Theater Review: 'Oh, Mary!' National Tour Debut at The Bushnell

“Oh, Mary!” is the new play by Cole Escola that delighted audiences when it ran on Broadway. Now after teching at the Bushnell Theatre in Hartford, the comedy is being performed on the Belding Stage.

The President and CEO of the venue, David R. Fay, writes that they are especially proud that The Bushnell served as the tech and launch point for the North American tour of “Oh, Mary!” “It has been a joy watching this company over the past two weeks as the new cast, crew and technical team rehearsed and locked in every technical element of the show here in the Belding Theater,” which is the smaller venue on the Bushnell campus.

Escola (they/them) is a comedian, actor and writer. For their work on this title, they were nominated for two Tony Awards, winning the Best Actor in a Play award (the first non-binary winner in the category) and their play was also named a 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist for drama. The “entire production” was directed by Sam Pinkleton, who notably earned a Tony nomination for choreography for “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” one of the seven Broadway shows that he has choreographed.

There is much about this zany show that I cannot share, but I can tell you that “Oh, Mary!” is a dark comedy that is set in the weeks before an assassination. With a healthy dose of artistic license, the script reimagines First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln as a sharp-tongued, repressed, alcoholic with a lifelong improbable dream that I will not reveal.

The 80-minute one-act play spoofs the First Lady’s life in the White House, portraying her as a volatile woman yearning for artistic expression. Her husband struggles with his own closeted sexuality and the end of the Civil War. As you can imagine, the script features a large amount of outrageous humor, almost cartoonish, that is filled with foul language, so this is not for kids.

However, it remains an empathetic celebration of those who have been marginalized or misunderstood. “Oh, Mary,” which I learned is a slang phrase used by the gay men for decades, premiered off‑Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in 2024 and then transferred to Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre in July 2024.

The script is highly irreverent and campy, and “The Hollywood Reporter” calls this “80 minutes of almost uninterrupted laughter.” That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but there are some funny lines and some somewhat clever (albeit ridiculous) interactions which I am unable to describe.

Alaska Thunderf*ck joyfully plays the role of the bratty Mary Todd Lincoln, a role whose gender is “not specified” in the script. Alaska is a world-famous singer/songwriter, drag performer, actress and co-creator, co-writer, and star of “Drag: The Musical.” She also won “Ru Paul’s Drag Race All Stars 2,” “but doesn’t like to brag about it.” Her program bio reveals that “underneath Alaska is Justin Andrew Honard–a sensitive artist from Erie, Pennsylvania.”

John-Andrew Morrison joins the national tour cast to take on the role of Mary’s Husband, hanging up his stovepipe hat early in the first scene. Morrison appeared on Broadway in “Oh, Mary!” with Jane Krakowski, Jinkx Monsoon, Hannah Solow, John Cameron Mitchell, Cheyenne Jackson and Simi Liu; he also was in “A Strange Loop on Broadway. The actor appeared as Mary’s Husband at the performance that I attended, although Tony Award winner J. Harrison Ghee was listed in the program as the actor playing Mary’s Husband.

Alaska is set to play Mary at touring venues through January 17, 2027, after which J. Harrison Ghee will take on the role, making them the first performer to play both Mary and Mary's Husband.

Wesley Taylor earned entrance applause in the role of Mary’s Teacher. Taylor was part of the original Broadway casts of “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “The Addams Family” and “Rock of Ages.”

Pooya Mohseni is billed as Mary’s Chaperone/Bill. Mohseni is an Iranian American actor, writer, filmmaker and transgender activist. Her credits include the Off-Broadway run of “English.”

Michael Lepore takes on the roles of Mary’s Husband’s Assistant and Kyle.

For the tour, Natalie Joy Johnson is the understudy to Mary Todd Lincoln and Mary’s Chaperone/Bill. Mike Cefalo understudies Mary’s Husband’s Assistant/Kyle and Mary’s Teacher.

Julius Thomas III, a former founding father (A.Ham in “Hamilton,”) understudies Mary’s Husband and Mary’s Teacher.

Scenic design by the design collective dots brings the presidential office to the stage, and a few other locations that I won’t reveal. Costume design by Holly Pierson includes a sweeping hoop skirt in black to match Mary’s severe pipe curls (by wig designer Leah J. Loukas) and a campy outfit for the final scene. Lighting designer Cha See adds some severe cuts to mark the scene changes, but there are some traditional cues as well. Sound designers Daniel Kluger and Drew Levy contribute some loud piano music between the scenes.

The Belding Theater is described as an intimate, modern, and luxurious space that seats 651. The beginning of the tour runs September 19-23. Tickets may be available at bushnell.org/events/detail/oh-mary

I am looking forward to some of the scheduled shows in The Bushnell’s Broadway season, which includes “Maybe Happy Ending” and “The Great Gatsby.”