OH, MARY Reviews (2026 New) — Page 10

Big disagree here. I saw Maya’s first show out of the gate, and thought she surpassed a few of the other Mary’s on even that first night. And I’ve seen them all. Including Cole 5x, between downtown/uptown. 
 

I think Maya is hands down at the very top of the Mary list with Cole and one or two others, imho. 

Maya was my first Mary, so I have no comparison, but she had me in tears laughing at her choices where she's trying to get down from the desk in the skirt. 

Peppa222 said: "I love Oh, Mary, and have seen all the Broadway Marys + Mason. I wish I could see Catherine Tate, but it's not in the cards for me.

I enjoy the show the most when the comedy comes from the trust of the material and a commitment to the dramatic circumstances. It's a silly play, of course, but it is a play! Mary should have an arc. I enjoy it less when it just feels like a string of bits or the performer is commenting too much on every choice they make. This is all subjective, and everyone likes different qualities in their Marys, but here's my ranking:

TOP TIER:

• Cole - A master of ease. Knows how to make something feel so elevated and grounded at the same time. Never pushing. The original, and frankly, in a league of their own.
• Betty - Criminally underrated. The best acted Mary I've seen. Got all the laughs, but was totally rooted in this broken woman who had been burned by life so many times. The rage in her "South of WHAT!?" is simultaneously the most hilarious and saddest delivery of them all. The RAGE! Constantly on the verge of tears. Her "Great Day"monologue made me cry, and I even welled up during her cabaret. The most narratively satisfied I've ever felt leaving that show.
• Jinkx - Perfect match for the material. The loudest I've ever heard a crowd laugh at the show, though it seemed like a heavyDrag Race fan audience, which makes sense. This material, with one of the most popular queens of the franchise, is catnip to that audience, but she was truly firing on all cylinders.Loved the moment after "It's like having gorgeous shoes and no feet!" where she lifted her hoop skirt to make sure she still had feet and let out a "phewf" as if it was a real fear of hers. Never seen another Mary do that.

Also, all three of these performers were mean as a snake. A quality I really appreciate in a Mary, as it always makes the vulnerability of the Great Day monologue hit hard.

GOOD:

• Jane & Tituss: The second they were both announced, I could pretty much picture exactly what their performances would look like, and they delivered. I felt both were a little safe. They would throw certain moments away,and could have gone further in others, but overall, a totally solid evening of entertainment.
• Hannah: She's good! Maybe veers a little too close to commenting on it, but I left satisfied.

NOT FOR ME BUT CAN SEE THE MERIT:

• Maya: Pains me to say her Mary didn't do it for me, which I seem to be in the minority about. This landed in "string of bits" territory, and hey, some of the bits are funny! I laughed. But I never got a real sense of who her Mary was. The valley girl stuff felt cheap and sucked all the comedy out of those moments for me. Plus, she didn't ever come off as wild, crazy, or angry, almost a step removed. The person I went with, whose only interest in going was Maya, had the time of their life, which tracks. I just wish she were able to weave herself into the character more, but her desk moment was one of my favorites of all the Marys.
• Mason: Again, another one I seem to be in the minority opinion on. If Maya did too little, Mason did far too much. While the physical performance was undoubtedly impressive, every moment was choreographed and cartoonish in a way that kept me removed from ever investing in the character. A lot of the bits felt like a hat on a hat on a hat. I know I mentioned I like my Mary mean, but Mason crossed into evil territory, almost alien! For the first time, when Lincoln reveals that he is going to have her committed, I thought to myself, "Well, yes!"😂

Both of the performances are impressive in their own right, and I can seewhypeople enjoy them, but they just didn't scratch my itch.

WOOF:

• JCM: I was so hyped for him and was very disappointed. Just odd choice after odd choice, low energy, dropped lines, and I was sitting close, and he was completely inaudible in moments. Why are we whispering? Felt like he was trying to reinvent the wheel just for the sake of it, without any consideration for the character or the performances around him. He found his footing during the audition scene and was strong from then to the end, but just too late in the evening to salvage the whole. It was early in his run, and perhaps he improved, but it was such a sour experience that he's the only Broadway Mary I didn't make a return trip for.

"

Appreciate the insight here. Can defintely get the criticism of Maya's performance being more a series of bits then a whole character. But I do think she made me laugh the hardest. I also saw JCM from close up and had a very different experience than yours. I rember him being loud and very forceful and in control. 

I think all of them have been great in one sense or the other. I'll miss Meg unless she extends through November or something weird happens to get me back to NYC before then, but I'll plan on seeing whoever is next. That 5PM Saturday slot just fits perfectly everytime 

I’ve seen them all except Catherine (won’t get around to it). Personally, JCM was underrated in my opinion. He brought that scrappy off-Broadway sensibility back to the show that did get a little muddled after Cole left and the star casting began. The fact that he was 63 and playing the role is something I found commendable because it’s not easy, but for those of us who are familiar with HEDWIG and some of his other work (Shortbus, Anthem: Homunculus), it was actually pretty cool to see him bring out the very weird side of Mary with an almost overly polished, Lillian Gish-type approach. 

I have to venture to say that I found Tituss to be the worst. The first time I saw him might have just been a rough day since it was his first run and he took ill the next day. But when I went back in the summer, it was the exact same laconic, disinterested performance I had gotten before. It was truly lacking in flair and the second go-around, it appeared as if Conrad and James were actively trying to wake some scenes up.

Have they announced the supporting cast for after Maya leaves on July 5?

Barrett Foa and Ryo Kamibayashi will join as Teacher and Assistant starting July 6

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZnPoAFoyO-/?igsh=N2NnM2FlYXVoN2pp

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZnQC76o6VQ/?igsh=OXlkemVldmZ0OGph

Updated On: 6/15/26 at 12:34 PM

quizking101 said: "Barrett Foa and Ryo Kamibayashi will join as Teacher and Assistant starting July 6

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZnPoAFoyO-/?igsh=N2NnM2FlYXVoN2pp

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZnQC76o6VQ/?igsh=OXlkemVldmZ0OGph"

Tony's leaving!?!?!

Kad said: "He's been with the show for two and a half years. I know it's a princess track, but I get why he'd want to move on."

I mean, he took an extended sabbatical to do some film and TV work last year in addition to recovering from an injury. That’s why Martin Landry was in for the latter half of Jinkx’s first run and the first half of Jane’s. Maybe he has an out to allow him other work…or he might be going out on tour?

I saw Maya Rudolph last night, and I’m sad to say that she’s my least favorite of the Marys I’ve seen by a country mile. A real bummer.

She’s not “bad” by any means, and the audience was largely eating it up, but this was the first time I felt the performer putting too much on top of the text. Too much mugging, too many incomprehensible line readings, too many strange voices (essentially a greatest hits of every goofy voice she’s ever done). Cole Escola wrote a really solid comedic script; it doesn’t need ALL of the adornments. Less really is more.

I was also not at all a fan of Cheyenne Jackson’s Booth. He did absolutely nothing with the role.

I’m looking forward to seeing Meg Stalter next Monday. All I could think almost the whole show was how badly I wanted to fast forward to then.

Current Mary Ranking (that I’ve seen):

1. Betty Gilpin
2. Cole Escola
3. Hannah Solow
4. Jinkx Monsoon
5. John Cameron Mitchell
6. Maya Rudolph

ColorTheHours048 said: "I saw Maya Rudolph last night, and I’m sad to say that she’s my least favorite of the Marys I’ve seen by a country mile. A real bummer.

She’s not “bad” by any means, and the audience was largely eating it up, but this was the first time I felt the performer putting too much on top of the text. Too much mugging, too many incomprehensible line readings, too many strange voices (essentially a greatest hits of every goofy voice she’s ever done). Cole Escola wrote a really solid comedic script; it doesn’t need ALL of the adornments. Less really is more.

I was also not at all a fan of Cheyenne Jackson’s Booth. He did absolutely nothing with the role.

I’m looking forward to seeing Meg Stalter next Monday. All I could think almost the whole show was how badly I wanted to fast forward to then.

Current Mary Ranking (that I’ve seen):

1. Betty Gilpin
2. Cole Escola
3. Hannah Solow
4. Jinkx Monsoon
5. John Cameron Mitchell
6. Maya Rudolph

I just watched that JLO Office Romance movie on Netflix and I thought Gilpin stole practically every scene.

 

ColorTheHours048 said: "Betty Gilpin is the blueprint for what Mary can be, as far as I’m concerned. She’s the only one so far not to treat it like a bit of a clown show, and herreadings of innocuous lines like “Amazing!” and “Congratulations!” are seared in my brain. I’d love for her to come back for a small run someday."

I'd really like to see her in the role again, just cause shes the only one I missed and I've heard such good things

ChairinMain said: "Jordan Catalano said: "What I found most interesting about Maya was that I MUCH preferred her performance at the beginning of her run compared to when I saw her a week or so ago."

The sense I've gotten from others who saw her more than once is that Maya started playing for the laughs rather than zeroing in on what works. Performances evolve, but sometimes not for the better!"

This made me think about Katie Finneran talking about developing her Miss Hannigan. At first she was just going for the laughs before pulling it back. I didn't see the performance, personally, but I enjoyed her talking about the approach.