The upcoming season of Broadway swap outs features a host of long-awaited returns and surprising debuts. For the Pulitzer Prize-nominated play, Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary, the latter has already been revealed as Meg Stalter is stepping into her thespian era.
As Stalter makes her Broadway debut in the role of Mary Todd Lincoln on July 6, Ryo Kamibayashi and Barrett Foa will make their Broadway return. While Stalter takes over for the departing Maya Rudolph, Ryo Kamibayashi will step into the role of Mary’s Husband’s Assistant (currently played by Tony Macht). Barrett Foa, on the other hand, will take over as Mary’s Teacher (currently played by Cheyenne Jackson).
In a statement provided to Playbill, Stalter gushed about her forthcoming debut performance.
“When I first met Cole Escola, they said, ‘I thought I was too old to feel this excited and giddy about a new friend,’ and that’s exactly how I felt when I met Mary Todd Lincoln for the first time,” said Stalter. “I’ve never seen myself in a character the way I see myself in Mary, which is strange because I don’t even drink, but that’s what Cole’s beautiful work does to you—makes you feel incredibly excited and seen at the same time, like a little kid meeting a new friend.”
Stalter continued, “I’ve been in love with Cole’s brain, heart, and work since the moment I had the privilege of experiencing it, and it’s the prize of a lifetime to get to be in the best play to ever be written! Cole, despite our insane public breakup in 2018, I love you, thank you for making my dreams come true.”
Although the production of Oh, Mary will run into Janaury 3, 2027, both Stalter and Kamibayashi will bow out in September 2026. For Stalter, her final performance is schedule for September 12, 2026. For Kamibayashi, his final bow is confirmed as September 13, 2026.
Other cast members Phillip James Brannon (who plays Mary’s Husband) and Bianca Leigh (who plays Mary’s Chaperone) have agreed to an extension. Brannon and Leigh will retain their roles until December 6, 2026. At that time, Brannon, Leigh, and Foa will tap another set of actors in.
The play Oh, Mary is described as “an uproariously dark comedy about a miserable, suffocated Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Unrequited yearning, alcoholism, and suppressed desires abound in this 80-minute one-act play that finally examines the forgotten life and dreams of Mrs. Lincoln through the lens of an idiot.”
Oh, Mary is currently showing, and all performances are held inside of the Lyceum Theatre. The Lyceum Theatre is located at 149 West 45th Street in New York City, New York.
Oh, Mary is scheduled to run until January 3, 2027. However, Meg Stalter will leave the production on September 12, Ryo Kamibayashi will depart on September 13, and Barrett Foa will bow out on December 6.
Find more information about the production’s performance schedule, additional cast details, and more here.