Bowen Yang will make his Broadway debut this fall, stepping into the title role of the acclaimed comedy Oh, Mary! for a limited 12-week engagement beginning Sept. 15 at New York’s Lyceum Theatre. The former Saturday Night Live cast member will succeed Meg Stalter as the latest performer to portray the play’s irreverent version of Mary Todd Lincoln in Cole Escola’s Tony Award-winning comedy, directed by Sam Pinkleton.
Yang previously turned down the opportunity because of his SNL commitments, but said the timing now feels right following his departure from the sketch series. Speaking about the production, he called it “a deranged and profound masterpiece” and said the role represents an ideal first step in the next phase of his career. In recent interviews, Yang also noted that the play’s themes of regret, reinvention and longing resonated with him during his own career transition.
Written by Escola, Oh, Mary! offers a wildly fictionalized take on Mary Todd Lincoln in the days leading up to President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, imagining the first lady as an aspiring cabaret performer. Since opening on Broadway in 2024, the production has become both a critical and commercial success, earning Tony Awards and breaking box office records at the Lyceum Theatre. A series of high-profile performers, including Tituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski, Maya Rudolph and Stalter, have each headlined limited engagements in the title role.
Yang’s casting marks another major milestone for the production as it continues expanding beyond Broadway with a national tour and other international plans.
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