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'Oh, Mary!' | The BSB Podcast! · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  Did you hear that mother?
• 0:01
  We're talking about Mary on today's episode of the BSV podcast.
• 0:05
  Spoiler warning, if you haven't seen the craziest historic comedy on Broadway, then slam that door harder than Mary on a bender and return once you witnessed all the madness.
• 0:15
  If you're still here, strap on in and let's get started.
• 0:19
  So RJ, I feel like we've been to New York quite a few times in the past couple of years, and I feel like every time recently we've went...
• 0:26
  Everybody's talking about Mary.
• 0:28
  I feel like this is a show that is on everybody's lips, and I'm not talking about the alcohol
• 0:34
  Don't shake your head at me.
• 0:42
  It's all in the name of the campiest play that we've seen so far.
• 0:47
  But won't you agree that everybody and their mother seems to be talking about Mary on Broadway?
• 0:53
  I would say yes, yes they are.
• 0:55
  Why are they talking about Mary on Broadway?
• 0:57
  Like what I feel like I cannot remember what people are saying about it now that I've seen the show.
• 1:03
  I remember that like everyone says it's a brilliant comedy.
• 1:06
  Obviously it won Tony awards.
• 1:09
  I think it won four and I could be completely wrong, but like it has won a lot of awards, a lot of recognition.
• 1:17
  But I don't think I could tell you what the show was before we went into it.
• 1:20
  Did you seem to think you knew what the show was about going into Oh, Mary?
• 1:25
  No idea.
• 1:26
  I mean, I it was a comedy.
• 1:28
  Excuse me.
• 1:28
  about
• 1:29
  Lincoln.
• 1:31
  Kind of.
• 1:33
  And obviously, Mary.
• 1:36
  I was gonna say I think that what I knew the most about the show is that Mary was
• 1:42
  completely over the top.
• 1:44
  Other than that, I couldn't actually tell you what this play was about.
• 1:48
  And sometimes I still wonder if I could tell you what this play is about because it is quite interestingly the most ridiculous show I think we've seen on Broadway, but like in a
• 2:00
  good way.
• 2:01
  don't want to, I'm not cutting, I'm not cutting the show down.
• 2:03
  It is just pure ridiculousness from start to finish for a 90 minute play that I think we've ever seen.
• 2:09
  It is truly in its own.
• 2:12
  I mean, I don't see straight comedies very often.
• 2:18
  usually because I'm uninterested in them, but this was one that
• 2:22
  grabbed my attention basically almost immediately and kept it.
• 2:27
  I would say it's interesting is I think this is one of the first times we went to Broadway and actually saw a play.
• 2:33
  Most of the time we go to Broadway and we see musicals.
• 2:36
  It's like very musically heavy.
• 2:38
  And I think that's just the ploy or draw of Broadway right now is that musical sells and plays don't always sell.
• 2:46
  Unless they're just leaning into, again, just the absurdity of the show, which Oh Mary does.
• 2:54
  with a full house, you know, like in spades.
• 2:57
  It just delivers the absurdity of a story that is, and I said historic earlier, but it's loosely historic.
• 3:09
  It's like the campiest historic show you're ever gonna see.
• 3:13
  Right.
• 3:13
  um
• 3:16
  It's like looking at history through the lens of a child.
• 3:23
  A bratty child.
• 3:24
  Correct.
• 3:25
  um It's interesting you say that because I was in my head, I want to make sure that I'm saying this nicely.
• 3:35
  It was like looking through history through a drag show almost in a way.
• 3:40
  Like, know how like drag shows are just incredibly campy?
• 3:45
  It felt like that a little bit too, like, like we just, don't have to embrace seriousness here.
• 3:49
  We don't have to embrace what actually happened.
• 3:52
  and perhaps that's because we saw Jinkx Monsoon in it that's why I got the drag show-esque vibes of the show.
• 3:58
  Um, but truly I was just like, we're at, we're kind of at a drag show.
• 4:03
  And it could be because we just saw, you know, Jinkx Monsoon on tour as well.
• 4:07
  And it's, pulling some of that into my mind as well, but that's kind of where my mind went.
• 4:10
  You said Brady child and I thought drag show.
• 4:14
  I mean, they could be one and the same.
• 4:16
  um
• 4:18
  Oftentimes drag queens can play some bratty brat roles.
• 4:26
  um But yeah, I think...
• 4:31
  even with we know that historically this role has been played across genders across or not it's also been played by uh cis women i think that i would be very interested in actually
• 4:47
  seeing that production as well just to compare to see the extent of how the humor translates but arguably a very again a super like gen z
• 5:02
  show for comedy, feel.
• 5:05
  A very quick, wit, exaggerated, sometimes probably things, jokes that like I didn't even realize I didn't understand, but like laughed anyway type situation.
• 5:18
  Especially because like how many of us are actually familiar with Mary.
• 5:25
  Obviously we all, well, most of us should know who Lincoln was.
• 5:29
  Sure.
• 5:30
  but how like historically what do we know about her and their life in the public eye?
• 5:43
  It's very much like Hamilton with his wife.
• 5:46
  We don't know a lot about Eliza traditionally in history.
• 5:50
  And it's because, again, who's telling the story?
• 5:53
  What is history focusing on?
• 5:56
  But where Hamilton's taking a very serious aspect to the story of Eliza and what she does.
• 6:02
  Mary's taking a lot of liberties and really poking fun at like, Mary could be ridiculous.
• 6:07
  Like, Mary could be this drunk actress who just wants a cabaret show.
• 6:14
  You know what I mean?
• 6:15
  Like, that could also have existed in history and we just don't know it because we don't know who Mary is at all.
• 6:20
  Yeah, and I think just from like a few pieces that I saw that did kind of relate historically, like Mary spent a lot of money on clothes, which in the play kind of may
• 6:37
  have translated to, I mean, of course their dresses were a certain way back then, but just the kind of absurdity of how big her and hoop.
• 6:50
  ah I mean, massive hoop on her dress.
• 6:55
  And she was also known to have a complex personality.
• 7:00
  So in the play that kind of translates to the kind of insane, you know, she went from...
• 7:09
  being completely cold, to being funny, to being angry, to, you know, whatever.
• 7:16
  And a lot of that relied on the humor around being drunk or uh wanting to drink or something of that nature.
• 7:24
  um But then also, interestingly enough, she actually was found to be legally insane.
• 7:40
  post Lincoln's death um and was committed.
• 7:47
  So all very like interesting, like I find it, the play obviously spins these things to the most extreme and exaggerates and there's like almost no historical relevance whatsoever
• 8:01
  and that's kind of the entire point, but it is interesting.
• 8:04
  Like obviously Cole did their research when they were,
• 8:08
  putting, writing this show and putting it together because there still are some relevant ties as well.
• 8:16
  didn't know about the institutionalization until after we saw the show and I started doing research.
• 8:21
  And I was like, oh, Cole did, like you said, did their research and like really found, like truly tried to understand who Mary Todd Lincoln was in a way that I don't think that
• 8:32
  most people know.
• 8:32
  Like in my head, after Lincoln was, you know, assassinated, she kind of faded out of existence.
• 8:39
  Like, like just kind of went on.
• 8:41
  You know what I mean?
• 8:42
  I feel like that happens a lot with people where like you don't really know.
• 8:45
  I use JFK's wife for an example.
• 8:47
  Yes, people knew what her life was because it was more publicized, but it wasn't like it was out there.
• 8:51
  It wasn't like it was known.
• 8:53
  And so the fact that there's actually quite a bit of relevance to what Cole's presenting in Oh, Mary adds a layer to the story that, for history nerds, is probably really cool,
• 9:08
  but also adds some integrity to the story too.
• 9:10
  It's ridiculous, but it's also maybe not so far from being true.
• 9:14
  Yeah, it's like watching the real life version of a show like Family Guy or something.
• 9:22
  You just, a constant laughter while knowing that there's some hidden truth in what the nonsense that you're watching may be a little bit more truthful than we want it to be.
• 9:39
  True.
• 9:39
  And so for those who haven't seen it yet and you want to know a little bit more about it, Mary truly is like the final weeks before Lincoln's assassination.
• 9:46
  ah Mary is.
• 9:49
  She's lost.
• 9:50
  She's very much a drunk.
• 9:52
  She is kind of screaming and yelling and having a lot of emotional outbursts.
• 9:56
  It feels, and I'm going to use this as a psychological term and not as like I'm trying to criticize anyone.
• 10:01
  It feels a little bit like bipolar disorder to the extreme, like exaggerated in the show.
• 10:07
  There's like throwing things.
• 10:08
  There's tearing apart stuff.
• 10:10
  There's talking to pictures.
• 10:12
  There's again, getting drunk on substances.
• 10:17
  that most people wouldn't think about, but Mary's doing them, all because she feels so unfulfilled in her life.
• 10:24
  And because she's unfulfilled, it leads her to taking acting classes and trying to find a reality.
• 10:30
  And I think it also speaks to the way, again, women were treated during the time of Mary Todd Lincoln, where they were only there to support the men's...
• 10:44
  adventures, that's not the right word.
• 10:45
  you know, like, she was there to support Lincoln in his, his, you know, becoming president, but she was often overlooked.
• 10:53
  And so I think that's what's interesting is that like, kind of like we talked about Operation Mincemeat, you're talking about something that actually was relevant and heavy
• 11:00
  at the time.
• 11:00
  ah But doing it with that spoonful of sugar.
• 11:05
  I mean, agree to all of the above.
• 11:08
  um It's easily one of, again, the campiest, like absolutely do not go to this show if you are expecting.
• 11:20
  I don't even know, like anything less, like take the Book of Mormon times five um in regards to like kind of filthy level of filth slash just extremism.
• 11:33
  uh And then, yeah, sprinkle some even more queer and gay in there and you might be remotely close to what's But it truly embodies the chaos
• 11:50
  And the irony of, obviously we know during that time that the war was ending or coming to an end and the play just, obviously again, makes a joke of the fact that like, what war?
• 12:06
  As if there was nothing else going on, the sole focus of this plot is Mary.
• 12:13
  Even though we're talking about all of these big pieces of history, but we're making them seem like...
• 12:21
  They didn't mean anything.
• 12:22
  Like we didn't even know what they were talking about.
• 12:24
  think that, and obviously we're gonna move on in just a moment, but I think that I was just so, I don't wanna say flabbergasted, but I was not expecting it to be as gay as it
• 12:35
  was, even though I knew it was super gay.
• 12:37
  Do you know I mean?
• 12:38
  I knew that there was a lot of queer undertones, especially because we need to look at the creator who starred in the original role.
• 12:48
  There's just a lot to, and again, there's been...
• 12:53
  cis women who have played this role there have, I think there's a gay man coming up that's taking over the role after Jinkx.
• 13:00
  I could be wrong about that.
• 13:01
  So again, like anybody can put on the brady curls and play Mary Todd Lincoln.
• 13:05
  I heard Maya Rudolph's gonna be taking over soon.
• 13:07
  And again, level of campiness, Maya Rudolph and Jane Krakowski who played the role as well.
• 13:12
  There's, we had Titus, you know, and like there's all these different people.
• 13:16
  oh So I knew it was gay.
• 13:19
  I guess I missed the piece where I was like, Lincoln's gay.
• 13:22
  And Mary's teacher's gay.
• 13:26
  there was just like, uh there's a lot of gay.
• 13:30
  It's raining gay in Oh, Mary!
• 13:33
  which is not a bad thing.
• 13:34
  It's just, think it's an unexpected piece of that puzzle that is actually what adds to the campiness and the funniness of the show.
• 13:42
  Yeah, I mean, you're taking like context of again, 2026 and throwing it at Abraham Lincoln, who is seen as this historical figure that, you know, like many, uh, we take very
• 13:58
  seriously, right?
• 13:59
  We take our history seriously.
• 14:01
  And so for someone to spin that on its head feels very irregular, but also makes it that more funny because there's nothing else.
• 14:11
  The only thing I can think of that is even remotely similar to this would be something like a product, a drunk Shakespeare type production.
• 14:19
  Like let's just, or I mean, I think they just do drunk theater now.
• 14:23
  um But it's just take what you know and screw it every which way.
• 14:32
  And that's what you're getting.
• 14:34
  Yeah, no, that's exactly what this is.
• 14:36
  And I can see why it works for some people.
• 14:39
  And again, we're gonna talk about at the end, how does it work for us?
• 14:42
  But I do wanna talk about the people that we had, the cast.
• 14:46
  um We got to see Jinkx Monsoon as Mary Todd Lincoln, which feels a little bit like a fever dream.
• 14:53
  um But she was phenomenal as Mary.
• 15:00
  And I'm almost, like you said, I'm intrigued to see how other people do it because it felt such a like a a Jinkx coated role that I couldn't possibly think of anybody else playing
• 15:09
  that role.
• 15:11
  Correct.
• 15:11
  Yeah, I think really leaning into...
• 15:15
  Again, we actually just had seen her not too long ago, so it was kind of almost bizarre because it felt very similar to what she would normally perform.
• 15:27
  um Comedy-wise, which of course then it makes sense.
• 15:32
  Why wouldn't you cast her in this part?
• 15:36
  But yeah, as we know, there was so...
• 15:41
  much physical comedy in this show and the pause, like grand pauses because you're you're egging on those comedic moments.
• 15:50
  um I'd be curious if that was like a personal choice, if it was a direct, directive choice or, um you know, it could have even been based on the night.
• 16:03
  Like shows like this truly also depend on the audience.
• 16:06
  And if the audience isn't eating it up,
• 16:10
  it's not gonna go well.
• 16:12
  But I will say I think our audience ate pretty well.
• 16:18
  I was gonna say there was a part, and I can't remember if it was in front of the curtain as she's auditioning, Mary's auditioning, or if it was during the final number.
• 16:28
  it was almost like Jinkx specifically called out basically to the audience, like how the audience was reacting and like had a moment.
• 16:36
  And I was like, okay, again, was that scripted?
• 16:38
  Was that us?
• 16:38
  Was that the energy?
• 16:40
  It was one of those shows, the barrier between the audience and the actors.
• 16:46
  was almost shattered.
• 16:47
  Like there almost wasn't a barrier.
• 16:49
  There was pieces that felt like we were part of the show and that was really cool as well.
• 16:55
  Yeah, and that theater lent itself that way as well.
• 16:59
  It was pretty small.
• 17:00
  The stage was small.
• 17:02
  It was very intimate.
• 17:03
  ah And quick.
• 17:08
  Like every scene, I compared it many times to an old-fashioned black and white movie.
• 17:20
  uh Except this one has sound.
• 17:25
  um But just the cut-to's of the scenes and I mean each scene was probably only a couple minutes long.
• 17:34
  ah But just very unique in its own right on top of obviously the comedy piece.
• 17:42
  A clear farce as we've mentioned previously.
• 17:47
  But you don't see political farce too often.
• 17:51
  I think again, it's like that unspoken, dare we talk about politics?
• 17:56
  But obviously this is such antiquated politics that it is just, it's incredibly funny.
• 18:05
  I mean, absolutely.
• 18:05
  mean, there's so much that I want to touch on here real quick.
• 18:07
  When you're talking about the farce, I just want people to know too, this is a one set piece.
• 18:13
  would say like, yeah, it's, guess there's more pieces than one set, but it's truly like most of the stories told on one set.
• 18:18
  And there's two doors going in and out of this office.
• 18:21
  So it's a lot of door slamming, like a farce.
• 18:26
  But I don't know, there was something about this that felt uniquely different.
• 18:32
  and do I dare I say superior to some of the other farces we've seen.
• 18:36
  I can't put my finger on why the doors worked so well in this.
• 18:40
  And it could be the hoop skirts.
• 18:41
  I think that's possibly what it was.
• 18:43
  It's the hoop skirts aspect of the comedy that made that work so well.
• 18:48
  Well, you know that those doors were obviously created to literally fit those dresses through.
• 18:53
  uh And there was actually, I'm sure this happens every performance, not uh multiple times a show, where one of the dresses gets caught in the doors, which actually just made it
• 19:07
  funnier because you just feed, know, the actors feed into that.
• 19:11
  uh But that...
• 19:16
  you know, I kind of jumped ship on where we were talking about.
• 19:19
  But when we talk about the actors in this case, obviously Jinkx was a massive costume most of the time.
• 19:29
  And then...
• 19:31
  Jen Harris.
• 19:32
  Yes, just also equally, which at one point her, I don't even know if it was her big dress or just a part of her dress.
• 19:43
  Cause when they walk through these doors, it's not just like slow.
• 19:46
  mean, they're usually slamming, like you said.
• 19:49
  And so they're like running through them.
• 19:52
  I don't give me that part because I will either run into a door or the wall behind it.
• 20:01
  or I'll knock the door down.
• 20:02
  I don't know.
• 20:03
  I always give props to people in honestly in any farce because it takes a lot.
• 20:11
  yeah, comedic timing is everything.
• 20:14
  What is interesting about that aspect is that they had to open the door, turn around, and walk backwards out of the door all quickly.
• 20:24
  Because it's that hard to open those doors with that big ass hoop skirt.
• 20:29
  I mean, you could fit like four kids under there.
• 20:31
  I swear, massive.
• 20:33
  easily.
• 20:34
  ah Speaking of fitting things under things, we do have more cast obviously.
• 20:39
  So John Andrew Morrison was great as Abe Lincoln and his assistant Tony Macht has some great comedic bits.
• 20:49
  But I do have to go to my my man, my dude, the myth, the legend Cheyenne Jackson.
• 20:56
  I was so excited to see Cheyenne Jackson live and
• 21:00
  That was a role that I have seen him in comedic roles before.
• 21:03
  um But truly, this was some iconic comedic timing from all of them that felt unique to each one of the actors and not just to the characters.
• 21:16
  And Cheyenne Jackson was definitely a standout moment.
• 21:18
  Like Jinkx Monsoon and Cheyenne Jackson were two of my favorites.
• 21:21
  But also Morrison as Abe Lincoln was also, I mean, this is where it's hard.
• 21:26
  They're all so good.
• 21:27
  Like I'm looking through the, and I was like, Jen Harris, she was fantastic.
• 21:30
  Like her comedic bits as well.
• 21:32
  There's just so much to the show that is to appreciate from these actors that I can't think of.
• 21:39
  That show has to, works well because all the pieces have to be in place with these actors.
• 21:44
  You know what I mean?
• 21:45
  Correct.
• 21:47
  Yeah, the chemistry is insane, especially considering the fact that they do swap out Marys relatively frequently.
• 22:00
  Like this is a limited run.
• 22:01
  Granted, like this is her second time back, but a limited run for Jinkx, like you said, and then we've got probably one or two more lined up after that.
• 22:12
  So.
• 22:13
  I mean, for those of you who don't know how Broadway works, like obviously if you're doing seven, eight, nine shows a week, but then you're throwing a new lead in, there's not
• 22:24
  really time to rehearse.
• 22:25
  You're kind of just doing it and having to kind of gain that trust and that kind of chemistry as you go, which is not easy.
• 22:41
  Obviously everyone's a professional and they do it, but ah it just makes it that more impressive.
• 22:49
  So I do have to ask you before we move on to some of other parts.
• 22:51
  This is such an absurd show.
• 22:55
  Very absurd.
• 22:57
  Is it chaotic for just for chaotic sake, or do you feel like there is an authenticity to the connection the audiences can make with the show?
• 23:06
  Do you understand kind of what I'm saying there?
• 23:10
  Yeah, um...
• 23:12
  I mean, I think it's literally just chaos.
• 23:17
  I don't know that I really walked away with anything, and I don't know that there was anything to walk away with.
• 23:25
  We weren't following a plot really.
• 23:28
  We were following the timeline up to the murder, but...
• 23:32
  uh
• 23:34
  It was just, it felt funny to be funny.
• 23:36
  It felt like this is what you watch when you need a good laugh for no reason without thinking, like I didn't have to be in my head at all.
• 23:46
  I just could laugh at stupid things and because they were stupid.
• 23:52
  Yes, yes.
• 23:54
  like, it's an easy, like shut off your mind and just enjoy it, which is not a bad thing.
• 24:01
  I do think that if people are looking for, sounds mean, like substance, they're looking for a show that has like some deep message or some aspirational thing to take away from
• 24:13
  it.
• 24:13
  It's not the show.
• 24:15
  This is a show that you are going to just have the most fun you possibly could.
• 24:22
  that are going to be gay.
• 24:23
  I do want to go to the, you had mentioned the, um you know, there's kind of, they're kind of short little stories.
• 24:32
  And then we kind of blink out and we go to the next one and something you had talked about quite a bit, which I think is really important to note is the technical piece of moving
• 24:47
  the story and the darkness.
• 24:49
  As we're jumping from scene to scene, goes like a silent film.
• 24:52
  It kind of goes out to black and it comes back with the next scene.
• 24:57
  As somebody who's in the theater, what was it like for you to be like, and then all of we're in a new scene and everybody had moved on stage in the dark.
• 25:06
  Yeah, mean, obviously, again, they're professionals and they've been doing it for years, but it's still incredibly impressive.
• 25:14
  I mean, when I say cut to black, that stage is black.
• 25:20
  A lot of shows will like, you know, take it down to like 5%, you know, the lights down.
• 25:25
  So just enough so that you can kind of see where you're going.
• 25:28
  And maybe there's some stage magic I'm not aware of that they're kind of tricking our eyes, although I'm sure that there are like cue lights off on the side so that people can
• 25:37
  see where to go.
• 25:40
  um Because there are ultimately just the two doors in the back and then there are like wing or is it just one wing?
• 25:51
  can't remember if it was both wings or not.
• 25:53
  Or there's just like an open area.
• 25:55
  um
• 25:58
  But insane.
• 26:00
  I mean, that's so hard.
• 26:01
  I would fall flat on my face.
• 26:04
  It would be awful.
• 26:07
  And they probably do.
• 26:09
  I mean, obviously the stage manager isn't giving the cue for lights up until everyone's in place.
• 26:16
  But even then, like as a stage manager, you could be backstage somewhere in the pitch black.
• 26:22
  And I don't know, unless they've got like glow tape on their heads or something, I would love to know how they're doing that, because it's quite impressive.
• 26:31
  And it's pretty instantaneous too.
• 26:35
  Like it would go black and then it would be like one, two, and then it would be back up.
• 26:39
  And so like, even if there's a mistake, they're moving impossibly fast to get to their next cue mark or their cue line.
• 26:47
  And they like, like, I think that's one of the things that the show that really impressed me was like how technical it was all done.
• 26:55
  get it.
• 26:56
  All shows are like that.
• 26:57
  But this one, was like, it was,
• 26:59
  not a single hair was out of place of any of those wigs in a way.
• 27:03
  know what mean?
• 27:03
  Like everything was just so down to a T that that show could have easily went wrong and it didn't.
• 27:11
  Correct, yeah.
• 27:12
  I mean, and luckily again, it is a comedy, so if anything does go wrong, you can probably play it off and we wouldn't have noticed.
• 27:19
  um But, I mean, good on them because two seconds, if for any type of scene change, even though the set is not changing, like the people still are, so it really is a scene change
• 27:36
  and it's the quickest ones I've ever seen.
• 27:40
  That's correct.
• 27:41
  ah Let's talk about the pace real quick before we give our final verdicts.
• 27:46
  This is a quick show.
• 27:47
  90 minutes in and out.
• 27:51
  They use every bit of the 90 minutes and it does not feel like it's 90 minutes.
• 27:55
  Was it almost too quick?
• 27:58
  And I feel like myself cringing to say, is a show too quick?
• 28:02
  Like, did it move too fast for a show such as that?
• 28:06
  uh I thought it was appropriate.
• 28:08
  I think if you elongated it, much more people would get antsy.
• 28:12
  uh Because you are kind of still getting the same frame by frame for each scene, right?
• 28:18
  Like, we know where we're headed, we know what's gonna happen.
• 28:23
  You can only do that so many times.
• 28:27
  You can only talk to the acting teacher so many times.
• 28:30
  You know what mean?
• 28:30
  Like, there's not a lot of variance happening.
• 28:34
  The set remains the same until, you know, the very end.
• 28:37
  ah And so, I mean, if you do elongate it, I think it would require an intermission.
• 28:45
  I think you have to break it up, act one, act two.
• 28:49
  Not sure where that would happen.
• 28:50
  But I think it was...
• 28:53
  It was fast, but I appreciated it.
• 28:56
  I felt like I got what I needed from it.
• 29:00
  Okay, one other question for you.
• 29:03
  by the time we reach the final scene.
• 29:07
  I had...
• 29:10
  Was it just so absurd to the point that it just no longer...
• 29:16
  I don't see it makes sense.
• 29:18
  But did it just reach a level of absurdity that was just like, what are we doing?
• 29:25
  There is a whimsical...
• 29:30
  Again, chaos of what the actual am I watching?
• 29:42
  But I think it's there because we want it.
• 29:49
  Like, we're curious, right?
• 29:50
  Like, basically that second half of the show is talking about acting and talking about
• 29:58
  cabaret and talking about all these pieces of things that she did before and who she and but meanwhile we're hearing like she's shitty and blah blah blah and so like you it's the
• 30:09
  closure it is like the closure piece of The show I think ah Because otherwise it I think without it people would be like but
• 30:21
  I didn't get to see any performative, like we talked about performance this whole time and then I didn't get to see any.
• 30:29
  uh So I think it closes the circle a bit.
• 30:34
  It reminded me a little bit, and this is such a weird connection, but I made this connection as I got home and I was thinking about all the shows and describing them to my
• 30:43
  friends and family.
• 30:45
  It got to the point of like season three of American Horror Story with the witches.
• 30:51
  And like to the point where like the last episode, it was just like so absurd of like very campy comedy that you're like, sure, why the fuck not?
• 31:00
  Like.
• 31:01
  And you enjoyed it every, I enjoyed every second of that, but I was just like, and of course, Mary Todd Lincoln's a cabaret dancer in a one piece, laying on the ground, making
• 31:12
  jokes.
• 31:14
  What else could we possibly be doing with the scene?
• 31:17
  To the point where I almost was rolling in my eyes, but in a way that I was rolling them through enjoyment and not through annoyance.
• 31:24
  I don't know how else to describe that.
• 31:25
  I've just been like the.
• 31:27
  God, here we go.
• 31:28
  Of course, this is what's coming.
• 31:29
  You know, and so I think that that is.
• 31:32
  You're right, there was no other better way to like wrap that up without doing that.
• 31:37
  And they just went like, OK, and we're embracing the absurdity completely.
• 31:41
  Everybody says some unbelief.
• 31:42
  Here we go.
• 31:43
  Like, and that's kind of where it left me at.
• 31:46
  Well, because it makes the rest of it believable, right?
• 31:49
  Like after all this, this is ultimately what Abe was avoiding.
• 31:55
  and
• 31:56
  And it happened.
• 31:57
  Would you go see this again?
• 31:59
  Yes.
• 32:00
  OK.
• 32:01
  Grade point.
• 32:02
  um Yes.
• 32:07
  I think OK.
• 32:08
  So this is where I'm going to have yes, but an asterisk.
• 32:11
  OK.
• 32:13
  I think I would see this again.
• 32:15
  to witness, to take a fully appreciate it.
• 32:18
  Cause I think I was so much like the, what are we doing?
• 32:21
  Where are we going?
• 32:22
  And it's over.
• 32:23
  So I think I need one of those.
• 32:24
  And I think I'd go see it again, depending on who was playing Mary.
• 32:27
  think like that would be a specific draw for me.
• 32:29
  Like you remember, I was super excited for Jane Krakowski.
• 32:34
  Like I was like, granted we got James Monsoon and it was fantastic.
• 32:37
  I'm so glad we had her.
• 32:39
  But like when they announced Jane, I like fangirled.
• 32:41
  When we...
• 32:42
  when we were in New York, the rumor was that Maya was gonna be the next one.
• 32:47
  And we both, our faces both kind of lit up a little bit.
• 32:49
  Like I think like if there was the right cast, like a right stunt casting, I would 1000%.
• 32:54
  It would be at the top of my list of going to see it again.
• 32:58
  I'd be like, I have to see that person be Mary.
• 33:00
  Yeah, I think that's the draw, and that's why they keep swapping out Mary's, is because it can just be, it can feel like a different experience every time, even though you know
• 33:13
  exactly what's gonna happen, because the comedy is so reliant on the individual playing Mary, it could almost, I mean, obviously the script is the same, but it could almost feel
• 33:23
  like a different show.
• 33:24
  I'm going to ask you then something on the flip side.
• 33:29
  While we were in New York, right after we saw ah Oh, Mary!
• 33:35
  they announced that there was a tour coming.
• 33:38
  And now I'm going to preface this by saying, not that I have any stake in it, I'm worried that Oh, Mary!'s not going to have the same reception on tour unless they have stars that
• 33:51
  are willing to go on tour with Oh, Mary
• 33:54
  but what do you think about that?
• 33:56
  Like touring wise?
• 33:58
  Do you think without a star to pull people in, people are gonna embrace Mary the way that it should be embraced?
• 34:04
  I think it depends on casting and theater size.
• 34:08
  So I don't think that this show is built for a house of 2,500.
• 34:12
  I think it's built for a small black box, intimate theater, like almost like comedy club type situation.
• 34:22
  um And then because it's just intimate, it's all about physical comedy.
• 34:32
  It's about the facial expressions.
• 34:34
  And if you don't, if you can't see that from the fifth floor balcony, you're just kind of looking at people not really moving around because really, again, while it was
• 34:48
  exaggerated, I'm not sure it would be conveyed the same.
• 34:53
  Um, but also, yeah, you're going to need a name.
• 34:58
  Like this comedy, again, it's so specific that
• 35:03
  I mean, if you get offended easily, this show, you can't, you can't do it.
• 35:10
  So as we know, like historically, many audiences may be of an older generation.
• 35:24
  And this for sure is like a millennial Gen Z show.
• 35:31
  So
• 35:33
  I will just say I looked up some more information for seats.
• 35:38
  And the average Broadway theater has between 1,000 and 1,300, with the largest being the Gershwin, which is at 1,900.
• 35:46
  The theater, the Lyceum theater, only has 922 seats.
• 35:51
  It's actually on the lower end, which again, I think you're right.
• 35:53
  It makes sense to the fact that that's why, they're selling out at 98 % capacity most of the time.
• 35:59
  That's why...
• 36:00
  because you get like an intimate experience.
• 36:02
  I feel like, Mary's an intimate show.
• 36:05
  I will be honest, I can't see this at the Fisher Theater.
• 36:10
  You know what mean?
• 36:11
  I couldn't see this even um at the theater in Grand Rapids, you know what mean?
• 36:15
  Or Miller Auditorium in East Lansing.
• 36:17
  Like, I could see this at the Fillmore, you know I mean?
• 36:23
  I could see this at...
• 36:25
  something even smaller than the Fillmore.
• 36:26
  Oh, where Jinkx was at for her holiday show.
• 36:29
  You know I mean?
• 36:30
  Like those small, but like, this is gonna be snatched up by a lot of big theaters and this isn't a big theater show.
• 36:37
  This is a, this is an intimate theater show.
• 36:41
  Yeah, I'll be very curious to see, you know, what theaters they're going into first and how it's received.
• 36:48
  And I think they'll pro- it's probably...
• 36:52
  Well, I'd have to look at the publicity, but I'd say I'm sure there's gonna be a trial period to see how it does because it's probably gonna be a limited run.
• 37:04
  This is definitely not like a a Hamilton or Wicked or, you know, any...
• 37:11
  not a mega show at all, and it's a straight show.
• 37:14
  it, you know, it's not gonna draw the same audience as musical theater would.
• 37:19
  Correct, That being said, it sounds like we would see the show again.
• 37:23
  I think there are some caveats, which is totally understandable.
• 37:26
  But I also just want to preface this by saying too, and I think it's important for us to note real quick, RJ, before we let them go, this is not a show for everybody.
• 37:33
  If you are easily upset by absurd comedy, if you're upset by gender ideology, like first off, like,
• 37:44
  what are you doing in a theater, like a Broadway theater like that.
• 37:46
  But also this show is not, like I would not take my mother to see this show because it's not her kind of comedy, you know?
• 37:55
  And so just like, always want people to know that like, this is a show I think you would appreciate, but it's maybe not a show that everybody will appreciate.
• 38:03
  Yeah, I am curious and I can't remember if there is an age limit.
• 38:07
  I think there might be, because it's gotta be rated something.
• 38:11
  um Because we do, we have vulgar language, have vulgar movement or acting, um a lot of sexual innuendos.
• 38:25
  And it's just extremism um in honestly every way there is you know comedic violence.
• 38:32
  I would call it um But yeah, it's just if you would not go to a comedy club for a I'll say rated R comedian Then this is not the show for you
• 38:51
  It was the same exact comedy style that we got at Jinkx and Dela's show and That is again not for everybody I wouldn't take any everybody to see um Book of Mormon, you know, I mean
• 39:05
  like there's just some comedy.
• 39:06
  That's like just This isn't a clue where you feel like you can take your whole family and everybody's gonna enjoy it.
• 39:13
  I
• 39:15
  Please don't bring your small children here and also ruin the experience for everybody else.
• 39:20
  Because it's just not that show.
• 39:22
  This is like a date night show.
• 39:23
  This is like going with your friends kind of show.
• 39:24
  is, it's a great show, but it's not for everyone.
• 39:30
  Correct.
• 39:32
  And with that, we have concluded our Oh, Mary!
• 39:35
  discussion.
• 39:36
  Stay tuned for future episodes of the BSB podcast.
• 39:39
  Thank you so much for joining us in our box seats.
• 39:41
  Until next curtain call.