This might actually be a Play That Doesn't Deserve Its Own Thread — even after finally seeing it almost a month ago, I still haven't made up my mind. (It didn't help that I started feeling a little unwell about twenty minutes into the show; while the feeling passed by the end of the night, it did dampen my enjoyment).
But it definitely doesn't make sense to keep posting about it in the Set Design thread (https://sondheimforum.com/index.php?topic=2293.msg8143#msg8143), so I'll copy those two posts here before adding what I came to add today.
First, from December, and legitimately set-design-related:
Quote from: scenicdesign71 on Dec 14, 2024, 01:52 AMNYT (interactive): A Visual Tour of Oh, Mary!, Broadway's Hit Comedy (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/12/12/theater/oh-mary-broadway.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hU4.rC0P.Rp-vktwVGQdX&smid=url-share)
I've been meaning to see this (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/11/theater/oh-mary-review-cole-escola.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hU4.zREN.OQ6F6TE81k74&smid=url-share) all year, and now of course Cole Escola's final month of performances is almost entirely sold-out. (On the other hand, their replacement as of January 21 will be Glow (https://sondheimforum.com/index.php?topic=48.0)'s ferociously talented Betty Gilpin (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/05/style/betty-gilpin-all-the-women-in-my-brain.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hU4.mGtt.QWv6HASBLaG4&smid=url-share) — and while I'm having trouble imagining her inhabiting Escola's particular brand of derangement (https://www.youtube.com/@cole-escola), the idea is kinda intriguing). Anyway, soonish, hopefully.
And then a month ago, digressing:
Quote from: scenicdesign71 on Jan 27, 2025, 12:31 AMWell, I almost lucked into a surprisingly reasonable-ish (by current standards) house seat for Cole Escola's final weekend in Oh, Mary! (https://sondheimforum.com/index.php?topic=2293.msg8143#msg8143) But in the end, I wasn't too devastated to lose out (this was on the last-minute-resale app Theatr (https://www.theatr-app.com/)), since I expect their sendoff was probably even more hysterically fan-ridden than most final performances. (Those I've seen for other shows or performers sometimes become such love-fests that the performance itself gets a bit overshadowed by the event — and my sense is that Escola and Oh, Mary! might've been even more susceptible to that than most). I had been keeping an eye on Telecharge, and getting lots of Theatr notifications, throughout their final couple of weeks; and dithering, and resisting the spiraling ticket prices; and by the final weekend I was pretty well resigned to seeing the show without its creator, if at all.
And now I shall, this Thursday at 8:30pm, featuring the talented Ms. Gilpin, who took over last week and whose work I'm predisposed to enjoy (https://www.instagram.com/ohmaryplay/reel/DEz27tZu0nB/) even if her casting here surprises me (admittedly based on no actual experience of this play yet) as much as it does her:
...and now, finally, today's news (such as it is): having shelled out to see Gilpin in the title role at the very end of last month (who, letting her freak flag fly with fierce commitment and talent to spare, still couldn't quite make me see the play as a comic masterpiece) — of course now Escola and their original castmates are returning in a little over a month, for an unspecified encore run in the roles they created:
Theatermania: Cole Escola, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully Returning to Oh, Mary! (https://www.theatermania.com/news/cole-escola-conrad-ricamora-james-scully-returning-to-oh-mary_1765330/?utm_source=daily-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-newsletter)In the meantime, after Gilpin leaves on March 16, Titus Burgess will take on the title role for three weeks until Escola's return. And once again I'm intrigued, but I dunno...