GIVE IT THE PULITZER

Cole Escola’s ‘Oh, Mary!’ Is Officially the Funniest Entertainment of the Year

Everything we can’t stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture.

This week:

If You Can, Go See Oh, Mary!

It’s an easy route to sell stories about pop culture in 2024. Did you happen to like something? It’s a masterpiece! Roughly five movies and nine TV shows end up being called the best of the year. Histrionics and hyperbole garner interest, and I don’t feel bad about it because, at the end of the day, we’re drawing attention to great things at a time when there are so many things that excellence can get lost.

I can’t imagine anyone in New York ignoring the excellence of Oh, Mary! It just opened this week. (Read the review by The Daily Beast’s Tim Teeman, heartily endorsed by me, here.)

I still laugh about the day Tim and I were leaving to go to the press preview, and our brilliant colleague Michael Daly asked where we were going. I prefaced the explanation with, “This will sound ridiculous, but it’s the best thing in New York right now…” before explaining the whole Oh, Mary! thing: A cult-favorite comedian wrote and stars in a play about Mary Todd Lincoln, who in this version was a former cabaret star desperate to circumvent her possibly gay husband (President Abe) and return to the stage.

“‘This sounds ridiculous’ is how every brilliant thing is made,” Daly said.

There’s something remarkable about Oh, Mary!, which both stars and is written by Cole Escola. It’s sharp and so tightly written and directed, yet it’s also the epitome of chaotic, loose live theater. The show is unabashedly queer, but also, in a way that only makes sense when you see it, not a play that is siloed in a way that only LGBT+ audiences will find it funny. Alongside Titatinque, which is still one of off-Broadway’s hottest tickets, it’s proving that quote-unquote “gay humor” actually translates across communities and generations.

No matter who you are, you will find Oh, Mary! so damned funny.

There are so many twists in the show that it would ruin your experience watching it if I went any further into what it’s about. But for a glimpse at the sense of humor, just watch writer and star Escola’s opening night speech:

That’s All…to this Sequel Idea

Listen, do we want there to be a Devil Wears Prada sequel? Hell yes. We’re pummeled with endless installments of nonsense superhero franchises, but our Avengers are Miranda, Emily, Andy, and Nigel. Who is the true villain? Thanos has nothing on the Prada discourse.

Yet there was an addendum to the announcement that original screenwriter Aline Brosh-McKenna and the original cast might return to Runway that has given the movie’s passionate fans pause: It’s, um, a bit…too real.

Apparently, the sequel’s plot sees Miranda reckoning with a new digital media industry in which advertisers for print are drying up. Emily is now working for a luxury brand that could be the key to Runway strutting out of its financial jam.

People have been bemoaning the discomfort—and lack of fabulousness—we could be in for if a Prada sequel seizes the realism of today’s media landscape (Editor’s note: It’s not great!) instead of the escapist glamor of a Miranda Priestly presiding over high fashion. I, for one, never want to see Miranda Priestly on a Zoom call, or using Slack.

We’ve Been Robbed

Everyone has their answer for a TV show that ended too soon, and we’re all collectively to blame for it. I didn’t watch your favorite series that was unjustly canceled. And in return, no matter how much I pleaded in this newsletter, you didn’t tune in to the thing I said was great.

That truth doesn’t make you miss the show you loved any less. And it doesn’t stop you from wondering what future seasons might have been like.

I feel this way about Schmigadoon!, one of the cleverest, most ambitious series I’ve seen in years, and one that married my great loves: smart TV comedy, and musical theater.

The show hasn’t been renewed for a third season, which is a huge bummer. Season 1 parodied Golden Age musicals like Oklahoma! and Sound of Music, while Season 2 brilliantly skewered, in remarkable tandem, the ’60s and ’70s rise of Stephen Sondheim musicals and game-changers like Cabaret and A Chorus Line.

But creator Cinco Paul recently shared what his plans were for a Season 3, if the show was able to move into the ’80s, and now I feel robbed. If you watched Schmigadoon!, you know that creating a series in this era of musical theater would have been amazing to parody. And if you haven’t watched Schmigadoon!, Seasons 1 and 2 are on Apple TV+, and both Kristin Chenoweth and Jane Krakowski should have Emmys for their work on it.

Stunt Casting Strikes Again

I will admit that Kim Kardashian was remarkably good in the most recent series of American Horror Story: Delicate. Like, legitimately good. She’s a surprisingly impressive actress. That said, did I see her name in a casting announcement for a Ryan Murphy series alongside Halle Berry and Glenn Close and think, “Oh, dear…?”

Yes, but let’s not forget, Cher was heckled at the premiere of Silkwood. People still think Madonna is a bad actress, even though A League of Their Own, Desperately Seeking Susan, and Evita are right there to disprove the argument. Let’s root for Kim to be good. What’s the alternative? We all pay attention to a new series because she’s in it, and she bombs? I prefer to root for her to be amazing.

A Compelling Advertisement

I wasn’t a big fan of fragrances. Suddenly I’m incredibly invested.

More From The Daily Beast’s Obsessed

We had a long chat with Shannon Beador about her DUI and the new season of Real Housewives of Orange County. Read more.

Farming for Love is reviving the messy gay dating show. Read more.

Lost is now on Netflix. Planning your first binge of it? Here’s an expert’s guide to watching the series. Read more.

What to watch this week:

National Anthem: The western that Kevin Costner probably wishes he made. (Now in theaters)

Longlegs: Nicolas Cage at his horror-movie best. (Now in theaters)

Sunny: A robot that can help with loneliness is one of the first times I’ve been excited about AI. (Now on Apple TV+)

What to skip this week:

Sausage Party: Foodtopia: Turns out it’s possible for a murderous, orgy-loving talking hot dog voice by Seth Rogen to outstay its welcome. (Now on Prime Video)

Divorce in Black: It’s a low bar, but this might be Tyler Perry’s worst movie yet. (Now on Prime Video)

Kevin FallonSenior Editor, Obsessed

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