Bowen Yang is the latest A-list star to suffocate at the (fictional) White House for Cole Escola’s ultra-successful play “Oh Mary!” He’s making his Broadway debut as former first lady Mary Todd Lincoln on Sept. 15 for a 12-week run through Dec. 6.
“My friendship with Cole has brought me many places over the years: late-night pizzerias, cross-borough social-distance walks, a tough production of ‘Les Misérables’ sung in Dutch,” said Yang. “But being part of their deranged and profound masterpiece, ‘Oh, Mary!’ is my favorite one by far. I will spend the rest of my life thanking them for the best Broadway debut a cis gay guy with limited singing ability could ask for.”
Directed by Sam Pinkleton, the hit comedy is set in the days before Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and imagines Mary Todd Lincoln as a deranged wannabe cabaret star. She’s a menace to basically everyone in her path as her husband is trying to end the Civil War.
Since Escola, who won a Tony for playing Mary, left the production, tons of famous faces have assumed the part including Jane Krakowski, Tituss Burgess, Betty Gilpin, Maya Rudolph and Meg Stalter. Stalter ends her run in the show on Sept. 12 with Hannah Solow set to play the role on Sept. 13. Other Hollywood stars, like Kumail Nanjiani and Simu Liu, have joined the company in various parts including Mary’s Husband and Mary’s Teacher.
Yang will join continuing cast members Phillip James Brannon (‘Mary’s Husband’), Barrett Foa (‘Mary’s Teacher’), Bianca Leigh (‘Mary’s Chaperone’), and returning original cast member Tony Macht (‘Mary’s Teacher’s Assistant’). Originally set for a limited run, “Oh Mary!” has been running at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre for nearly three years. The show is playing on London’s West End and scheduled to launch a North American tour this fall.