extended run was most recently scheduled to end January 19. Producers have now put tickets on sale through June 28, 2025, no doubt setting their sights on this season's Tony Awards. Casting for after Gilpin's engagement has not yet been revealed.
Gilpin, soon to be seen in Netflix's American Primeval, is primarily a screen actor, but has previously appeared onstage in Atlantic Theater Company's I'm Gonna Pray for You so Hard and Signature Theatre's Heartless. Oh, Mary! will serve as her Broadway debut.
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“I have worshiped at the altar of Cole for years, but seeing their billion-layered brilliance in Oh, Mary! was a new plane of demented genius I didn’t know was scientifically possible,” says Gilpin in a statement. “I am beyond honored to step in so that Cole can get back to tending their neglected passions: fracking and skincare. Diving in with the perfect [director] Sam Pinkleton to play Mary will be one of the single greatest joys of my life, and I will say that to my two daughters’ faces.”
“I could not be more excited to see what Betty Gilpin does with the role of Mary,” adds Escola. “She's a brilliant comedic actress who understands the heart of this character and knows the serious business of being a fool. I promise, you won't want to miss Betty as Mary.”
READ: Camp and the Art of Being Cole Escola
The show officially opened on Broadawy at the Lyceum Theatre July 11 after beginning previews June 26. Read the reviews here.
Written by and (currently) 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 stayed with the project 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.
Sam Pinkleton directs the Broadway run after staging the Off-Broadway premiere. His creative team includes 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.
