A Play for Mary
William McCleery
Oh, Mary!
by Cole Escola
Broadway Off-Broadway West End
Highlights
Awards & Recognition
Drama Critics Circle Drama League Award Pulitzer Prize Tony Award
Winner! Two 2025 Tony Awards, including Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play (Cole Escola) Finalist: 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Nominee: Five 2025 Tony Awards, including Best Play Winner! 2025 Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Play Winner! 2025 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Broadway Production Winner! 2025 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Special Citation Winner! 2024 John Gassner Award for Best New American Play
Synopsis
Mary Todd Lincoln is tired of Washington, DC.
The nation’s capital is so boring; she would much rather be onstage, where she belongs, starring in a cabaret.
And if she can’t do that, she might as well drink.
Or push her chaperone down the stairs.
Or drink.
The entire White House is fed up with Mary’s antics, most of all her bore of a husband, who can’t focus on anything except his silly Civil War.
To get her out of his hair, Abe hires a handsome, up-and-coming actor to give Mary acting lessons, hoping to keep her busy and out of trouble, but the distraction ends up working a little too well.
A riotous, campy, outrageous comedy that dares to ask: What won’t Mary Todd Lincoln do to be a star?
A 2025 Tony Award nominee for Best Play and a 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama, Cole Escola’s riotous comedy brings a fabulous First Lady into the light.
Press Reviews
"Oh, Mary! is not just funny: It is dizzyingly, breathtakingly funny, the kind of funny that ambushes your body into uncontained laughter… An instant classic."
— Time Out New York
"Oh, Mary! is hilarious and, underneath the mayhem, both structurally rock solid and sneakily moving."
— New York Magazine
Characters
| Character |
|---|
| Mary’S Husband (Abraham) |
| Mary’S Chaperone (Louise, Also Plays Bill) |
| Mary’S Husband’S Assistant (Simon, Also Plays Kyle) |
| Mary’S Teacher (John) |
| Mary Todd Lincoln |
Videos
Cole Escola on the hit Broadway farce Oh, Mary! – CBS Sunday Morning
Publication
Oh, Mary! is a comedy play written by Cole Escola and published by Dramatists Play Service .
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