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“Oh, Mary!” Finds Magic in a Comedic Bottle Brilliantly

Conrad Ricamora and Cole Escola in “Oh, Mary!” Photo by Emilio Madrid.

The Off-Broadway Theatre Review: Oh, Mary!

By Ross

Billed as “The Greatest Play of the Generation!“, I walked into the off-Broadway production of Oh, Mary! with high hopes. Not actually because of what the flyer stated, quite brazenly, but from all the word of mouth from my friends that this was the funniest play of the year, and I just had to get myself to the small, quaint Lucille Lortel Theatre to see it before it closed. Little did I know that I had nothing to worry about, as this play, overflowing with off-Broadway award nominations, is getting itself a short, limited (we shall see) Broadway run. And I couldn’t be happier about this news, now that I’ve seen it.

Cole Escola and James Scully in “Oh, Mary!” Photo by Emilio Madrid.

This new completely original and ingeniously funny play, written by and starring Cole Escola (“Please Baby Please“; HBO’s “Search Party”), turns out to be as hilarious and sharp as everyone was saying. Captivatingly fast and furious, Oh, Mary! flies itself forward from the moment those old-fashioned curtains open up, revealing Mary’s Husband, Abe Lincoln, played manic and clever by Conrad Ricamora (Broadway’s Here Lies Love), frantic and furious in his Presidential office. He’s concerned about the war with the South (and there’s a great repeated joke in there that I won’t spoil), but at this particular moment, he is far more desperate to find the liquor this wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, played to the heavens by Escola, has stashed somewhere in this room.

“It’s my wife!” No one is safe when my wife has access to liquor!“, Mary’s Husband shouts to Mary’s Husband’s Assistant, played deliciously straight by Tony Macht (Teatro Latea’s Soiré at Walter Benjamin’s). It’s an exceedingly wicked opening, that tells you everything and nothing about what will fly forward into our happy laps over the next 80 minutes. Everything is about Mary, centered around Mary, and focused on Mary, right down to the program listing where everyone is an extension of Mary. And we can’t get enough of Escola’s Mary, dressed in a big hooped skirt, designed magnificently by Holly Pierson (Tru TV’s “At Home with Amy Sedaris“), running wild in that office. The woman is viciously selfish and impulsively impossible; a former cabaret ‘star’ and alcoholic of the highest of orders. And we are completely taken in.

Walking into the theatre, I really had no previous knowledge of the playwright and comedian, Escola, who masterfully has written a comedy that feels so wild and unhinged, but is also sharp, wickedly entertaining, and on track. Directed by Sam Pinkleton (The Shed’s Here We Are), the piece would not, nor could not, work as well as it does if it was as loose and madcap as it portrays itself. The comedy is on point, and exacting, even when it feels messy and frivolous. That’s the charm and brilliance in Mary, that “foul and hateful wife” of Abe. And after seeing it twice, the clarity of vision and expert tackling of this very funny set-up is not to be denied.

Cole Escola and Bianca Leigh in “Oh, Mary!” Photo by Emilio Madrid.

Blessed with the perfect level of cheapness and the ridiculous, thanks to scenic designer dots (Broadway’s Enemy of the People), exacting lighting by Cha See (Audible’s Lucy), and melodic sound design by Daniel Kluger & Drew Levy (Broadway’s Oklahoma!), Escola and crew enliven that space with specificity and preciseness. The cast continually outdoes itself, flinging themselves into the pot with glee, especially both Mary’s Chaperone, played wonderfully by Bianca Leigh (“Busted”), and Mary’s Teacher, handsomely portrayed by James Scully (Hulu’s “Fire Island“). Scully is delicious in his duality and desperation, and Ricamora is delightfully compromised and gruffly distracted by a war, his wife, and his carnal desires. With Macht, as Mary’s Husband’s Assistant helping that fire get fed every moment he can. It really is perfection, as we sit back and watch the farce and silliness rage forward, with sharp twists and turns that keep you guessing, and giggling to the very last note delivered.

“The last time this happened she scaled a clock tower, derailed a freight train, and pissed all over the Senate floor.” The backstory of Mary and her husband’s plan of keeping her from causing more trouble is as devilish as it is smart, playing and teasing us with ideas that keep swinging and flinging themselves around the stage, until the double shock of an ending that leaves the crowd laughing and gasping for air. I’m not going to ruin a thing by telling you any of the things that Escola has in store, but I’m excited to see how well it transfers to Broadway. It’s a shame the Booth Theatre wasn’t available, but the Lyceum Theatre will have to do. I can’t see how this could fail, unless Mary finds that bottle she’s looking for and runs amuck. But I have the feeling Escola is far too wickedly smart and funny to let anything go wrong for their Broadway debut.

Off-Broadway’s Oh, Mary! will transfer to Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre for a 12-week limited run beginning June 26. The Broadway bow will officially open July 11, with performances continuing through September 15. Visit OhMaryPlay.com

27 comments

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  24. […] In the lead actor categories, Sunset Blvd‘s Nicole Scherzinger surprised the room by repeating her Olivier Award win by earning the Tony for Leading Actress in a Musical for her work as the legendary Norma Desmond. Sarah Snook also matched her Olivier Award win by taking home the Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Play by playing a total of 26 characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Cole Escola won to thunderous applause the Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for their performance as the alcoholic First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln in their play Oh, Mary! […]

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