Review: “Oh, Mary” at the Lyceum Theatre (7/10)
WELCOME, FOLKS, TO THE GILPIN ADMINISTRATION!!
I could already hear the hordes of gay men glaring at me with contempt while I was putting my rating in the title line, but I urge you to hear me out. Much like the mercurial nature of U.S politics, administrations come and go and fresh blood brings in new era of change - some things for good, some not so good. I am no stranger to Oh, Mary, Cole Escola’s game-changing and raucously queer farce about the secret cabaret dreams of an unhinged First Lady. I’ve had the good fortune of seeing the original cast in their entirety (never an understudy or cover) a total of 19 times since the early previews at the Lortel. (This was Round #20, if you are keeping score). If you’ve made this far, congratulations, you now know that I have absolutely no issues with the actual material and, sorry The Hills of California, this remains the best play of the year so far.
One could argue my familiarity or, possibly, overfamiliarity with the beats and nuance of the original company may have been a hinderance to enjoying future interpretations. However, the new administration of anarchical actors is actually quite hilarious and have managed to create their own comedic rhythm. Betty Gilpin, taking over as the titular leading lady from the lauded Cole Escola, brings a much more acidic approach to Mary. While Escola was dementedly cherubic, Gilpin brings the venom of a high school Valley girl - think Heather Chandler. It gives her the opportunity to hiss and scream at her poor husband, President Abraham Lincoln (a long suffering James Baldwin-esque Phillip James Brannon, replacing Conrad Ricamora). As Honest Abe tries to juggle a country in the ruins of war and his own limp-wristed indiscretions, he pawns Mary off to her handler, Louise (Bianca Leigh, dignified as always), and later a hapless, unknown acting teacher with a historically familiar namesake. Chris Renfro slides into James Scully’s Fiyero pants with ease as he, measure for measure, becomes as increasingly insane as Mary, torn between two loves.
So, if the play isn’t the problem, and the cast is not the problem, then where does my discontent lie? Could it be the fact that whoever helmed the direction of the new cast instructed them to perform as if they did a few lines of cocaine, chased by a six pack of Celsius? Yes, farce is meant to play up the absurdities of the characters and the scenarios they are placed in. However, there has to be some time to breathe and let the mile-a-minute jokes be processed by the audience. The once 85-minute run time was, by my watch, clipped down to an express 70 minutes. No dialogue or scenes were cut, so why was everyone instructed to perform like they’re running toward a waiting Uber that’s driving off in one minute? In this express version, some of the best jokes and bits that Escola and Ricamora were able to drag out to rapturous audience amusement were steamrolled over with not so much as a titter. Granted, the audience around me still seemed genuinely amused by a majority of the show’s bits (Gilpin’s interpretation of trying to climb off the Resolute desk had me guffawing), but part of me felt bad because that majority likely did not know even the half of what had been lost since this peaceful transfer of power in mid-January.
We already know that Oh, Mary! is the front-runner for Best Play at this year’s Tony Awards by many Illinois country miles. But even the best of runners know when it’s time to ease up, slow down, and take a breath.
Oh, Mary! is currently running at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre through June 28, 2025. Betty Gilpin and Phillip James Brannon are scheduled to perform through March 16, 2025 with further casting to be announced. Tickets and information can be found at the show’s official website.