OH, MARY Reviews (2026 New) — Page 17

It is so interesting to have someone (Meg) almost done with her time in the show and only a couple people ever commenting on her. I also agree that she was the weakest I’ve ever seen in the role. It was the first time I’d ever seen it that I sat there pretty much never even cracking a smile. Amazingly she’s still packing them in though, so I suppose the show really can survive no matter the quality of the performance being given.

As I was watching the show Thursday I kept thinking I would love to see Donna Lynne Champlin do this. She's probably not well-known enough to sell tickets, but she's a fine actress and has the comedy chops.

CJRochester said: "As I was watching the show Thursday I kept thinking I would love to see Donna Lynne Champlin do this. She's probably not well-known enough to sell tickets, but she'sa fine actress and has the comedychops."

God, I would love this.

Did you see Fire Island? I think Bowen can add the dramatic edge that Mary needs to make the comedy pop.

A first look at Bowen in costume at his put-in (courtesy of Troy Iwata’s Instagram story)

ACL2006 said: "Also, Sam Gravitte has been added as a vacation standby."

Now, that is a man born to fill Mary’s Teacher’s pants.

A friend’s bf works crew at the Lyceum and everyone who’s been with the show since its start say Bowen is the closest to Cole’s Mary from everyone who’s taken on the role. This is also coming from associate creatives as well. Take that for what it is.

SIX MORE WEEKS!

Bowen extends through January 17, 2027

https://www.instagram.com/p/DdrRp9qoQYl/?stkn=bmd6cmMydWRicDdo

AC126748 said: "Still surprised we're a week-and-a-half into Bowen's run and there've been no firsthand reviews on this board."

Go on Reddit. Plenty of reviews there.

I saw Bowen as Mary on Sunday (3pm performance). He's very good in the role, and I imagine he's only going to get better. He finds a solid humanity inside of Mary that's important to me. And he found most of the laughs without being too hammy. I've seen all the Marys, and I'd place him below Cole, Jinkx, and Alaska, but on the same general level as Maya and Hannah.

One of my bellwether moments on when a Mary is too hammy or not is the "Oh Mary You Boob" after the initial blow up with Booth. It annoys me when it's performed as an intentional button on the scene, like at the end of a vaudeville sketch. In order for it to be believable, I need it to actually have a moment of introspection and self-disappointment baked in. Because otherwise the subsequent scenes don't necessarily make sense. Bowen's "You Boob" was very cartoony.

His interactions with Louise were probably my favorite. He had bit at the top of the sewing scene that was perfectly silly without being over the top.

Solid B with room to grow.

It is nice to have Foa on stage for awhile.

^^ Yes. When I chatted with him recently, he did correct me about that.

I’ve been slacking in posting but I did see Bowen on Saturday night. I definitely give him a solid B for it being so early in his run.

His casting is once again proof positive that the role of Mary works best with those who have a sketch/sketch-adjacent comedy background, as the show is essentially a compilation of vignettes combined into one big sketch arc. Bowen understands the assignment out of the gate and understands the fundamental importance of give and take with the rest of the ensemble, letting them have their moments. His scenes with Bianca as Louise elicited the most laughs out of me since they both were giving so much more energy to it. His Mary seemed almost disturbingly calm while annoying Louise and it was all sealed with a vicious half-smile. Additionally, his cabaret at the end was probably one of the most perfect versions that I’ve seen - it reminded me of his “Moulin Rouge” sketch on SNL with Ariana Grande. He also even added a new twist on the midsection of “American Pie” and I actually guffawed.

My two notes for Bowen for improvement would be:

1) He needs to lessen the vocal contrast between his own voice, his Mary voice, and the cartoonish voices that come in at different times (usually during the Shakespeare scenes and the Nurse). He hasn’t fully established his Mary voice and tends to switch between that and his normal speech often enough for it to be noticeable, and so his choices in accents tend to sound more over the top than intended. It sounds like it’s coming from Bowen, and not Mary (if that makes sense).

2) His Mary tends to be a bit more grounded (think irritable and petulant as opposed to insane out of the gate), and so when he interacts with other characters, he sometimes does it as if he is doing it for the camera on SNL and not to a three-level Broadway theatre. He needs to direct some things a bit more outwardly or he runs the risk of those hidden comic gems in earlier scenes getting lost.

Overall, between Bowen and Alaska, it’s nice to see the character back on track after Meg Stalter flopped hard for me.