An Exclusive Look Inside the Raucous Opening Night of ‘Oh, Mary!’ on Broadway

A throng of stars from stage and screen gathered last night at New York’s Lyceum Theatre to celebrate the Broadway premiere of Oh, Mary!, the play written by and starring Cole Escola as Mary Todd Lincoln, reimagined here as an alcoholic wannabe cabaret performer.

The sweltering 91-degree heat did not keep the play’s legion of boldface fans from paying homage to this deliciously ahistorical (and critically acclaimed) first-lady farce. With the tumult of Times Square as a backdrop, Ruth Negga braved the temperatures in a knit dress, with Escola’s friend and frequent collaborator Amy Sedaris just behind her. Rebecca Hall and Morgan Spector gamely posed with an Oh, Mary! frame while Spector’s Gilded Age costar Ben Ahlers walked the carpet (no season-three spoilers from either). Kaia Gerber continued to rep hot brunette summer as she and Austin Butler ducked in just before curtain. (Among the other guests were Patti LuPone, Molly Ringwald, Maude Apatow, Kara Young, and Matthew Broderick.)

Oh, Mary!’s star and creator opted for a slinky, black corset gown by CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist Jackson Wiederhoeft, channeling so much John Singer Sargent’s Madame X. “I feel crazy,” Escola said before heading into the theater to transform into Mary, dodging fans lined up for selfies. “It’s like a birthday and Christmas and first date all together.”

Cole Escola during the curtain call for Oh, Mary! at the Lyceum Theatre on Thursday night.

Photo: Jenny Anderson