The stage, says Kumail Nanjiani, is distinctly different from the world of film, where he's made his entire career up to this point. "On screen acting, you could get it right on the third take, and they're like, 'You are such a genius,'" Nanjiani said on a September 2 visit to Late Night With Seth Meyers. "In a play, you have to get it right the first time every single time eight times a week."
The Eternals star is currently making his Broadway debut at the Lyceum Theatre as Mary's Husband (aka Abraham Lincoln) in Oh, Mary!, and apparently he was reminded of that particular difference between the two mediums at recent performances of the Cole Escola comedy when he went blank and completely forgot two lines mid-scene, and, at a different performance, missed an entrance entirely. Don't worry though. His co-stars (lead among them, the play's current Mary, Jinkx Monsoon) had him covered. "What I'm learning is I can really fuck up—and it's fine," he says laughing.
Hear more about his unintentionally hilarious, live-theatre moments in Oh, Mary! in Nanjiani's full Late Night interview above.
Escola's Tony-nominated comedy currently stars Monsoon (Pirates!) as Mary, Nanjiani (Marvel's Eternals) as Mary's Husband, Michael Urie (Once Upon a Mattress) as Mary's Teacher, Jenn Harris (Elsbeth) as Mary's Chaperone, and Tony Macht as Mary's Husband's hAssistant. That entire cast is set to perform through September 28 with standby Hannah Solow to take on the role of Mary full-time September 30-October 12. Tony winner Jane Krakowski will don Mary's bratty curls beginning October 14.
Oh, Mary! centers on famous First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. In Escola's demented take (or as press notes put it, "through the lens of an idiot"), Mary Todd becomes a madcap, cabaret-obsessed alcoholic.
The piece premiered at Off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre in 2024 in a run that was extended three times. It then opened on Broadway last summer, where it's been breaking box-office records at the Lyceum Theatre; it became the first show in the theatre’s 121-year history to gross more than $1,000,000 in a single week.
The show earned two 2025 Tony Awards: Lead Actor in a Play for Escola (who recently departed the play) and Director of a Play for Sam Pinkleton.
The play's understudies are Solow, Martin Landry, and Julian Manjerico.
READ: Director Sam Pinkleton on the Art of Recasting Oh, Mary!
Oh, Mary's creative team includes scenic designer dots, costume designer Holly Pierson, lighting designer Cha See, composer and co-sound designer Daniel Kluger, co-sound designer Drew Levy, wig designer Leah J. Loukas, and music arranger David Dabbon. Casting is by Henry Russell Bergstein. Bryan Bauer and Ryan Patrick Kane are production stage manager and assistant stage manager, respectively.
Visit OhMaryPlay.com.
Michael Urie in Oh, Mary!
Michael Urie in Oh, Mary!
Michael Urie and Jinkx Monsoon in Oh, Mary!
Kumail Nanjiani in Oh, Mary!
Jinkx Monsoon in Oh, Mary!
Jinkx Monsoon and Kumail Nanjiani in Oh, Mary!
Jinkx Monsoon and Kumail Nanjiani in Oh, Mary!
Jinkx Monsoon and Kumail Nanjiani in Oh, Mary!
Jenn Harris in Oh, Mary!
