Betty Gilpin Steps In As New Mary In ‘Oh, Mary!’

Summary

Podcast Summary: "All Of It" - Episode: Betty Gilpin Steps In As New Mary In ‘Oh, Mary!’

Podcast Information:

• Title: All Of It
• Host: Alison Stewart
• Producer: WNYC
• Description: ALL OF IT is a show about culture and its consumers, engaging thinkers, doers, makers, and creators in conversations about the what and why of their work. The show aims to build a community around diverse perspectives, celebrating the rich cultural tapestry of New York City.

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Episode Overview:

In this episode of All Of It, host Alison Stewart interviews actress Betty Gilpin about her role as Mary Todd Lincoln in the Broadway play 'Oh, Mary!'. The discussion delves into Gilpin’s journey into the role, her experiences on stage, the unique writing of the play, and her personal connection to the theater.

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Introduction to Betty Gilpin’s Role (00:37 - 01:39)

Alison Stewart introduces Betty Gilpin, highlighting her previous rigorous roles, including nearly half a year filming American Primeval in New Mexico and three years portraying a 1970s female wrestler in GLOW. Despite her demanding schedule as a mother of two young children, Gilpin embraces the challenge of stepping into a role previously held by Cola Scola in 'Oh, Mary!'.

Key Points:

• Gilpin’s enthusiasm and readiness to tackle the demanding role.
• Audience reactions from Reddit praising Gilpin’s performance:
  • “She’s a lunatic in the best possible way.”
  • “So funny and unhinged. It didn’t disappoint.”

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First Impressions of 'Oh, Mary!' (01:42 - 02:39)

Betty Gilpin shares her initial encounter with 'Oh, Mary!' while pregnant with her second daughter. She expresses admiration for the play's ability to encourage self-acceptance and authenticity.

Notable Quote:

“That's the best gift you can give your child is to just make them like themselves enough and feel comfortable enough in their own skin that they put out whatever is buried within them into the world.”
— Betty Gilpin [02:44]

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Receiving the Role (02:39 - 03:29)

Gilpin recounts receiving the call to replace Cola Scola while she was filming a miniseries in Budapest about President James Garfield. The surreal moment of receiving the offer is depicted humorously with an image of Lincoln’s portrait with a rainbow, symbolizing the unexpected excitement and fear she felt.

Notable Quote:

“I just fell to the ground. I was so excited and terrified.”
— Betty Gilpin [02:44]

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Transitioning into the Role (03:29 - 05:00)

Alison inquires about the questions Gilpin pondered before accepting the role. Gilpin reflects on the uniqueness of stepping into a one-person-like performance and the challenge of maintaining the play’s integrity.

Notable Quote:

“Cole’s performance was so incredible, but also their play is so incredible. They really wrote... the bones of it are really kind of faultless and provides this roadmap of, you know, a Blanche Dubois level tour de force for anyone to come in and try to knock it out of the park.”
— Betty Gilpin [03:39]

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The Writing Behind 'Oh, Mary!' (05:00 - 06:31)

Gilpin discusses the collaborative writing process with Cole, emphasizing their shared love for blending intelligence with absurdity. She highlights the play’s ironic and sincere tones, which pay homage to theater and Old Hollywood while portraying complex female characters.

Notable Quote:

“Something so brilliant about the way that Cole writes and sees the world is that it's both, you know, ironic and arch and commentary and roast of things like theater and old Hollywood... But also, just when you think it's only commentary, only eye-rolling, they will hit you with sincerity out of nowhere and a sincere love for all of these things.”
— Betty Gilpin [05:09]

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Character Insights: Mary Todd Lincoln (06:31 - 08:11)

Alison references Sam Pinkleton’s observation that the characters in 'Oh, Mary!' genuinely believe in their dialogue without snarkiness. Gilpin elaborates on Mary’s internal struggle and desire for the spotlight, contrasting her grandiose ambitions with her current constrained reality.

Notable Quote:

“She's supposed to be Judy Garland, not, you know, Nancy Pelosi's cat or whatever... she is in a fluorescently sober, quiet story about men in politics.”
— Betty Gilpin [06:56]

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Embracing the Character’s Madness (08:11 - 10:47)

Gilpin embraces the eccentricity of Mary Todd Lincoln, drawing parallels to her own experiences in theater, including her studies in the Theater of the Absurd. She reflects on balancing over-the-top performance styles with subtlety, sharing anecdotes about her emotional connection to the role and backstage experiences.

Notable Quote:

“Mary's makeup should be like, a drunk former star found out a casting director was going to be at the Oval Office dinner tonight and then did her makeup in the dark. So I look absolutely insane.”
— Betty Gilpin [12:40]

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Broadway Debut and Personal Connections (13:31 - 15:42)

Gilpin shares the emotional support from her father, an understudy in a 1978 production, emphasizing the generational connection to theater. She expresses her excitement and the surreal nature of landing a leading Broadway role, acknowledging Cole’s belief in her unique suitability for the character.

Notable Quote:

“This is not really my reality... I know that I have that whatever that thing is that Cole needed.”
— Betty Gilpin [14:38]

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Future Aspirations and Closing Thoughts (15:42 - 17:09)

Looking ahead, Gilpin expresses her desire to continue performing on Broadway, reminiscing about her early inspirations in theater and the camaraderie backstage. She conveys heartfelt appreciation for the experience and teases the emotional conclusion of the play.

Notable Quote:

“I could see the back door creak open and a little light come through and I thought, oh, she's coming in right now. And you know, my throat caught and it was as if Madonna Obama was entering the room.”
— Betty Gilpin [09:13]

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Conclusion:

Alison Stewart wraps up the episode by acknowledging Betty Gilpin’s impressive Broadway debut in 'Oh, Mary!', celebrating her dedication and the transformative nature of theater. The episode provides an intimate look into Gilpin’s artistic process, the collaborative spirit behind the play, and the vibrant cultural scene of New York City’s Broadway.

Final Remarks:

“Come see me be the weirdest possible person to the second mezzanine.”
— Betty Gilpin [14:38]

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Notable Absences: As per instructions, advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content sections have been omitted from this summary to focus solely on the substantive content of the interview.

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Timestamp Reference: All notable quotes and key points are referenced with their corresponding timestamps from the transcript to provide context and facilitate easy navigation for interested listeners.

Transcript

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[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. When Betty Gilpin was asked to take over for Cola Scola as the lead in Omar, the tale of Mary Todd Lincoln, a wannabe cabaret star stuck as the first lady to a cranky, closeted president, Gilpin was beyond thrilled and challenged. But Gilpin is not one to shy away from hard work. She spent nearly half a year in New Mexico in the Cold shooting the series American primeval. She spent three years playing a 1970s female wrestler in Glow, and she's the mom to a 10 month old and a 5 year old, so she's clearly used to drama. But how would she be able to take on what Kolaskola brought to Broadway? Well, if you checked Reddit, the answer is clear. One user said, she's a lunatic in the best possible way. Another said, I saw it with Cole and was worried Betty wouldn't be as much of a freak. But she was wonderful. Another said, so funny and unhinged. It didn't disappoint. There were just two more weeks to see Betty Gilpin in Omar, and she joins us now. Hi Betty.

[Betty Gilpin]

Hi. How are you? I'm so happy to be here.

[Alison Stewart]

Thanks for being here. When did you first see O Mary?

[Betty Gilpin]

I first saw O Mary when it was downtown at the Lucille Ortel and I was pregnant with my second daughter and in the throes of figuring out what school my older daughter was going to go to. And I saw oh Mary and thought, gosh, that's the best gift you can give your child is to just make them like themselves enough and feel comfortable enough in their own skin that they put out whatever is buried within them into the world. Like this. Like the, you know, as silly and ridiculous as O Mary is, you're watching Cole extract something from within themselves that most people don't can't do. It's a there was like a reverence that sort of came over the audience, even though we were all laughing at how ridiculous it was.

[Alison Stewart]

Where were you when you got the call asking to take over for Omar?

[Betty Gilpin]

Well, strangely, I was in Budapest filming a miniseries about President James Garfield, a different president who was assassinated in the 1800s. And I was playing his first lady, Lucretia Garfield. So I was in an Oval office set, an 1881 Oval Office set in my Lucretia Garfield bustle, and got the call to come be Mary Todd and looked up and made eye contact with a portrait of Lincoln with a rainbow over his head. Whether it's a pride rainbow or not, we can't be sure. Yeah, I just fell to the ground. I was so excited and terrified when.

[Alison Stewart]

You really sat down and thought about it because you obviously you wanted to do it, but you must have had questions. What questions did you ask yourself before taking over this role?

[Betty Gilpin]

Well, you know, it's so. Cole's performance is so singular that at first I thought, well, would this be like stepping in to do someone's one person show? You know, it's so. It feels like you're walking around a haunted house of someone's demented brain. And I thought, oh, does it work if it's somebody else up there saying their words? But I think it's sort of an amazing opportunity for the play to stand on its own. You know, Cole's performance was so incredible, but also their play is so incredible. They really wrote. You know, I keep saying it's the greatest part I'll ever play. You know, as over the top as the play is, the bones of it are really kind of faultless and provides this roadmap of, you know, a Blanche dubois level tour de force for anyone to come in and try to knock out of the park. So while I was scared, certainly, I also thought, oh, man, I think I can really do this, but I have to really swing for the fences or the second mezzanine, as it were, which fortunately there is a second mezzanine at the Lyceum, so that lends itself to an over the top performance.

[Alison Stewart]

I was going to ask you because you're a writer as well. A lot of people know that about you. What is special about the writing of O Mary?

[Betty Gilpin]

Well, you know, Cole and I, while we are very different, we share a love of being or trying to be simultaneously smart and stupid at the same time. And, you know, I think something so brilliant about the way that Cole writes and sees the world is that it's both, you know, ironic and arch and commentary and roast of things like theater and old Hollywood and, you know, ridiculous delusional women. But also, just when you think it's only commentary, only eye rolling, they will hit you with sincerity out of nowhere and a sincere love for all of these things. So, you know, I, having grown up mainly in My parents, dressing rooms of Off Broadway and regional theater throughout New York and the coast. I. I developed a love for, you know, theater and all the things that are ridiculous and wonderful about it. And so, I don't know, it's sort of like I grew up with all of these characters.

[Alison Stewart]

We're talking with Betty Gilpin. She's currently playing Mary Todd Lincoln in the hilariously unhinged play oh, Mary. So Sam Pinkleton, he was on our show, and he told me that the characters in this play, they really believe in what they're saying, that they aren't snarky at all.

[Betty Gilpin]

Right.

[Alison Stewart]

What do you see as Mary, Mary Todd Lincoln's reason for life? Why is she there? What does she care about?

[Betty Gilpin]

Well, I think that she. When we meet her at the top of the show, Sam and I would discuss her being, like, a caged animal, that she's sort of. You know, she believes that she should be on a rooftop with a spotlight on her, surrounded by fun, drunk, adoring people. And instead, she is in a fluorescently sober, quiet story about men in politics. And, you know, she's sort of railing at the bars of her cage, saying, I'm in the wrong damn story. I'm supposed to be Judy Garland, not, you know, Nancy Pelosi's cat or whatever. She's, you know, he's really upset and, you know, trying to grab everybody by the collar and insist, you know, I'm mag. Magnificent. Give me my chance. And, you know, without spoiling anything, I think we see her fight for her chance.

[Alison Stewart]

Sam paid you a compliment in one of the articles I read, and he said, quote, she's weirder than coal. Do you find anything weird or odd about Mary?

[Betty Gilpin]

Yes, she's completely insane. I mean, it is. I also. Sometimes I'm afraid I'm about to go film a movie that takes place in an office in 2025. I'm like, oh, God, have I broken my ability to filter and be subtle? Am I just gonna be, you know, crossing my eyes and trying to tap dance and, you know, Charlie Chaplin on cocaine, my way through a scene? And they'll be like, stop, stop. Just say the words. Hold the mug and say the words like a human. But, yeah, it's been the most fun. You know, I think it's this strange thing where, you know, in theater school, particularly where I went, Fordham, at Lincoln center, we studied a lot of theater of the absurd. And, you know, we did Endgame by Samuel Beckett for, like, an entire year. And, you know, it was a lot of claw hands. And hunchbacks and crossed eyes and only vowel sounds and writhing around on the ground in our pajamas and sobbing about our childhoods. And then we all graduated and auditioned for, you know, mumblecore contemporary pixie dream Girls. And I think for that reason, you know, I didn't, I really didn't work a lot besides theater because I didn't understand, you know, it's like, well, I should be screaming a vowel at the ceiling, not murmuring a consonant at the floor. And at last I am able to scream those vow at the top of my lungs. It's a wonderful gift. And I, yeah. I can't believe I only have two weeks left. I'm so sad. It's been so much fun. It's just been ridiculous. And even though it is definitely not a child friendly show, I would say the last five minutes are without giving anything away. And I had my 4 year old daughter Mary, whose name is Mary, sneak in through the back to just watch the last couple minutes on Sunday. And you know, I think it was actually no hyperbole, the greatest day of my life. It was like I could see the back door creak open and a little light come through and I thought, oh, she's coming in right now. And you know, my throat caught and it was as if Madonna Obama was entering the room. I started shaking. So excited.

[Alison Stewart]

What's changed about the way that you played Mary Todd Lincoln now versus the first couple of days?

[Betty Gilpin]

Well, because the show is so fast and there are so many turns. Just when you think you've got the tone, it makes a hard left and a hard right and a backflip and sort of, you know, every Mary is going to be different. Sort of. The only non negotiable, as Sam said to me on the first day, was speed. So and kind of the, as an audience member, it's, you're sort of watching someone, all the actors like waist up, sip a cup of tea while their legs tap dance at 1000 speed. And you're watching someone so comfortably, languidly swim through the most insane obstacle course. And you know, we only had six days of rehearsal so I thought only six, you know. Yes, it's insane. It was insane. You know, Chris Renfro, who plays Mary's teacher, I was talking to them about, we were joking about, you know, it's going to take us six weeks to ask each other if we have siblings or not because we were so in fight or flight the whole time, like just trying to cram the lines and blocking into our heads that we were not chatting at all. But now, of course, we're all completely in love with each other. But, yeah, the first week, I think I was just in a blind. It was like I walked on stage and blacked out, just in a panic. And now it feels like swimming and tap dancing in the most disturbing way. And, oh, man, I'm just gonna miss it so much. It's just the most fun possible.

[Alison Stewart]

I wanted to ask you about the bratty curls.

[Betty Gilpin]

Yes.

[Alison Stewart]

Because they discussed the bratty curls on the wig for Mary Todd Lincoln. That's how they were described. Are they still bratty?

[Betty Gilpin]

They are the absolute brattiest. It's like Shirley Temple and Satan had a baby. It is the most ridiculous. And I can feel them bouncing when I stomp around. So fun. And then my makeup. Darian Matthews does hair and makeup for the show, and we discussed. Okay, Mary's makeup should be like, a drunk former star found out a casting director was going to be at the Oval Office dinner tonight and then did her makeup in the dark. So I look absolutely insane, I can say.

[Alison Stewart]

We're speaking with Betty Gilpin. She's currently playing Mary Todd Lincoln just for a couple more weeks in the hilariously unhinged play O Mary, apparently. Apparently. Because the Internet says your dad appeared at the Lyceum Theater briefly, where Omar is playing now.

[Betty Gilpin]

Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

What advice did he give you?

[Betty Gilpin]

Well, yes, he was an understudy in a production in 1978, and he went on one time, and, you know, when he. He and my mom came to see the show, he pointed out where, you know, the payphone used to be backstage, and his. His dressing room was up on the third floor where mine is. And, you know, he. I don't know that he really had any advice. He just. I don't know. They said all the right things. We were all sobbing together. They were. They were very, very proud. I mean, they were just so excited. And, yeah, we were just. We were really crying together.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, it's your Broadway debut. That's big.

[Betty Gilpin]

Yes. Yes, it is. Yeah. And, you know, I think I was really shocked when this call came in. You know, this is not really my reality. You know, I get great opportunities, but, you know, a lead in a Broadway show is, you know, a little bit more for the. The movie stars, especially this day and age. So when this came across my desk, I was really shocked. But I knew it was because Cole believed that we shared this very specific brain DNA that is required to play Mary. And, you know, while I could write you a dissertation on all the things I lack. I know that I have that whatever that thing is that Cole needed. So, yeah, come see me be the weirdest possible person to the second mezzanine.

[Alison Stewart]

Do you have a hankering to do more Broadway? To do more stage?

[Betty Gilpin]

Of course. I mean, it's what made me fall in love with it. You know, when my daughter came backstage this past Sunday and she realized there was a bowl of candy, I had a flashback back to the bowl of Werther's butterscotch candy backstage, you know, in 1990 at the long Wharf Theater. I was like, oh, that is what made me want to become an actor. It started with Werther's in my mom's dressing room and then became, oh, and you can gossip backstage while eating the Werther's with the funnest people alive who are all in wig, caps and fake lashes who are saying things like, well, this stays between the six of us. And then, yeah, then realizing, oh, the greatest fun to be had is on stage. So, yeah, my love of Werther's gossip and farce will, will never eclipse sitting in a trailer and waiting to be called to set to pull at your contemporary sweater sleeves and mumble a consonant at the ground.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, here's hopes to more roles for you on Broadway. I said it out loud. I've been speaking with Betty Gilpin. She's currently playing Mary Todd Lincoln in the hilariously unhinged play O Mary at the Lyceum for two more weeks. Thanks for taking the time, Betty.

[Betty Gilpin]

Thank you so, so much. Thank you. For 140 years, MultiCare has been in Washington prioritizing long term solutions, partnering with local communities and expanding access to care. Together, we're building a healthier future.

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