Cole Escola is departing their smash hit Broadway comedy Oh, Mary!
The 38-year-old star, who penned the comedy, will bow out from the Mary Todd Lincoln role beginning on January 21, 2025, Deadline confirmed.
Betty Gilpin will take over the role for a limited 8-week engagement.
Keep reading to find out more…
She will begin her run from Tuesday, January 21, 2025, through Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Oh, Mary! also just announced a new block of tickets for the play are on sale through Saturday, June 28, 2025. The person playing Mary from late March through June has not yet been made public.
Betty Gilpin will replace Cole Escola as Mary Todd Lincoln
Oh, Mary! has sold out weekly, becoming the first and so far only show of the season to recoup its investment, with its weekly box office usually topping $1 million.
Here’s the synopsis: “Oh, Mary!, directed by Sam Pinkleton, stars Escola as a miserable, suffocated Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, alongside 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. The play shows what the Lincoln story might have looked like had Mary been an alcoholic ex-cabaret performer who will stop at nothing for another chance in the limelight.”
“I have worshiped at the altar of Cole for years,” Betty said in a statement, “but seeing their billion layered brilliance in Oh, Mary! was a new plane of demented genius I didn’t know was scientifically possible. I am beyond honored to step in so that Cole can get back to tending their neglected passions: fracking and skincare. Diving in with the perfect Sam Pinkleton to play Mary will be one of the single greatest joys of my life, and I will say that to my two daughters’ faces.”
Cole added: “I could not be more excited to see what Betty Gilpin does with the role of Mary. She’s a brilliant comedic actress who understands the heart of this character and knows the serious business of being a fool. I promise, you won’t want to miss Betty as Mary.”
Find out which celebs went to see the play at its opening night!