Cole Escola To Leave Broadway Smash ‘Oh, Mary!’ But Show Will Go On With Betty Gilpin
Oh, Mary! without Cole Escola? As it turns out, yes. The Broadway hit comedy, which recently became the first production of the season to recoup its production cost, will have a new Mary Todd Lincoln beginning January 21 when Glow actor Betty Gilpin will take over the role for a limited 8-week engagement.
Gilpin’s engagement runs from Tuesday, January 21, 2025, through Sunday, March 16, 2025. Interestingly, Oh, Mary! also announced today that a new block of tickets for the play are on sale through Saturday, June 28, 2025. So who will play Mary from late March through June? Stay tuned.
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While no mention was made in today’s announcement of Escola’s plans, in previous interviews they have expressed interest in writing new work that they would not necessary act in. That said, with a recent Tony eligibility ruling that Escola, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronounces, would be eligible in the Best Leading Actor/Play category were they to be nominated – a gendered category choice typically made by the performer – the possibility of Escola returning for a pre-Tony run in the show is likely to prompt some theater speculation in the coming months.
Since it opened at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre last July, Oh, Mary! has become a bona fide Broadway phenomenon, a riotous comedy that sells out week after week (often with numerous celebrities in the audience), winning universal critical acclaim – particularly for writer-star Escola – and becoming the first and so far only show of the season to recoup its investment (Oh, Mary! was capitalized at $4.5M). The play routinely places in the upper ranks of the weekly Broadway grosses chart with its weekly box office usually topping $1M.
For the uninitiated, the synopsis: Oh, Mary!, directed by Sam Pinkleton, stars Escola as a miserable, suffocated Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, alongside 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. The play shows what the Lincoln story might have looked like had Mary been an alcoholic ex-cabaret performer who will stop at nothing for another chance in the limelight.
While the Broadway community has wondered whether Oh, Mary! could have a life beyond Escola, recent well-received performances by understudy Hannah Solow might have reassured producers that it could be done. Gilpin, who will star opposite Taylor Kitsch in the Netflix limited series American Primeval releasing globally in January, will be making her Broadway debut with Oh, Mary!, but has appeared Off Broadway in productions at the Atlantic Theater and Signature Theatre, among other stage works.
“I have worshiped at the altar of Cole for years,” Gilpin said in a statement, “but seeing their billion layered brilliance in Oh, Mary! was a new plane of demented genius I didn’t know was scientifically possible. 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 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.”
Said Escola, “I could not be more excited to see what Betty Gilpin does with the role of Mary. 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.”
Oh, Mary! is produced on Broadway by Kevin McCollum & Lucas McMahon and Mike Lavoie & Carlee Briglia with Bob Boyett, The Council, Jean Doumanian Productions, Nicole Eisenberg, Jay Marcus & George Strus, Irony Point, Richard Batchelder/Bradley Reynolds, Tyler Mount/Tommy Doyle, Nelson & Tao, Palomares & Rosenberg, and ShowTown Productions.
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