Welcome to the Thunderfuck Administration! Oh, Mary! is a farcical delight that revels in the incredible comic timing of underrated drag queen Alaska Thunderfuck. The play is brilliantly written and constructed, building towards gradual payoffs that are extremely satisfying to watch unfold. Additionally, the entire ensemble contributes to the greater whole, becoming a cohesive unit of hilarity. But make no mistake: Mary herself is the glowing star. She completely commands the stage every single time she’s on it, whether that’s being obsessed with cabaret or rattling off about someone else’s pussy. She’s kind of like Pearl in Ti West’s X series: she’s a star! Being my first ever national tour show, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would they be able to transfer the Broadway feel and quality, while maintaining consistency across the board? The answer is a resounding yes, at least in the case of Cole Escola’s excellent play. It’s a fast paced, crude, rude, absolutely hysterical engagement, and must be seen to be believed.
As the war rages on against the north and south, the credited ‘Mary’s Husband’ (John-Andrew Morrison) is put in a difficult position. His wife, Mary (Thunderfuck), could not be more bored. She longs for the days when she was a cabaret dancer. Now, Mary wiles away the hours in boredom getting drunk on anything she can get her hands on, including paint thinner, and whiskey. Her husband, meanwhile, utilizes every resource he has to engage in homosexual relationships, particularly with his assistant. Mary and her husband make quite a match.
The staging is relatively simple, utilizing only a handful of locations across the hour and a half runtime. Yet, every bit of stage leans into its most ridiculous proportion. Mary always brings a slightly twisted aura. This includes her wonky silhouette, exaggerated costumes, and a wide range of ridiculous one-liners. She seems to exist at times to simply poke fun at others, though we are aware that she’s only doing this out of boredom. Though the play itself had been on my radar for a very long time, the announcement of the tour and the positioning of Drag Race royalty in the lead role was enough to get me to instantly purchase a ticket. As expected, Alaska is absolutely incredible in this role. I had seen her before in Drag: The Musical, the underrated off-Broadway smash. Here, she uses her physical comedy to the max, swiveling around her ridiculous curls and leaning into the preposterousness of the story.
There are only five total players in the show, and each has a distinct, often hilarious purpose. Of course there’s Mary and her husband; then, there’s her acting coach, the bubble-butted John Wilkes Booth (Wesley Taylor); Mary’s best-ish only friend, Louise (Pooya Mohseni); and Lincoln’s right hand man/boy toy assistant (Michael Lepore). The dynamic between each of these players stays compelling throughout, and is the cause for the majority of the ridiculous setups.
The humor may be dry, but playwright Escola and director Sam Pinkleton take their time teeing up those jokes. That means that when the big, shocking moments arrive, they function even more flawlessly. Who would have thought a play about Mary Todd Lincoln would be this belly busting? Unlike some shows that I’ve seen, Oh, Mary! actually has a stronger second half than first. It’s a potent cocktail of oddball humor, punctuated by one of my favorite endings in all of theatre. It’s no wonder it became a cultural smash.
Oh, Mary! absolutely delivers on its major hype. This was a show that could’ve gone either way for me, especially being only mildly informed on history. Thankfully, Escola leans into the farce with every line. The show never once tries to be historically accurate, nor fact-based. Instead, it’s very dumb, very gay, and very bitchy. If any of those checks a box for you, Oh, Mary! is a must-see.
Oh, Mary! is currently on a national tour, with Alaska Thunderfuck as Mary Todd Lincoln through January 17, 2027. For ticketing information, please head over to the official website.
