'Oh, Mary!' on Broadway

Summary

"Oh, Mary!" on Broadway — All Of It with Alison Stewart

Podcast: All Of It
Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guests: Conrad Rickamora (actor, "Abraham Lincoln"), Sam Pinkleton (director)
Air Date: July 16, 2024

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the buzzworthy Broadway transfer of "Oh Mary!", the riotous and surreal new comedy about Mary Todd Lincoln’s wild aspirations and her tumultuous marriage to Abraham Lincoln. Host Alison Stewart sits down with director Sam Pinkleton and lead actor Conrad Rickamora to discuss the process of bringing this hit show from Off-Broadway to the Lyceum Theatre, its boundary-pushing blend of absurdity and sincerity, and what it means to make people laugh in tumultuous times.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Genesis and Tone of "Oh Mary!"

• The play centers on Mary Todd Lincoln as a "lush with a snarky streak and a dream: to become a cabaret star," while Abraham Lincoln is depicted as both a war-time president and a man wrestling with repressed desire. (01:34)
• Writers and creative team chose not to make it mere parody or sketch comedy. Instead, the script was praised for hilarious but heartfelt storytelling and solid dramatic structure.
  • Sam Pinkleton:

    "It's not just a spoof... It's a beautifully constructed play about a woman who wants something so bad and a man, Abe Lincoln, who has enormous pressure on him and can't be himself." (04:23)

2. First Impressions of the Script

• Both Conrad and Sam recall literally laughing out loud upon their first reads.
  • Sam Pinkleton:

    "It's the only time I've ever read a play and laughed out loud, like, howling with laughter reading the play." (03:18)

  • Conrad Rickamora:

    "I was just giggling like an idiot, and my husband looked at me and was like, what is. What is going on? ... It was the first time I was dying laughing from just reading something." (03:41)

3. Balancing Farce and Seriousness

• The cast and crew approached the story’s outlandishness with gravity, pulling comedy from real predicaments rather than playing for cheap laughs.
  • Conrad Rickamora:

    "To me... it is deadly serious. The best comedies that I like are people that are in the biggest predicaments... it not only causes you to laugh, but it also pierces you, like, through your heart." (05:56)

4. Bringing "Oh Mary!" to Broadway

• The move from Off-Broadway to Broadway meant embracing the larger space but retaining the play’s integrity and heart.
  • Sam Pinkleton:

    "The job going to Broadway was just about honestly, like, reconnecting to the truth of it, taking it even more seriously than we took it downtown... It wasn't like, hey, play to the rafters." (06:53)

  • The visual scale increased (notably more creative lighting), but the core stayed consistent. (08:07)

5. Portraying Abraham Lincoln

• While Lincoln is traditionally played as soft-spoken, Rickamora’s version involves a lot of yelling, requiring dedicated vocal maintenance.
  • Conrad Rickamora:

    "Doing a lot of repetitive, boring work makes you great... The same way that doing those hours laying on your back in a studio allows you to exist on stage and be free." (08:54)

6. The Play’s Structure & Humor

• Instead of disconnected gags, the show follows a tightly plotted, old-fashioned arc, which enables actors to play both the comedy and the truth of their characters.
  • Sam Pinkleton:

    "Cole Escola has created a structure that is just airtight. It's thrilling. It's like an old fashioned play... It's kind of an Old fashioned play that has all of this icing on it that is shocking and hilarious and contemporary and perverse. But the bones are so good..." (10:30)

7. Lincoln and Mary: Relationship & Character Motivations

• Lincoln’s manipulativeness and deep connection to Mary, who represents his lost carefree self, make for both comedic tension and emotional depth.
  • Conrad Rickamora:

    "Mary... reminds Abe of a carefree, whimsical time... Which is why he loves and loathes her so much... He's taken on the responsibility of being the president during the worst crisis in our nation's history." (11:55)

8. Dealing with Queerness in the Narrative

• Lincoln's queerness is treated with loving humor rather than mockery.
  • Conrad Rickamora:

    "Well, I'm queer. So as me, Conrad Rickamura... My radar for it being mean or damaging is higher than anyone else's... I trust Cole's sensibility and I also trust my own sensibility." (13:15)

  • Sam Pinkleton:

    "The play and Cole's work and the work of everybody working on the show is deeply loving... It's a world of deeply flawed people. But like, so is the world we live in." (14:07)

9. Physical Comedy & Staging

• Physical humor is grounded in logical, character-driven storytelling rather than mere slapstick.
  • Sam Pinkleton:

    "We just have such a high regard for like, real physical comedy... And the best of that comedy comes from truth.... All of the physical comedy came from real problem solving and storytelling." (15:36)

• Conrad admits he broke character during early rehearsals but now experiences the part through Lincoln’s eyes.
  • Conrad Rickamora:

    "In the first couple of weeks... I was having a hard time with breaking because I find Cole to be so funny. But then... Now it's like I don't even worry about it anymore." (16:52)

10. Iconic Details: The Wig

• Cole Escola’s Mary sports an intentionally over-the-top wig, now an iconic part of the production.
  • Sam Pinkleton:

    "[Cole] was really fierce that it should look like a wig and it should be ridiculous, but we should also feel like she chose this. Like, this is how she wants to look... Cole lovingly talks about the bratty curls and yeah, it's sort of accidentally become iconic." (17:40)

11. The Difficulty of Comedy

• The most challenging scenes required deep work to find emotional authenticity beneath the absurdity—most notably, the climactic saloon scene.
  • Conrad Rickamora:

    "The last scene in the saloon... it was, I feel like that one kind of bottling up everything that is simmering in the pot... The temperature is so hot at that point that putting it back in the pot was difficult for a couple of weeks." (18:45)

12. Comedy’s Role in Turbulent Times

• Both guests reflect on the redemptive, communal function of making audiences laugh amid crisis.
  • Sam Pinkleton:

    "The feeling of sitting in the Lyceum every night for the last three weeks and feeling 900 people roar with laughter has felt more restorative than anything I could have anticipated about bringing this play to Broadway. It feels like relief." (21:31)

  • Conrad Rickamora:

    "Every time I've met somebody that has seen the show, they've just come up to me and said, thank you for making me laugh for 80 minutes. I really needed it." (22:50)

13. The Many Meanings of "Oh, Mary!"

• The title’s inflection changes meaning—wonder, exasperation, surprise.
  • Conrad Rickamora:

    "Because it is such a surprise that we are even on Broadway. It's 'oh, Mary!'" (23:41)

  • Sam Pinkleton:

    "There's only one way to say it, and it's the way that Conrad says it in the third scene. But now I can't remember how you say it. It's perfect, though." (23:51)

  • Conrad Rickamora:

    "You'll have to buy a ticket and come find out." (24:07)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sam Pinkleton on first reading the script (03:18):

  "I've never laughed so hard reading something."

• Conrad Rickamora on acting philosophy (05:56):

  "The best comedies... are people that are in the biggest predicaments... it not only causes you to laugh, but it also pierces you, like, through your heart at the same time."

• Sam Pinkleton on comedy’s healing power today (21:31):

  "Comedy is always, like, the number one thing to save us. Always, always, always."

• Conrad Rickamora on the audience response (22:50):

  "Thank you for making me laugh for 80 minutes. I really needed it."

• On whether the show is mean-spirited (13:15):

  "I live it every day." (Rickamora, on being gay and playing Lincoln’s queerness honestly)

• On the iconic wig (17:40):

  "Cole lovingly talks about the bratty curls and yeah, it's sort of accidentally become iconic."

• On the title’s many meanings (23:41):

  "It's 'oh, Mary!'" (Rickamora, expressing surprise at the show’s Broadway run)

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Highlighted Timestamps

• 03:13 — First impressions and laughter over the script
• 04:23 — Director’s priorities: honor the story’s depth
• 05:56 — Rickamora on Lincoln’s predicament and acting approach
• 06:53 — Broadway transfer: What changed and what stayed
• 10:30 — Structure and plotting: More than skits
• 13:15 — Navigating jokes about Lincoln’s sexuality
• 15:36 — The logic of physical comedy and slapstick
• 18:45 — The difficulty of landing the final saloon scene
• 21:31 — Comedy as cultural relief
• 23:41 — The meaning behind "Oh, Mary!"

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Conclusion

This episode offers a lively, insightful conversation about “Oh Mary!” as a zany-yet-moving addition to Broadway. Pinkleton and Rickamora reveal how serious artistry, respect for character, and the healing magic of laughter combine in this production. Whether or not you’re familiar with American history or the real Mary and Abraham, as Stewart says, you’ll walk away with a deeper appreciation for how intelligent, serious comedy can bring an audience together—especially when the stakes are high, both on and off the stage.

Transcript

[Uncle]

I'm gonna put you on, nephew.

[Conrad Rickamora]

All right, unk.

[Alison Stewart]

Welcome to McDonald's. Can I take your order, miss?

[Uncle]

I've been hitting up McDonald's for years. Now it's back. We need snack wraps. What's a snack wrap? It's the return of something great. Snack wrap is back.

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[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it. Live from the WWNYC Studios in Soho, I'm Alison Stewart. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. I'm really grateful you are here. On today's show, we'll talk with filmmaker Susan Seidelman about her life and work in the film and TV business, which includes giving Madonna her big break as shooting the pilot for Sex and the City. Her memoir is called Desperately Seeking Something, a memoir about movies, mothers and material girls. We'll also hear about Jellicoe Ball, a new take on Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats. This production is infused with over the top costumes and choreography inspired by New York's queer ballroom culture. So if you saw the original production of Cats and thought, you know what? This needs a lot more voguing, then this is a production for you. We'll talk to the show's dramaturg and choreographer, the they'll be here to talk about that. Plus another winner of the Public Song project, a group called Love, said the Commander, who adapted their song from Robert Lewis and Stevenson's poem called Bed in Summer. That's the plan. So let's get this started with oh Mary. When we meet Mary Todd Lincoln in the hilarious new play oh Mary, she is tearing up her husband's office, desperately searching for a bottle of whiskey. That's because she's a lush with a snarky streak and with a dream. That dream to become a cabaret star. A grin, if you ask her. The play comes from the wickedly funny mind of Kolaskola, who stars as the saltly and sadly untalented Mary Todd. Alongside Mary is, of course, her husband, Abraham Lincoln, who is trying to win the Civil War while waging war with his wife and with himself, trying to repress, repress his desire for men. Lincoln is played by Conrad Rickamora to get Mary off the booze and to get her to shut up, Lincoln agrees to get her some acting lessons. She's really atrocious, but it keeps her busy. But those acting lessons set off a chain of events that Lincoln could not have anticipated. The show became a smash hit in its Off Broadway run at the Lucille Hotel Theater, and it's now transferred to Broadway. Oh Mary is running at the lyceum Theater through September 15th. I'm joined now by Conrad Rick Mora, last seen on Broadway, and Here Lies Love. He plays Abraham Lincoln. Hi, Conrad.

[Conrad Rickamora]

Hi, Alison. Thanks for having me.

[Alison Stewart]

And director Sam Pinkleton, who has the job of guiding all this madness. Hi, Sam.

[Sam Pinkleton]

Hi, Alison. Glad to be here.

[Alison Stewart]

Sam, what did you respond to when you read the script? The first time you read the script.

[Sam Pinkleton]

Oh, my gosh. The first time I read the script, it's the only time I've ever read a play and laughed out loud, like, howling with laughter reading the play. And it truly made me say, like, sign me up anytime, anywhere. I'll do it in a basement. You don't have to pay me. I've never laughed so hard reading something.

[Alison Stewart]

How about for you, Conrad?

[Conrad Rickamora]

Yeah, same. I'm sitting at my kitchen table right now, and this is where I read for the first time. I read the script for O Mary back in November, and I was just giggling like an idiot, and my husband looked at me and was like, what is. What is going on? And I was like, you have to read this script. It is so just. Yeah. Again, like Sam said, it was the first time I was dying laughing from just reading something.

[Alison Stewart]

So, Sam, once you calm down, settle down, you realize I'm gonna direct this thing. What did you see as your biggest task with the production? What did you see as a real priority?

[Sam Pinkleton]

Yeah, I mean, I think my biggest task was actually doing it. The honor of taking it seriously. Part of what's so special about what Cole has written is it's not just a spoof. It's not a sketch. It's not just a gag. It's a beautifully constructed play about a woman who wants something so bad and a man, Abe Lincoln, who has enormous pressure on him and can't be himself. And, you know, the Civil War is kind of a stressful thing. And so my job was to get all of these people on board to both embrace the hilarity of it, but to find gravity in it and to take it really seriously. And, you know, Cole and everybody we've brought in, like, loves theater in that way that you love theater when you're, like, 16 and you're performing in the Crucible, and you think, like, no one's ever been better at being in the Crucible than me right now. And so with every designer, every actor, everybody, the job was, yes, of course, let's make this hilarious, but let's also make it dead serious, which is why casting amazing actors like Conrad was so important.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah, Conrad, you know, you have all this historical weight behind Lincoln. You're playing a farcical version of him, but he still has all the weight, the history behind him. What were some of the choices that you tried to stay true to about the aspect of the real Abraham Lincoln, even if this version is obviously, obviously fictional?

[Conrad Rickamora]

I did little research because Cole did very little research. And, you know, I mean, you said that I'm playing a farcical version. I actually don't think I'm playing a farcical version. To me, I agree, that's what you're experiencing in the audience, maybe, but to me, it is deadly serious. Um, I find that the. The. The best comedies that I like are people that. That are in the biggest predicaments, because it not only causes you to laugh, but it also pierces you, like, through your heart at the same time. And that's kind of how I approached it. It's. I mean, the predicament for Abraham Lincoln could not be bigger.

[Alison Stewart]

When you found out you were going up to Broadway, Sam, what changes did you make, if any, to scale the show up?

[Sam Pinkleton]

Well, we added a lot of seats, first of all. But, you know, I mean, I think in some ways, the show was always a big dog that thinks it's a small dog. And so the job going to Broadway was just about, honestly, like, reconnecting to the truth of it, taking it even more seriously than we took it downtown. It wasn't like, hey, play to the rafters. Like, if you've seen the show, it's pretty big to begin with. It's kind of like very, very, very serious children's theater. So I wasn't too worried about it filling the big room, but I was worried about it feeling like. Like, as you like, kind of just too farcical, too jokey. And in fact, we're on Broadway in a big, beautiful theater where UTA Hagen played. And so I wanted to make sure that we looked at every choice, and it made sure it was the most serious choice and the most honest choice for this story. And also, there's some surprises that just embrace the beautiful scale of the Lyceum that you have to see to find out.

[Alison Stewart]

I've seen it downtown And I've seen it on Broadway and it's the same show, but a little more. You get a little bit more. Use the lights. Let's just say that my guests are. I'm speaking with director Sam Pinkleton and actor Conrad Rickamore about their new show, oh Mary, about a deranged Mary Todd Lincoln with dreams of being a cabaret star. It's running now at the lyceum Theater through September 15th. You know, in other productions we've seen with Lincoln, Conrad, you know, he's soft spoken. I mean, most manhunt recently, very soft spoken. A very decision that was made by the actor. You have to do a lot of yelling as Lincoln. How do you protect your voice? How do you protect your singing voice? I mean, I know you don't sing in this, but you've got a beautiful singing voice.

[Conrad Rickamora]

Oh, thank you. I went to school to do this for three years and that involved a lot of vocal training. I mean, the first year alone we didn't really get to do. We didn't get to do any productions at all. We did some scene work, but all of it was, I mean, for an entire year, you know, for, to simplify it, we were laying on our backs making noises and finding out where things resonated and where to place things and finding, you know, it's, it's, it's very boring to talk about. But I think that, you know, a lot of doing a lot of repetitive, boring work makes you great. I started out as a tennis player when I was younger and the amount of hours that you just focus on a cross court forehand allows you to then exist on a court and be free. The same way that doing those hours laying on your back in a studio allows you to exist on stage and be free. But it's very boring to talk about.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, that explains the Arthur Ashe sweatshirt.

[Conrad Rickamora]

Oh, yeah, US Open's coming up. I can't wait.

[Alison Stewart]

Sam, you mentioned this earlier, that the show doesn't feel like a lot of skits or twists stuck together with a little bit of glue. What do you think is the most effective thing about the way the show is plotted?

[Sam Pinkleton]

I mean, Cole Escola has created a structure that is just airtight. It's thrilling. It's like an old fashioned play. And so there are real surprises in it, but there are surprises that come from the stakes of the characters and the truth of the characters. Like any good play, like, I mean, we're talking about Arthur Miller or whatever. So there is a very kind of traditional. It's kind of an Old fashioned play that has all of this icing on it that is shocking and hilarious and contemporary and perverse. But the bones are so good, which frankly is I think why it's so playable for these great actors is it's not gags, it's surprises that come from circumstances and from the reality of these people who, as Conrad says, are people under enormous, enormous pressure and in wild predicaments that we as an audience get to enjoy because we come in maybe with some historical attachments, whether the events of O Mary are true or not.

[Alison Stewart]

So let's talk about Abraham Lincoln. Conrad, he sort of has a little bit of a manipulative streak. He can get people to do what he wants, except Mary. Mary will not do what he wants. Why is Mary his Achilles heel?

[Conrad Rickamora]

Oh, I think Mary, you know, reminds Abe of a carefree, whimsical time from his past that he's not able to. A person he's not able to be anymore. And which is why he loves and loathes her so much because he's taken on the responsibility of being the president during the worst crisis in our nation's history. And there's this, his companion is somebody that. I really do think that they were in love and fell in love. But he has got a bigger predicament than their marriage now to contend with. And I think that's why it's so crazy making for him.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, you know, in this show he's dealing with repressed sexuality. He's making deals with God about the Civil War if he'll help him win, you know. How did you keep the jokes about Lincoln's queerness from being mean spirited?

[Conrad Rickamora]

Well, I'm queer. So as me, Conrad Rickamura. So that my. My radar for. For it being mean or damaging or is. Is higher than, than anyone else's. So. And I also like, I know Cole's comedy from. From 10 years ago when I first saw their mom orange juice spoof on YouTube and then have followed them for years. And I trust their sensibility and I also trust my own sensibility. So it wasn't anything that I was necessarily like, oh, we gotta watch out for this, because I live it every day.

[Alison Stewart]

Sam, did you want to add to that?

[Sam Pinkleton]

I think also, I mean, the play and Cole's work and the work of everybody working on the show is deeply loving. It's actually not snarky. It's not. We don't judge these characters. Like everyone is deeply. It's a world of deeply flawed people. But like, so is the world we Live in. And Mary causes an enormous amount of trouble and physically injures people and sets fire to people's homes and, you know, almost kind of ruins the country. But she's got a heart of gold. We root for her. And the same is true for Abe. It's. It is. I think the whole show was created from an enormous place of love. Love not only for the theater, love not only for the characters, but also for the act of, like, doing a play. So it's. It's something that I think we've all held each other quite accountable to is to not make it snarky or mean or judgmental and actually find the humor in it from a place of, like, real adoration for what we're doing and who these people are.

[Alison Stewart]

We're talking about O Mary with its director, Sam Pinkleton, and actor Conrad Rickamora. It'll be playing at the lyceum theater through September 15th. So much physicality in the show. A couple of key moments on the president's desk. How did you want to bring physicality into the staging, into the humor of the show?

[Sam Pinkleton]

I mean, it seemed inevitable from moment one, both from what I knew of Cole as a performer and the other actors, frankly. I mean, Conrad and I met doing a musical where Conrad was singing and dancing, and I'm also a choreographer. But more than that, I think we just have such a high regard for, like, real physical comedy, for the Carol Burnett show, for, like, real slapstick comedy. And the best of that comedy comes from truth. It's not like we're gonna do gags. It's, oh, dear, how do I get off of this desk in a hoop skirt? Why am I standing on a desk in a hoop skirt to begin with? And so all of the physical comedy came from real problem solving and storytelling and Conrad and Cole and James Scully and just figuring out the most honest ways to solve these tiny problems in these scenes.

[Alison Stewart]

Conrad, when you're on stage during one of these real physical moments, have you lost it yet?

[Conrad Rickamora]

I have to say, in the first couple of weeks of rehearsal downtown back in January, and then previews, I was having a hard time with breaking because I find Cole to be so funny. But then the predicament that Abraham Lincoln is in started seeping more and more into my flesh and my bones. And then it just. Now it's like I don't even worry about it anymore, because it is so. To me, it is. I'm seeing it through his eyes, and it's just so deadly serious. Every moment on stage. For me, as the actor seeing it through his eyes.

[Alison Stewart]

Sam, how did you decide on the wig for Cole? Just that big old bun on top of the head with all the ringlets.

[Sam Pinkleton]

You know, Cole, unsurprisingly, had very strong feelings about the wig, as they should. And the amazing, amazing Leah Lucas, our wig designer. The wig went through many, many, many, many, many versions. And Cole was really fierce. And I think we all were fierce that, like, it should look like a wig and it should be ridiculous, but we should also feel like she chose this. Like this is how she wants to look. And over many, many, many versions, downtown, we have arrived at this wild wig that Cole lovingly talks about, the bratty curls and yeah, it's sort of accidentally become iconic. There is a bust of Mary Todd Lincoln in the wig in the lobby of the Lyceum now.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, you know, as you're talking about this play, it's really obvious that comedy is hard work. What's a scene or a moment that you really had to work with? You had to work hard to get it right?

[Conrad Rickamora]

You want me to go first? Yeah.

[Sam Pinkleton]

Go Conrad. Oh, yeah.

[Conrad Rickamora]

I think that the last scene in the saloon, I think that to me it was, I feel like that one kind of bottling up everything that is simmering in the pot. You know, I found a lot of times, I find as an actor that you just have to. At first you have to put the energy into the space. You have to let the energy that is all there just be there out loud. And then eventually you have to put the lid on it and that process, because it is so hot at that point, the temperature is so hot at that point that putting it back in the pot was. Was difficult for a couple of weeks. And then all of a sudden it just clicked. And I don't really know how or why it just did.

[Alison Stewart]

How about for you, a point when you had to make a director's decision? That was hard.

[Sam Pinkleton]

You know, I co signed Conrad's entirely and it's such a, like theater y thing for me to say, but I, you know, anytime we've had trouble, it's like, oh, the truth will set you free. It's like we've just had to dig deeper and deeper and deeper. Like, what's actually happening here? What is the truth? I mean, I'll say Downtown, you know, we went through many different versions of the opening scene because I, in my position as the director, I'm outside watching it. I was like, oh, my gosh, these people have no idea what they're getting into. Like some People are like, this is gonna be a, you know, SNL skit. And some people are like, is this a real play about Abraham Lincoln? And, you know, there's just so many expectations. And the curtain opens and it's like, what? What do we do? And we realized the play used to open with Mary Todd Lincoln. But we realized, well, first we have to meet Abe, and we have to understand that Abe has an incredibly hard job and that Abe's. That the pressure is very high on Abe before we meet his wild wife. And Cole did a lot of rewriting, and we did a lot of trial and error and landed on this sort of micro scene that is kind of problems with the war. Just to make sure everybody understands, you know, this is a play that is set in a very specific moment in history that we have done nothing to really understand. But I think the time and place. Setting up the time and place took a lot of work and kind of messing with audiences expectations right out of the gate.

[Alison Stewart]

You know, we're in such a stressful time right now. What role do you think comedy has and should play in tough times? Sam, what do you think?

[Sam Pinkleton]

I just think that, oh, boy, this is a soapbox that I could just twirl around on for hours. I mean, I'll just say, you know, people will make what they want of this play. I'm sure we could go into the streets and find people who are like, I hated that Barry top Lincoln play. And that's fine. But the feeling of sitting in the Lyceum every night for the last three weeks and feeling 900 people roar with laughter has felt more restorative than anything I could have anticipated about bringing this play to Broadway. It feels like relief. It feels like we're just being ambushed with horror by the minute. And for 80 minutes, we get to be in a room with other physical humans just laughing. And I didn't. I mean, I think that comedy is always, like, the number one thing to save us. Always, always, always. And I take that very seriously. But in this moment, having this play as this wild space for people to just laugh. I don't know. I'm so curious what your experience on stage has been, Conrad, because it's frankly been quite emotional to feel people come in from their days and just laugh.

[Conrad Rickamora]

Yeah. I mean, Alison, when you said this is such a dire, stressful time in our country, doing it on stage is a different experience from meeting people off stage and seeing how they. How it's being received. Doing it on stage, the actual high stakes currently add to the pressure, that of playing these characters in terms of what they're going through. But offstage, every time I've met somebody that has seen the show, they've just come up to me and said, thank you for making me laugh for 80 minutes. I really needed it. And that's been, like, consistent.

[Alison Stewart]

When you think about the title oh, Mary, it could be oh, Mary. Oh, Mary. Oh, Mary. Which one is it for you right now?

[Conrad Rickamora]

For me, because it is such a surprise that we are even on Broadway. It's oh, Mary.

[Alison Stewart]

How about you, Sam?

[Sam Pinkleton]

Conrad has one in the show that I love so much, and it will always be, like, anytime. I'm so bad at answering this question because I'm like, there's only one way to say it, and it's the way that Conrad says it in the third scene. But now I can't remember how you say it. It's perfect, though.

[Conrad Rickamora]

Well, you'll have to buy a ticket and come find out.

[Alison Stewart]

There you go. We've been talking about oh, Mary at the lyceum Theater on September 15th. Going through September 15th, my guests have been director Sam Pinkleton and actor Conrad Rickamora. Thanks so much, guys.

[Conrad Rickamora]

Thanks, Allison.

[Sam Pinkleton]

Thank you, Allison.

[Uncle]

I'm gonna put you on nephew.

[Conrad Rickamora]

All right. Unk.

[Alison Stewart]

Welcome to McDonald's. Can I take your order, miss?

[Uncle]

I've been hitting up McDonald's for years. Now it's back. We need snack wraps. What's a snack wrap? It's the return of something great. Snack wrap is back.

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