Oh, Mary, I can’t believe how much I laughed at you and your insane antics.
Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary! was a hit off-Broadway before becoming something of a sensation when it transferred to Broadway. And deservedly so. The show picked up two Tony Awards, for Sam Pinkleton’s direction and Escola’s performance as Mary Todd Lincoln. Now, with Alaska Thunderf*ck lacing up the corset for the West Coast debut, it’s easy to see what all the fuss is about.
Set in the weeks leading up to Mary’s Husband’s assassination, the play introduces us to a Mary Todd Lincoln who has considerably more interest in booze than anything happening at home. Played by Thunderf*ck, she’s miserable, restless and desperate to escape her marriage for life as a cabaret star.
Her husband (John-Andrew Morrison) has his own problems. Besides running the country during the Civil War, he’s struggling to keep Mary occupied and has an eye for his young assistant (Michael Lepore).
Hoping to distract her and keep her off the booze, he hires a handsome young actor (Wesley Taylor) to give her acting lessons. Naturally, that creates an entirely new set of problems. Mary quickly becomes enamored with her teacher, and the prospect of romance, escape and a future in a mysterious place called Canada is far more appealing than anything her husband has to offer.
If you’re looking for a history lesson, you’ve wandered into the wrong theater. Escola takes the familiar story of the Lincolns, pours it into a cocktail shaker and serves up something wildly ridiculous, unexpected and tasty (like a Mai Tai that uses four different rums).
The show moves like a rocket from the moment the curtain rises. One joke piles onto another, with barely enough time to recover before the next one lands. I swear, I haven’t laughed this much or this hard at a musical or play in years. Years, I tell you!
What makes it work is how completely everyone commits to the insanity. These characters take the increasingly ridiculous situations seriously, which only makes them funnier. Escola leaves no comedic stone unturned, and Pinkleton’s direction keeps all that chaos moving with precision.
Thunderf*ck’s Mary is selfish, impossible, hilarious and damn if she isn’t a force. Just when you think she’s gone as far over the top as she possibly can, she finds another level, becoming even bigger and more manic.
Morrison is no slouch either. His increasingly exasperated Lincoln gives Mary someone terrific to push against, while his own desires make it clear that she isn’t the only person in this marriage with something else on their mind. The reveal of one particular encounter between him and another character was probably one of the funniest moments of the show. I’ll leave that one for you to discover.
The five-person cast is terrific, with Taylor and Lepore caught up in the Lincolns’ considerable mess, along with Pooya Mohseni as Mary’s put-upon and frustrated chaperone. Thunderf*ck might be the whirlwind at the center, but everyone helps keep things flying.
The whole thing is so over the top that I can only imagine what rehearsals were like. Pinkleton has things moving and the production keeps finding ways to escalate without losing its momentum.
Oh, Mary! more than lives up to its reputation. Go for Alaska Thunderf*ck, stay for complete insanity.
Oh, Mary! is currently playing at the San Diego Civic Theatre. For more info and tickets: Broadway San Diego
