Oh, Mary! – Oh, Mary! brings outrageous humor and an unconventional look at Mary Todd Lincoln to the San Diego stage.
“Oh, Mary! in San Diego: I Wasn’t Prepared for This Broadway Comedy
TONY AWARD®-WINNING AND PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST PLAY MAKES ITS
WEST COAST DEBUT IN SAN DIEGO FOR A STRICTLY LIMITED ENGAGEMENT
I went into Oh, Mary! knowing very little about the play, and I’m so glad I did. I knew it was a satire, but I deliberately avoided reading reviews or learning too much about the story. I wanted to be surprised. And surprised I was!
Oh, Mary! Suzette Valle
For starters, I expected something closer to a traditional Broadway musical. Instead, I found myself watching five actors carry an entire production filled with outrageous humor, irreverent dialogue, and situations I never imagined seeing onstage.
Oh, Mary! takes a wildly unconventional look at Mary Todd Lincoln, reimagining the former first lady as a frustrated, deeply unhappy woman trapped in a marriage and a society that won’t allow her to be herself. The play makes no attempt to be historically accurate. Instead, it turns history upside down, using absurdity, sexuality, and unapologetically modern humor to explore repression, identity, and the desire for personal freedom.
And the language? Absolutely no filter!
There were moments when the San Diego audience audibly gasped at what was being said onstage. I couldn’t help laughing, not just at the dialogue, but at the collective shock around me. It’s been a long time since I’ve attended a theatrical production quite this uninhibited. But beneath all the outrageous comedy, I found something surprisingly thought-provoking.
I kept thinking about what life must have been like for gay people in the 19th century, when expressing their identities openly could have devastating consequences. Oh, Mary! takes today’s greater openness about sexuality and identity and imagines that freedom crashing into a world where such behavior would have been unthinkable. It’s an outrageous premise, but it makes a point.
And then there’s Mary herself. Beneath her exaggerated personality and ridiculous antics, her frustration with the limitations placed on her life felt unexpectedly relatable. Who hasn’t, at some point, wanted to break free from expectations and simply be themselves?
Oh, Mary! Broadway comedy production in San Diego
What impressed me most was how much energy five performers could generate. The pacing is relentless, the performances are wonderfully exaggerated, and the humor ranges from clever to downright scandalous.
Did I love it? Absolutely.
Not because every joke was sophisticated or every moment comfortable, but because Oh, Mary! was unlike anything I’d seen onstage before. It challenged my expectations, made me laugh, and left me thinking about how much society has changed, and how much the freedom to be ourselves matters. It’s quirky, provocative, occasionally shocking, and definitely not for anyone expecting a conventional historical drama.
Sometimes the best theater experiences are the ones you never see coming. And Oh, Mary! was certainly one of those nights.
Oh, Mary! made it’s West Coast debut in San Diego. You can catch this one-act play when it’s in your city soon.
Looking for more theater? Read my latest San Diego theater reviews, including The Phantom of the Opera and Water for Elephants.
Speak Your Mind