She’s played a first lady (Michelle Obama), a vice president (Kamala Harris), a presidential candidate (Harris, again), and a queen (Beyoncé, of course). Now, she’s circling back to first lady and hitting the Broadway stage. Oh, Mary!, the play created by Cole Escola that has since welcomed ten Marys across the United States and U.K., announced this morning that Saturday Night Live vet and Loot star Maya Rudolph will be the next actor to don Mary Todd Lincoln’s bratty curl, hoop skirt, and turpentine-scented breath. Her administration begins on April 28 and will run for 8 weeks.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I have dreamed of being Cole Escola,” Rudolph says in a press statement (via Playbill). “Oh, Mary! is the funniest play I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of plays, you’d be surprised. It’s such an honor to play the role of Mary, especially after so many iconic Marys have come before me. So making my Broadway debut in the role of a lifetime—as a miserable, suffocated, alcoholic woman—is a real dream come true.” The show also shared a short Instagram video of Rudolph going Black Swan in her Mary drag.
The role of Mary Todd Lincoln is currently held by John Cameron Mitchell, who became known to New York audiences with his starring role in Hedwig And The Angry Inch. Previous Marys have included Betty Gilpin, Tituss Burgess, Jinx Monsoon, Hannah Solow, and Jane Krakowski. The play’s, uh, loose grasp of American history has also made it a success abroad; the U.K. production opened with Mason Alexander Park and has since featured Doctor Who and The Office‘s Catherine Tate. After their administration, Escola has gone on to start developing a Miss Piggy feature film with Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence—dreams really do come true!
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