Inside the Opening Night of ‘Oh, Mary!’ on Broadway with Austin Butler & More

“Oh, Mary!” was so good, they had to see it twice.

Austin Butler and Kaia Gerber were among the attendees on Thursday night at the Lyceum Theatre for the play’s Broadway opening night, which attracted a crowd full of familiar faces.

“I’ve seen the show off-Broadway several times, and I’m excited to see it on Broadway,” said comedian Murray Hill as he entered the theater. “It’s a big deal when a performer from downtown travels 30 blocks uptown. I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

The hit play transitioned to Broadway after a twice-extended off-Broadway run, earning praise from critics and audiences alike. “This is like Christmas morning mixed with my birthday, mixed with losing my virginity, all in one night,” said writer and star Cole Escola. Escola, who dazzled in a custom corseted Wiederhoeft gown, leads the comedy as Mary Todd Lincoln reimagined as an aspiring cabaret performer.

“I’m just surprised that people still want to come see it. I’m surprised that it’s selling out on Broadway. That’s wild,” Escola added. “And I’m surprised that I still love doing it and I still find new things to love about it every night.”

The 90-degree heat didn’t deter the VIP crowd. Notable attendees included Patti LuPone, Maude Apatow, Ruth Negga, Amy Sedaris, Rebecca Hall and Morgan Spector, Ziwe, and Matthew Broderick, who brought his three kids along.

“It is a celebratory moment,” said show director Sam Pinkleton, dressed in a full Thom Browne look. “I’m sweating and I want to vomit, but it’s a good kind of sweat and a good kind of vomit.”

James Scully, who stars as an acting coach named John Wilkes Booth, was excited about the friends-and-family performance.

“Family and friends and boyfriends,” he added, as partner Julio Torres stopped on the sidewalk to snap a photo of Scully working the carpet. “The alt queer comedy community in New York is such a community, and it’s so nice to feel like everybody knows each other and they’re all rooting for each other.” Scully wore a gold “Oh, Mary!” necklace gifted by costar Conrad Ricamora during the show’s off-Broadway run.

“I’m just excited to go out on stage tonight and have fun and then really relish in celebrating Cole, and celebrating this,” Scully continued. “It’s such a sweet thing that whoever started theater as it exists now was like, we really have to prioritize opening night parties. I can’t wait to have a cocktail, and pour everyone one and tell them how much I love them.”

After taking their bows on stage, the cast and crowd headed to the iconic Chelsea leather bar, The Eagle, to continue the celebration a few blocks downtown.

Source: Variety