Latest news with #MaryToddLincoln
Bloomberg
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Bloomberg
Tony Winner Sam Pinkleton Never Thought
The riotously funny Oh, Mary! —a show that imagines Mary Todd Lincoln as an alcoholic and aspiring cabaret singer—won big at the Tony Awards on June 8, nabbing a best actor trophy for nonbinary comedian Cole Escola as Mary and a best director award for Sam Pinkleton. A veteran choreographer, Pinkleton was previously nominated for choreography in 2016 for Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, but Oh, Mary! is his first Broadway directing credit. The scrappy show started with a sold-out off-Broadway run at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village before transferring to the Lyceum Theatre last summer and has since broken box-office records. The wildly inventive, madcap show has been a critical and commercial smash, with talent including Tituss Burgess and Betty Gilpin donning the curly wig and black dress to play Lincoln. Star Escola is back in another limited run on Broadway, which has been extended through September. Despite Oh, Mary! 's massive success, Pinkleton says he and Escola had no inkling the production could become as big as it has.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"Oh, Mary!" star Cole Escola manifested their Tony win the old-fashioned way
It seems to happen less and less, but every so often, the stars still align. The puzzle pieces of the universe fit perfectly together. A witch's dusty spellbook — trapped in the highest tower of the oldest castle — flies open all on its own, turning its pages to an old incantation said to make everything okay again, if only for a few moments. With that, the die is cast, destiny is in motion and Mary Todd Lincoln gets her long-awaited Tony for her cabaret prowess. Or, rather, her second Tony, as 'Oh, Mary!' scribe and star Cole Escola so studiously noted as they accepted their Tony for best actor in a play at Sunday's Tony Awards ceremony. 'Julie Harris has a Tony for playing Mary Todd Lincoln,' Escola said as they started their speech, paying reverence to the stage legend's 1972 play, 'The Last of Mrs. Lincoln.' But in Escola's relatively short time in their first starring role on Broadway, they've become something of a legend themself. 'Oh, Mary!' is Escola's debut on Broadway proper, after a throng of smaller (though no less hysterical) off-Broadway and independent cabaret and solo shows, and the play was a hit within minutes of its first preview's curtain-raise in January 2024. The show imagines Mary Todd Lincoln as a hard-drinking, boisterous, wannabe cabaret star, beleaguered by her marriage to what Escola imagines is an obviously gay president. It's not so much laugh-a-minute as it is laugh-a-second. When I saw the play during its initial off-Broadway run at Manhattan's Lucille Lortel Theater in March 2024, the sold-out house practically shook with thunderous applause during the cast's final bows. 'Oh, Mary!' is the kind of instant sensation that's all too rare these days, one so undeniable it immediately breaks through the crowd of theater savants to a wider audience of curious patrons. To longtime fans of Escola's like myself, the show's smash success is more of a reason to shed a tear than it is any surprise. Escola's work has always been blissfully weird yet totally charming, hyper-confident in its discerning peculiarity. And 'Oh, Mary!' is their long-gestating, brilliant brainchild, shepherded from an email Escola sent to themselves in 2009 all the way to the Tonys stage. It's a theater of the politically absurd when every day of our waking lives is a theater of the politically absurd. But the convergence of Escola's talents and our national nightmares wasn't some stroke of luck. Escola didn't catch up to the culture; the culture caught up to them. Their win and ongoing success are fate manifested, a testament to the power of hard work and uncompromising vision. Sometimes, the right things still happen. If you haven't yet had the chance to see 'Oh, Mary!' live, Escola succinctly describes the play in that 2009 email they sent themselves, as retold in their recent interview with 'CBS Sunday Morning.' 'What if Abraham Lincoln's assassination wasn't such a bad thing for Mary Todd?' the email read. But as Escola tells it, this kernel of a larger concept was too precious to let go of back then. 'I loved this idea so much, I didn't want it to get on paper and for it to disappoint me,' Escola said in the interview. 'To disappoint me, not just the audience, but me. There are certain ideas that you're just like, 'Oh, I don't want to plant this seed, because what if it's an ugly flower?'" The fear is understandable, given the number of things that could go wrong in the process of turning one simple idea into a fully mounted Broadway production. But Escola has never been afraid of a little ugliness or a little grit. Their willingness to embrace the flawed, strange parts of life has long been part of their unique allure. Take something like 'Pee Pee Manor,' their 17-minute 'unaired television pilot that was too awful to air,' about a woman who moves into a cursed piece of broken-down real estate, posted directly to Escola's YouTube channel. Like all of Escola's work, it's outrageous and unforgettable, showcasing a flair for character work unlike anyone else. Escola is preternaturally gifted when it comes to picking up on people's eccentricities and molding them into a beautifully Frankensteined creation. When Donna, the short's bouffant-styled main character, says her first line — 'So eventually I just took the thing down, I said, 'I'm sick of feedin' humming birds, they oughta feed me for once!' — the viewer knows exactly who this woman is and what she's all about. She's our mother, our grandmother, our wacky aunt and the woman striking up a conversation with us in the checkout line at Kohl' same goes for Escola's version of Mary Todd, who arrived fully formed by the time her loafers hit the stage of the Lucille Lortel for the first time. Mary is a whiskey-smuggling alcoholic and man-eating cabaret amateur, so dead bored in her marriage that she wishes her husband were dead himself. She yells, stomps her feet and raises her hoop skirt and petticoat to scandalous heights. Meanwhile, Abraham (Conrad Ricamora) has a pesky Civil War to deal with, so he leaves Mary in the care of her chaperone (Bianca Leigh) and teacher (James Scully). She loathes the former and lusts after the latter, and her heightened emotions and cabaret dreams swell to a magnificent, hysterical crescendo unlike Broadway has ever seen. In a way, 'Oh, Mary!' is the anti-'Hamilton.' It's not concerned with America's founding principles but rather with the country's spectacle. This is the way things have always been, which is to say: totally bananas. It's no wonder the play hit when America's political atmosphere feels its most ridiculous. It is a uniquely strange feeling to watch Escola's success reach new, deserved heights as America falls off the deep end. I've been devouring Escola's work for well over a decade, since I discovered the videos they were making online in the late 2000s, alongside their best friend, Jeffery Self. As scrappy, floppy-haired creators in YouTube's nascent days, Self and Escola made short, terribly smart and timely videos under the moniker VGL Gay Boys. ('Very Good Looking,' as the acronym stands.) The videos' modest success among the gay community landed the two a short-lived sketch show on Logo, 'Jeffery and Cole Casserole.' Think of it like a proof-of-concept for something like 'Broad City,' another show about two New York millennials that similarly went from web series to television — only 'Jeffrey and Cole Casserole' had a much shorter lifespan. Things were far more hopeful back then. How could they not be? Barack Obama was pulling ahead in polling, and the cultural tides were starting to turn in favor of the late aughts' flavor of liberalism. Don't Ask Don't Tell was on its way out and gay marriage was on the horizon! A new artist by the name of Lady Gaga was bursting onto the scene! 'The Dark Knight' was making superhero movies cool again! It was a formative time for the newly out-of-the-closet, 14-year-old me, who recognized my sick and stupid sense of humor in Escola and Self's videos. Perhaps my favorite of them all was a video called 'VGL Gay Boys with Bernadette Peters,' the first selection of what would become an ongoing, go-to impression for Escola, who donned a curly, red wig and squeaky voice to parody the Broadway legend. The premise of the video is simple: Self and Escola were going to record a video review of the 2008 comedy 'Get Smart,' but Escola insists on playing Bernadette Peters for the day. Unwilling to break character, Escola's version of Peters has not seen the movie, so instead, the pair reviews 'Home Alone 2,' which Peters can't recall a single frame of either. The video is barely two minutes long, yet incessantly quotable, which any friend of mine for the last 17 years has learned at one point or another when they've been subjected to watching it. Seeing Escola on the Tonys red carpet, I couldn't help but recall that video for the billionth time. Escola did, after all, show up to the ceremony in Bernadette Peters drag, now polished and elevated thanks to all of that Broadway box office record-shattering. Escola sported a curly updo and a gown that was an homage to the costume Peters wore accepting her Tony in 1999 for 'Annie Get Your Gun.' Seeing Escola on that stage accepting their first Tony while honoring one of their formative inspirations, it struck me that this is the kind of heartening, full-circle moment we rarely witness. Is that not the American dream, being born into one life or socioeconomic status and forging your way into whatever your picture of success looks like? Escola went from recording videos on a webcam to accepting the Tony for best actor; from imitating a legend to becoming one in their own right. But for Escola, it seemed almost predestined, spoken into the universe so frequently it had to become true. Calling it a picture of the American dream would be reductive, diminishing all of the work that Escola has done to apply it to an outmoded path toward prosperity. 'Oh, Mary!' might be a distinctly American show, but this is Escola's dream, first and foremost, and it was going to come to fruition no matter what. In that VGL Gay Boys 'Get Smart' review video, Escola's version of Bernadette Peters tells Self, 'I haven't seen any movie since 1999.' When Self asks why that year specifically, Escola replies, 'That's the year I won my Tony.' And at the mic, Tony in hand and dressed as Peters was in 1999, Escola took a moment to bring it back to where it all began. 'To the most important people in my life, my friends, who are here tonight,' Escola said, before shouting out Self at the top of the list. And there in the audience was Self, shedding a tear for his friend, watching their dream come true.
CBS News
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Cole Escola wins 2025 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in "Oh, Mary!"
Cole Escola took home the 2025 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for the role of Mary Todd Lincoln in "Oh, Mary!" Escola, who also wrote the hit play, beat out George Clooney, Jon Michael Hill, Daniel Dae Kim, Henry Lennix and Louis McCartney to become the first openly non-binary winner in the category. CLICK HERE to see the full list of winners. The story behind the Broadway hit "Oh, Mary!" "It's really overwhelming that it's come this far. Now I'm here with my little Tonys pins," Escola told CBS News New York's Dave Carlin after the nominations were announced. "I had the idea of what if Abraham Lincoln's assassination wasn't such a bad thing for Mary Todd, and then I sort of worked my way backwards from that and thought about what she might have wanted, and what's the stupidest possible thing she could've wanted, which I landed on being a cabaret star," Escola explained, adding, "Why not? You can do anything in theater." Escola said the Mary Todd Lincoln House, a museum of the house where she lived, even sent the cast t-shirts and said its website saw a boost in traffic because of the show. "Hopefully, at least some of the audience is learning something after they see our show," said Escola. "People are wanting something that's surprising" Conrad Ricamora, who plays Abraham Lincoln, was nominated for his role as a Featured Actor in a Play. "I knew it was special, I thought it was going to be great downtown for a couple of weeks and then we were going to go on to trying to find another job, and here we are a year-and-a-half later," he said. "The thing that I feel like it's teaching me is that people are wanting something that is surprising, they want to be surprised and to have their entertainment be unexpected. And 'Oh Mary' is definitely surprising and unexpected. "The fact that people are coming in droves and that we're sold out for show after show and breaking box office records for a small five-person play, that's unexpected," he continued. As for what it's like sharing the stage with Cole, he said, "It's not hard to feel brave when you have somebody like Cole who's so true to themself and true to their comedy." Sam Pinkleton won Best Director for "Oh, Mary!" and thanked Escola for teaching him, "Do what you love, not what you think people want to see." contributed to this report.
Japan Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Tony Awards offer many intriguing matchups in a star-studded season
Joy Woods, left, and Audra McDonald appear during a performance of the Broadway musical "Gypsy" in New York. (Julieta Cervantes via AP) By MARK KENNEDY A pair of singing androids. Two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays. A drunken Mary Todd Lincoln. A musical with a corpse as its hero. Romeo, Juliet and teddy bears with rave music. Not to mention George Clooney. Broadway has had a stuffed season with seemingly something for everyone and now it's time to recognize the best with the Tony Awards, hosted by Cynthia Erivo, set for Sunday night on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Broadway buzz is usually reserved for musicals but this year the plays — powered by A-list talent — have driven the conversation. There's Clooney in 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Othello,' Sarah Snook in a one-woman version of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and her 'Succession' co-star Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk in 'Glengarry Glen Ross.' (Clooney, Snook and Odenkirk are nominated for Tonys.) There were two Pulitzer winners — 2024 awardee 'English' and 'Purpose' from 2025 — but perhaps one of the season's biggest surprises was 'Oh, Mary!,' Cole Escola's irreverent, raunchy, gleefully deranged revisionist history centered on Mary Todd Lincoln. All three are nominated for best play, along with 'John Proctor is the Villain' and 'The Hills of California.' On the musical side, three options seem to be in the mix for the top prize: 'Maybe Happy Ending,' a rom-com about a pair of androids; 'Dead Outlaw,' about an alcoholic drifter whose embalmed body becomes a prized possession for half a century; and 'Death Becomes Her,' the musical satire about longtime frenemies who drink a magic potion for eternal youth and beauty. 'Maybe Happy Ending,' 'Death Becomes Her' and another musical nominee, 'Buena Vista Social Club,' lead nominations with 10 apiece. The 2024-2025 season took in $1.9 billion, making it the highest-grossing season ever and signaling that Broadway has finally emerged from the COVID-19 blues, having overtaken the previous high of $1.8 billion during the 2018-2019 season. 'We're going through this strange period, which I would think someday we can draw the line from COVID to this, as you can draw the line from the early 1980s with AIDS to the explosion of big musicals again,' says Harvey Fierstein, who will get a special Tony for lifetime achievement. Audra McDonald, the most recognized performer in the theater awards' history, could possibly extend her Tony lead. Already the record holder for most acting wins with six Tonys, McDonald could add to that thanks to her leading turn in an acclaimed revival of 'Gypsy.' She has to get past Nicole Scherzinger, who has been wowing audiences in 'Sunset Blvd.' And Kara Young — the first Black female actor to be nominated for a Tony Award in four consecutive years — could become the first Black person to win two Tonys consecutively, should she win for her role in the play 'Purpose.' Other possible back-to-back winners include director Danya Taymor, hoping to follow up her 2024 win with 'The Outsiders' with another for 'John Proctor Is the Villain,' and 'Purpose' playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who won last year with 'Appropriate.' Other possible firsts include Daniel Dae Kim, who could become the first Asian winner in the category of best leading actor in a play for his work in a revival of 'Yellow Face.' And Marjan Neshat and her 'English' co-star Tala Ashe could become the first female actors of Iranian descent to win a Tony. Broadway this season saw a burst in alt-rock and the emergence of stories of young people for young people, including 'John Proctor is the Villain' and a 'Romeo + Juliet' pitched to Generation Z and millennials. Sunday's telecast, as usual, will have a musical number for each of the shows vying for the best new musical crown, as well as some that didn't make the cut, like 'Just in Time,' a musical about Bobby Darin, and 'Real Women Have Curves.' This year, there's also room for 'Hamilton,' celebrating its 10th year on Broadway. But the musicals 'BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical' and 'SMASH' didn't get slots. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
2 days ago
- Entertainment
Tony Awards offer many intriguing matchups in a star-studded season
NEW YORK -- A pair of singing androids. Two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays. A drunken Mary Todd Lincoln. A musical with a corpse as its hero. Romeo, Juliet and teddy bears with rave music. Not to mention George Clooney. Broadway has had a stuffed season with seemingly something for everyone and now it's time to recognize the best with the Tony Awards, hosted by Cynthia Erivo, set for Sunday night on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Broadway buzz is usually reserved for musicals but this year the plays — powered by A-list talent — have driven the conversation. There's Clooney in 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Othello,' Sarah Snook in a one-woman version of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and her 'Succession' co-star Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk in 'Glengarry Glen Ross.' (Clooney, Snook and Odenkirk are nominated for Tonys.) There were two Pulitzer winners — 2024 awardee 'English' and 'Purpose' from 2025 — but perhaps one of the season's biggest surprises was 'Oh, Mary!,' Cole Escola's irreverent, raunchy, gleefully deranged revisionist history centered on Mary Todd Lincoln. All three are nominated for best play, along with 'John Proctor is the Villain' and 'The Hills of California.' On the musical side, three options seem to be in the mix for the top prize: 'Maybe Happy Ending,' a rom-com about a pair of androids; 'Dead Outlaw,' about an alcoholic drifter whose embalmed body becomes a prized possession for half a century; and 'Death Becomes Her,' the musical satire about longtime frenemies who drink a magic potion for eternal youth and beauty. 'Maybe Happy Ending,' 'Death Becomes Her' and another musical nominee, 'Buena Vista Social Club,' lead nominations with 10 apiece. The 2024-2025 season took in $1.9 billion, making it the highest-grossing season ever and signaling that Broadway has finally emerged from the COVID-19 blues, having overtaken the previous high of $1.8 billion during the 2018-2019 season. 'We're going through this strange period, which I would think someday we can draw the line from COVID to this, as you can draw the line from the early 1980s with AIDS to the explosion of big musicals again,' says Harvey Fierstein, who will get a special Tony for lifetime achievement. Audra McDonald, the most recognized performer in the theater awards' history, could possibly extend her Tony lead. Already the record holder for most acting wins with six Tonys, McDonald could add to that thanks to her leading turn in an acclaimed revival of 'Gypsy.' She has to get past Nicole Scherzinger, who has been wowing audiences in 'Sunset Blvd.' And Kara Young — the first Black female actor to be nominated for a Tony Award in four consecutive years — could become the first Black person to win two Tonys consecutively, should she win for her role in the play 'Purpose.' Other possible back-to-back winners include director Danya Taymor, hoping to follow up her 2024 win with 'The Outsiders' with another for 'John Proctor Is the Villain,' and 'Purpose' playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who won last year with 'Appropriate.' Other possible firsts include Daniel Dae Kim, who could become the first Asian winner in the category of best leading actor in a play for his work in a revival of 'Yellow Face.' And Marjan Neshat and her 'English' co-star Tala Ashe could become the first female actors of Iranian descent to win a Tony. Broadway this season saw a burst in alt-rock and the emergence of stories of young people for young people, including 'John Proctor is the Villain' and a 'Romeo + Juliet' pitched to Generation Z and millennials. Sunday's telecast, as usual, will have a musical number for each of the shows vying for the best new musical crown, as well as some that didn't make the cut, like 'Just in Time,' a musical about Bobby Darin, and 'Real Women Have Curves.' This year, there's also room for 'Hamilton,' celebrating its 10th year on Broadway. But the musicals 'BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical' and 'SMASH' didn't get slots.
