The Tamesis
Before Jane Krakowski took the stage nightly at the Lyceum Theater, she had been playing the eponymous character in the Broadway play Oh Mary! Since October, she has performed brief rituals before performances. To get an inside look at Mary Todd Lincoln—well, Mary Todd Lincoln as delightfully, wildly conceived by Cole Escola—Kracowsky put on Ethel Merman disco album.
“I always listen to her cover of ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’ while I finish and make sure my curls look naughty,” Krakoski cheekily says. “No other song sums up our show better and it instantly puts me in a Mary Todd state of mind.”
It tracked Merman’s vinyl record, a popular camp artifact, to appear on Krakowski’s album Oh Mary! The dressing room (designed by Escola’s old friend Amy Sedaris). Written by and originally starring Escola, the hit farce, which recasts Mary Todd as an alcoholic and closeted former “cabaret legend,” became a critical sensation when it premiered at the 299-seat Lucille Lortel in 2024. Oh Mary! For a Broadway show that has nothing to do with Alexander Hamilton, it has developed an almost unheard-of rabid fan base.
“I loved it so much that I almost got angry because I didn’t write the part for myself,” Krakoski said, only half-joking. Escola has been a fan ever since she met them on set At Home with Amy Sedaris A few years ago but seeing early performance Oh Mary! New levels of appreciation unlocked.
“As someone who aspires to great comedy writing, that’s what it’s all about,” she said. “It feels very special to see Cole being praised for creating work that celebrates all their talents while also being open to so many different interpretations.”
Since Escola left Oh Mary! To focus on other projects—including the Miss Piggy movie, produced by Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone—Betty Gilpin, Tituss Burgess, and Jinx Monsoon all sported Mary Todd curls. (Krakoski saw and liked them all.) When Escola and director Sam Pinkleton asked Krakoski if she would take a turn, she immediately said yes.
