Have you seen the ominous white smoke rising from Broadway’s Lyceum? No, it’s not on fire. We have news of a new Mary. Hacks star and online comedian Meg Stalter (of “Hi, gay” fame) will join the production, making her Broadway debut, beginning July 6 for a 10-week limited engagement. Stalter will succeed current star Maya Rudolph in the role following her July 5 final bow.
News of the casting was shared on social media. Further casting for Stalter’s run (which will continue through September 12) is to be announced.
“When I first met Cole Escola, they said, ‘I thought I was too old to feel this excited and giddy about a new friend,’ and that’s exactly how I felt when I met Mary Todd Lincoln for the first time,” says Stalter in a statement. “I’ve never seen myself in a character the way I see myself in Mary, which is strange because I don’t even drink, but that’s what Cole’s beautiful work does to you—makes you feel incredibly excited and seen at the same time, like a little kid meeting a new friend. I’ve been in love with Cole’s brain, heart, and work since the moment I had the privilege of experiencing it, and it’s the prize of a lifetime to get to be in the best play to ever be written! Cole, despite our insane public breakup in 2018, I love you, thank you for making my dreams come true.”
Rudolph is currently starring in the title role alongside returning cast members Bianca Leigh as Mary’s Chaperone, Phillip James Brannon as Mary’s Husband, and Cheyenne Jackson as Mary’s Teacher. Tony Macht continues as Mary’s Husband’s Assistant, with understudies Hannah Solow, Martin Landry, and Julian Manjerico rounding out the company.
Tickets are on sale through January 3, 2027.
Escola’s comedy centers on Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. In Escola’s demented take (or as press notes put it, “through the lens of an idiot”), Mary Todd becomes a madcap, cabaret-obsessed alcoholic.
The piece premiered at Off-Broadway’s Lucille Lortel Theatre in 2024 in a run that was extended three times. It then transferred to Broadway later that year, where it’s been breaking box-office records at the Lyceum Theatre; it became the first show in the theatre’s 121-year history to gross more than $1,000,000 in a single week.
The show earned two 2025 Tony Awards: Lead Actor in a Play for Escola and Director of a Play for Sam Pinkleton.
READ: Director Sam Pinkleton on the Art of Recasting Oh, Mary!
Oh, Mary‘s creative team includes scenic designer dots, costume designer Holly Pierson, lighting designer Cha See, composer and co-sound designer Daniel Kluger, co-sound designer Drew Levy, wig designer Leah J. Loukas, and music arranger David Dabbon. Casting is by Henry Russell Bergstein. John C. Moore and Lilian McGrail are production stage manager and assistant stage manager, respectively.
