Conrad Ricamora & Cole Escola deliver a raucous romp through history in ‘Oh, Mary!’
Oh, Mary!, follows the infamous first lady in the weeks leading up to that fateful night at Ford’s Theatre. Escola (Search Party) writes and stars in the show as Mary Todd Lincoln, with Conrad Ricamora and James Scully playing her husband and acting teacher, respectively.
For fans of Joel Kim Booster’s Fire Island, Ricamora and Scully render Oh, Mary! a mini-reunion for the 2022 movie, and their comedic chops are once again on full display.Subscribe to our daily newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Related: Vote for your favorite Live Theater in this year’s Queerties!From top to bottom (and yes, those jokes are included, too), Oh, Mary!‘s sharp writing, breakneck pace, and campy performances keep the theater in hysterics until the curtain falls.
The unapologetically silly script delivers simultaneous broad comedy and social commentary. Despite the Civil War raging on, Mary has no idea what her husband means by “the South,” thinks the concept of subtext is a lot like being inbred, and finds glee as her chaperone (Bianca Leigh) discovers her G-spot by a wayward scoop of vanilla ice cream.
It’s all almost as ridiculous as actual American politics.At the center of it all is Escola’s demented performance as Mary. Sporting a bouncing wig of ringlets and a black gown as if mourning for her life, she screams about her hatred for her role as the first lady and longs for her time on the cabaret circuit — a passion she’ll return to at any cost.
