Vogue has been a fan of Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary! since before the play opened on Broadway. Now, 10 Marys in, actor, writer, and longtime podcaster Bowen Yang has stepped into the lead role of Mary Todd Lincoln (X), making his Broadway debut. Marley Marius, who made her podcast debut in 2024 while interviewing Escola, the show’s playwright and onetime star, once again joined Chloe on The Run-Through, this time to talk to Yang about starring in this wildly beloved production.
Yang, a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live for many years, is adjusting to a new kind of endurance test, doing eight shows a week at the Lyceum Theatre. “I would just nod my head politely any time someone would say, like, ‘Broadway performers are athletes.’ And I never doubted it, but now I understand that it is absolutely true,” he told them. The secret to his stamina? A potent combination of energy drinks—Fuji apple-flavored Celsius, to be specific—and traditional Chinese medicine.
When asked about his most Mary-like quality, Yang pointed to the duality of the clown. “There’s the misunderstood outcast and the murderous deviant. It’s like Pennywise and Bozo,” he explained. “And I am certainly not murderous, but I have this trickster energy that coincides with this idea that we all have where we feel sort of alienated by the arbitrary rules of society.”
So far, his favorite surprise visitor to the show has been Malala Yousafzai—but his great hope is that Cher will one day make it to the theater: “I think Cher would really get a kick out of this. Like, wow, that’s a horny legend. I feel comfortable saying that.” As for who should be cast next in the role of Mary? His votes are in for Keke Palmer and Lisa Rinna. Stay tuned!
