This week we take a look at shows nominated for 2025 Tony Awards.
NEW YORK — When Cole Escola makes an opening announcement as Blythe Danner about the theater’s “mostly functioning” urinals, you know “Oh, Mary!” isn’t going to be another romp through the Civil War.
Cole Escola plays Mary Todd Lincoln in the comedy, "Oh, Mary!" Escola was nominated for Best Actor and Best Play for his work.
Instead, it’s an extremely clever revision of an insider’s story, showing what Mary Todd Lincoln (Escola) was thinking when her husband was trying to stop the war between the North and the South.
In short, she wants a career as a cabaret artist, but he won’t hear of it — “We’re in a war,” he insists.
Abe (Conrad Ricamora) figures she could take acting lessons and find a place on the legitimate stage. Her teacher: John Wilkes Booth.
Abraham Lincoln (Conrad Ricamora), left, summons a soldier in the comedy, "Oh, Mary!"
To reveal anymore would spoil what must be the most laugh-filled show now on Broadway. It plays out on one set (give or take a few changes) and lets hoop skirts and Escola’s tightly wound curls do much of the work.
Directed by Sam Pinkleton, “Oh, Mary!” looks simple but that’s the charm of Escola’s script. This isn’t just a domestic comedy. It’s the kind of revisionist history a teacher would embrace after reading a stack of essays culled from Wikipedia. Escola has such inspired ideas they make perfect sense — and play out in the time it takes to watch a TikTok video.
Escola, in fact, got a reputation with quick videos, branched into television shows and now has this incredible showcase that hits on all cylinders. Interestingly, Escola approaches the always-drinking Mary Todd as a spoiled March sister, as seen through the eyes of Amy Adams. There’s a hint of Scarlett Johansson here and there, but this works because it’s not a based-in-fact anything.
From left, Conrad Ricamora, Cole Escola and Bianca Leigh star in "Oh, Mary!," which has five Tony nominations.
Ricamora turns the tables on Abe, too, suggesting he’s distraught by everything shoved his way and can only find solace in the company of someone who isn’t a relative.
Toss in Mary’s friend (Bianca Leigh) and that teacher (James Scully) and just about anything can happen — and does.
Thanks to Escola’s brilliance, this isn’t a Carol Burnett parody of “Gone With the Wind.” It’s proof great things can happen if you only put your mind to it.
The Tony Awards air Sunday night on CBS.
