‘OH, MARY!’ Cole Escola. Photo: Emilio Madrid.
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OH, MARY!
By Cole Escola
Directed by Sam Pinkleton
Through January 3, 2027
Lyceum Theatre
149 West 49th Street
https://www.ohmaryplay.com/
By Scott Harrah
Don’t go to Oh, Mary! expecting an historically accurate portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln. Do go if you want to see Broadway’s funniest show in many years. The show recently transferred to the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway after a sold-out run downtown at the Lucille Lortel. Original comedies are almost unheard of on Broadway nowadays, and no one ever thought we would get one that’s consistently hysterical from start to finish.
Cole Escola wrote Oh, Mary! and stars as Mary Todd Lincoln in a show that is like a very raunchy, family-unfriendly extended skit from TV’s “Carol Burnett Show” with shades of humor similar to the absurdist gender-bending genius Charles Busch and his many farcical shows. However, Cole Escola has a unique comic style all their own, from their manic energy to the endless pratfalls and exaggerated facial expressions.
There’s not much a reviewer can tell you about the show without giving away all the crazy comic twists but here’s the basic premise in this totally unauthorized, inaccurate “historical” bio-comedy: Mary Todd Lincoln is an alcoholic diva who will do anything for booze. She tries hiding it and her husband, President Abraham Lincoln (Conrad Ricamora), goes to great lengths to keep her away from the bottle but is always unsuccessful. The president is watching the Civil War wind down and is worried that news of Mary being a boozer will damage his already fragile public image, but he has a scandalous secret of his own: He’s gay and has the hots for his assistant, Kyle (Tony Macht).
Mary is also at odds with her friend and chaperone, Louise (Bianca Leigh). Mary insists she is a cabaret star and her time would be better spent working the cabaret circuit around the country rather than sitting around bored, being First Lady of the United States in the White House. The humor is tasteless, silly, stupid and completely juvenile, and that’s what makes Oh, Mary! so much fun. From Mary desperately drinking paint thinner when she can’t find her booze to puking in a bucket, Cole Escola’s comedic sensibility is shamelessly lowbrow, in the same way that early John Waters films were vile, gross, inane but also hysterical. Everything is done for cheap laughs here—and it always works.
To humor Mary’s dreams of being in show business, Abe hires a handsome young acting teacher (James Scully) to teach Mary how to act in classic Shakespearean dramas. Mary reacts like a spoiled brat of a child, insisting the Bard is beneath her and she’s much more suited to wearing showgirl costumes in a ridiculous cabaret act.
This reviewer will not give any more of the story away, but of course we all know how the story of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln ends on that fateful night at Ford’s Theater in Washington. Or do we?
Director Sam Pinkerton gets outstanding performances from the entire cast and manages to keep all the insanity together for 80 glorious minutes. Conrad Ricamora as “Mary’s husband” (as he is listed in the Playbill) gives a gleefully goofy portrayal of Abraham Lincoln as a horny closeted gay man, and his performance shows what great range he has as an actor considering that, last year, he played Philippine senator Ninoy Aquino in Here Lies Love on Broadway. Bianca Leigh, Tony Macht and James Scully are all marvelous supporting players. Cole Escola as Mary is simply brilliant, a true master of the absurd. Cole Escola is Broadway’s newest, most original gender-fluid clown, and they have set a new high standard for comedy in the American theater.
2024 is a year when most Americans have little to bring us joy and something so absurd and mirthful that it makes us guffaw and howl with delight. Oh, Mary! is a gift to a troubled city and a deeply divided nation in need of genuine laughs.
Edited by Scott Harrah
Published July 11, 2024
Reviewed at July 9, 2024 press performance
‘OH, MARY!’: (left to right) Tony Macht, Cole Escola, Conrad Ricamora & Bianca Leigh. Photo: Emilio Madrid.
‘OH, MARY!’: Cole Escola & Bianca Leigh. Photo: Emilio Madrid.
‘OH, MARY!’: Cole Escola & James Scully. Photo: Emilio Madrid.
‘OH, MARY!’: Cole Escola & Conrad Ricamora. Photo: Emilio Madrid.
‘HERE LIES LOVE’: Arielle Jacobs & cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).
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HERE LIES LOVE
Concept, music & lyrics by David Byrne
Music by Fatboy Slim
Developed & directed by Alex Timbers
Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway at 53rd Street
(212-239-6200), www.HereLiesLoveBroadway.com
By David NouNou
Sitting through Here Lies Love, one cannot help but see the parallel lives of Eva Peron in Evita—which coincidentally also played at this same theatre—and Imelda Marcos (Arielle Jacobs) in this musical. They both started with poor origins, became working women, married men who sought power, and they both were the women who stood behind their men and got them to the top. And yes, they were both corrupt and landed their countries into poverty while they both enriched themselves through greed. Imelda did to the Philippines what Eva did to Argentina, and both were “High Flying Adored” by their countrymen—to quote a great song title from Evita.
The similarities end here. Whereas Evita was a cohesive musical with a brilliant, straightforward narrative and score, Here Lies Love is literally all over the place. I mean it; it plays all around and through the Broadway Theatre. The orchestra section has been gutted out, and you have an empty dance floor with a runway jutting out through the middle of the theatre. The runway has a life of its own and revolves all around the floor, thus making the audience move around the theatre with it. For some strange reason, the creators of Here Lies Love felt it should be an interactive musical. If you have a bad back or can’t stand for 90 minutes, I suggest you sit in the front mezzanine. Even the people who are in the mezzanine or balcony are not immune to all this interaction; they are brought in to join in the revelry and made to stand up and participate in some dance moves on two separate occasions.
After all, this is a David Byrne musical, and like his Broadway concert mega-hit American Utopia, he wants the audience to participate and be part of the experience. Truth be told, he has captured the essence of Imelda Marcos and added a layer of theatricality to her. This layer is in large part due to the direction of Alex Timbers who made it possible to have Imelda presented as a theatrical extravaganza. All you have to do is remember Mr. Timbers’ Moulin Rouge and Beetlejuice and you know the excesses that he can present.
When so much is going on all around you, through sound effects, projections, a giant disco ball, glowing neon lights, a DJ, even helicopter sounds airlifting the Marcos, it is difficult to concentrate on the performances. Arielle Jacobs does a valiant and admirable job of capturing Imelda’s essence, and her voice is powerful. Jose Llana as Marcos isn’t given much to make him interesting amidst all the goings on. However, Conrad Ricamora as Ninoy Aquino manages to break from all the noise around him and give an excellent performance as Imelda’s first love and her political rival. Alas, Lea Salonga has a very small part near the end, as Aurora Aquino, Ninoy’s mother, singing the haunting “Just Ask the Flowers.” Ms. Salonga is still in splendid form and voice.
Here Lies Love is one of those musicals that one cannot just label as “gimmicky.” It all depends on whether you’re into the gimmick of audience participation or not.
Edited by Scott Harrah
Published July 27, 2023
Reviewed at July 26, 2023 press performance.
‘HERE LIES LOVE’ Lea Salonga & cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).
‘HERE LIES LOVE’: Conrad Ricamora. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).
‘HERE LIES LOVE’: Conrad Ricamora (left) & Arielle Jacobs (right) & cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).
‘HERE LIES LOVE’: Arielle Jacobs, Jose Llana & cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).
‘HERE LIES LOVE’: The cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).
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