In Oh, Mary!, a historical fever dream written by and starring Cole Escola, they portray former first lady Mary Todd Lincoln as a narcissistic problem drinker and would-be cabaret singer in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. “Unrequited yearning, alcoholism, and suppressed desires abound in this one-act play that finally examines the forgotten life and dreams of Mrs. Lincoln through the lens of an idiot,” state the play’s press notes.
Inhabiting the role of wife of the 16th president of the United States with a thirsty black wig and frothing-at-the-mouth lunacy, Escola is the hottest of hot messes onstage, flashing the audience bloomers one moment and chugging paint thinner the next. The acclaimed 2012 biographical historical drama Lincoln this is not. It should be noted, however, that Steven Spielberg (the director of Lincoln), Sally Field (who played Mary Todd in the film), and Tony Kushner (who wrote the screenplay) all swung by the Lucille Lortel Theatre in Manhattan’s West Village one evening to catch Escola’s bonkers spin on the shared source material.
After selling out nightly and twice extending its run, the play transferred to Broadway this summer. It’s been a whirlwind—and, dare one say, unexpected—main-stage moment for Escola. A performer as unabashedly queer as they are crackers, they are best known for their cult YouTube parodies of Little House on the Prairie, called “Our Home Out West,” and for playing a diabolical twink in the HBO Max series Search Party.
Sitting in Bryant Park one recent afternoon, Escola discussed the writing process behind Oh, Mary!, the emotional stakes of imposter syndrome, and manifesting a rich better half—while accidentally swallowing a fly mid-conversation.
Oh, Mary! is a play that wonders: What if the wife of Lincoln had been nuttier than a fruitcake?
I like to say, very glibly, that I did no research for this play about Mary Todd Lincoln. But I have been developing it for years. All the shows—solo comedy shows, sketch shows, everything that I’ve written for myself and self-produced—have been getting me ready for this.
What did you model your vision of Mary Todd on, if not the annals of history?
Well, I just thought, What would be the dumbest thing that First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln could dream of and want with her life? And cabaret made me laugh really hard. But also I, Cole Escola, do secretly want to be a cabaret star, desperately. Mary is just me. She cares so deeply about what people think of her, but she has a huge blind spot and doesn’t realize that people actually find her grating and annoying and hate her. And that is me.
Looking back, when did you first notice that the general population finds you grating and annoying?
I think around the time I started vocalizing, which was maybe two months.
Critics, at least, are effusive in their praise of Oh, Mary! The play recently swept the Dorian Theater Awards, hosted by GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.
The thing is that the play is also about being gay. I think we all—“we all” meaning queer people—have that experience of being a kid, saying something, and the whole room turning and looking at you like you just took a shit on the floor, and realizing, Oh, I guess I’m not supposed to like the color pink. Wait, that’s so annoying. Please don’t print that. Or if you do, you can add a headline: “It’s Okay to Wear Pink.”
Do you see performing as an inherently autobiographical act?
With all of my characters, I don’t go into it thinking I want to explore this part of myself. Anytime I feel like I want to do a character like this, afterwards I can unpack it and it’s like, Oh, the goblin commuter of Hoboken is me exploring how I feel in romantic situations—which is like a disgusting creature trying to flirt.
Who needs romance? Theatergoers are swooning over you.
The early audiences were very, very enthusiastic. But I thought, Oh, that’s just my friends, aka drunk homosexuals. I didn’t know if other people would like it, but I was very pleased that the people I wrote it for got it and love it. And now more people are getting it and enjoying it—or at least buying tickets to it—and that’s really all that matters.
What has been the response to some of the show’s more deranged scenes, such as when the former first lady drinks her own vomit?
I mean, one joke is Mary’s skirt goes up and there is underwear with hearts all over it. No one laughs at that, but it’s something that means a lot to me, so it stays. The best part of this whole experience has been the people who come up to me after the show, people I worked with at Joe’s Pub or who came to see my shows at the Duplex. They look at me, and they’re so proud and excited. It makes me really, really emotional, as if I scored a goal for the team. It makes me want to cry. [Tears up]
It’s okay, take your time if you need a moment.
No, sorry, it’s—I just swallowed a bug. I literally just swallowed a bug! [Starts singing] “I know an old lady who swallowed a fly.”
You not only star in Oh, Mary!, you wrote it. What was that process like?
I wrote myself an email in 2009 with an idea: Abe’s assassination wasn’t such a bad thing for Mary. That was the seed. I loved the idea so much. I was so excited by it that I was afraid to write it. I was afraid that once I got it on paper, it wouldn’t work. Then, in 2020, during lockdown, I made myself sit down and write it. It reminded me of a movie when a writer gets a burst of inspiration and stays up day and night writing. One morning, it just came out of me. I was like, “I can’t stop. I have to write this as long as I can.” That happens about once every seven years, if you’re lucky.
Flash forward to today, and your “short legs and long medleys,” as you put it in the play, are on Broadway.
I’m worried that moving to Broadway is trying to milk the moment too much, as if we had goodwill from people and now they will want to take us down a few notches. I’m terrified that I’m done. I peaked. It’s over.
That’s the attitude! So, what’s next for Cole Escola?
I’m looking for love. I think my next partner should be rich. Rich people are always nice and grounded and funny.
Hair by Walton Nunez for R+Co at See Management; Makeup by Mical Klip for Makeup by Mario; Fashion Assistant: Celeste Roh; Hair Assistant: Leah MacKay; Tailor: Elise Fife at Altered Mgmt; Special Thanks to Hurley’s Saloon.