Betty Gilpin to Take Over From Cole Escola in Oh, Mary! on Broadway

Three-time Emmy Award nominee Betty Gilpin will take over the role of Mary Todd Lincoln in Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary! on January 21 for an eight-week run through March 16 at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre. Escola, who originated the role of Mary Todd, will play her until then.

A historically dubious wartime comedy, Oh, Mary! is about bored alcoholic housewife Mary Todd Lincoln, who pines for the cabaret stage but is constantly undermined by her homosexual husband, who just happens to be the President of the United States.

Gilpin is best known for her performance as Debbie Eagan/”Liberty Belle” on the Netflix series GLOW. Oh, Mary! marks her Broadway debut, but she was last seen off-Broadway starring opposite Reed Birney in Halley Feiffer’s I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard at Atlantic Stage 2.

“I have worshiped at the altar of Cole for years, but seeing their billion layered brilliance in Oh, Mary! was a new plane of demented genius I didn’t know was scientifically possible,” Gilpin said in a press statement. “I am beyond honored to step in so that Cole can get back to tending their neglected passions: fracking and skincare.”

Oh, Mary! had its world-premiere opening in February at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, where it quickly became the must-have ticket of the off-Broadway season. It transferred to the Lyceum over the summer. TheaterMania’s critic has called it “the funniest comedy on Broadway.”

In addition to Escola, Oh, Mary! currently stars Conrad Ricamora as Mary’s Husband, James Scully as Mary’s Teacher, Bianca Leigh as Mary’s Chaperone, and Tony Macht as Mary’s Husband’s Assistant, with Peter Smith, Hannah Solow, and Martin Landry completing the company. The production is directed by Sam Pinkleton.