With 'Oh, Mary!', Jinkx Monsoon is serving back-to-back terms on Broadway

A week after wrapping her run in Pirates! The Penzance Musical, the in-demand theatre star is donning Mary Todd Lincoln's hoop skirt in the hit comedy play.

"I always get blamed for the rain because of my last name!" exclaimed Jinkx Monsoon as a thunderstorm battered the windows of the Sardi's building on 44th Street. But the wind and rain did nothing to dampen the mood of the actress as she discussed her latest Broadway role: the title role in Oh, Mary!, the award-winning comedy play that hit its one-year mark at the Lyceum Theatre in July.

When Monsoon made her Broadway debut as Matron "Mama" Morton in Chicago in 2023, she was reintroducing herself to people who knew her solely as a two-time RuPaul's Drag Race champion or else not at all. She quickly became an in-demand theatre star, going on to do a second run as Mama and, in between, play Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors off Broadway. On July 27, Monsoon wrapped a run as Ruth in Pirates! The Penzance Musical, performing at the Todd Haimes Theatre while also rehearsing for Oh, Mary!, her first Broadway play.

She and I first spoke ahead of her Chicago run, when Monsoon described Mama, a 1920s-era prison warden, as a woman who's adapted to have power in a man's world. Two years later, that idea brought Monsoon's Oh, Mary! character to mind. Playwright Cole Escola imagines former first lady Mary Todd Lincoln as a woman stifled by a loveless marriage and the confines of the White House, finding release only in her passion for cabaret.

When I proposed the connection, Monsoon reflected on how it applies to many of her characters: Mama Morton seeks power in a man’s world, Audrey seeks safety, Ruth seeks agency, and Mary seeks "to fulfill her life’s purpose [...] in a hoop skirt. And that ain’t nothing.”

Notably, the character can be played by anyone of any gender: Escola, who won a Tony for originating the role, is non-binary; their successor, Betty Gilpin, is a cisgender woman; and Monsoon's predecessor, Tituss Burgess, is a cis man. Monsoon, a transgender woman, appears in Oh, Mary! through September 28 alongside Kumail Nanjiani, Michael Urie, and Jenn Harris, all of whom also join the cast today.

"Every character is longing for something and trapped in some way, and [the play is] just so brilliant, and it's also so beautifully stupid," she continued. "It's my favorite kind of artwork, because it checks every box and it makes you laugh constantly, and that's the best way we get a message across."

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How has it been to juggle Pirates! and Oh, Mary! at once?

I've reached a new level of exhaustion I have never known before, but I also have reached a level of contentment I didn't expect coming to me this year. I just know I'm exactly where I need to be, doing exactly what I need to do. It feels very cosmic, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

As Kumail and Michael and Jenn are joining the play alongside you, what have you all been exploring in rehearsal?

The beauty of us all coming in together, and then having [original cast member] Tony [Macht], who I call "the anchor" because he's staying with us — I just see Kumail and Michael and Jenn and I, every day, treating this play like the brilliant piece of theatre it is. We know it's a comedy at the end of the day, but we essentially forget that in rehearsal and just play these beautifully written characters.

When did you first see the show as an audience member, and what was your reaction?

I saw the entire original cast downtown at the Lortel Theatre. I knew then that I saw something really, really special that was going to go on to do a lot of special things. I told Cole this that night, because we've been friends for a while.

It feels like I've been waiting for this moment. But I also wanted Cole to get absolutely everything out of the role. And I think they did, and they still are.

Besides sharing your excitement with Cole, have you talked to them or any other Marys about the role?

I'm pals with Tituss, so Tituss and I have been chatting a bit [...] and I have become pals with [director] Sam Pinkleton, one of the best humans there is. So I've had the deep conversations, and I feel so ready. Mary is a gift to any actress or actor or performer, and if you have the guts to take her on, she's a character that brings a lot of gifts into your life. She already has to mine.

What does it add to the play that Mary can be performed by someone of any gender?

Cole very brilliantly wrote a show that will last for a long time. Yes, it's the White House and Mary Todd and these crazy circumstances, but every character has real truth poured into them, and the writing is stellar. These are real circumstances for these very real, multidimensional characters.

When a show is written that well, really anyone can step into any role. As long as you stay true to its intention, it can sing. I feel this way about all the long-running shows on Broadway. When you embrace new perspectives, the show gets to live on and on and on.

What do you bring to your Mary?

Mary is filled with justifiable rage. There's a lot of rage inside me, and it's very justifiable, and I'd rather it go into artwork than anywhere else. And I'm bringing a lot of vulnerability because Mary has a lot of that too. Mary wears her heart on her face, and I share that with her, and I'm excited to have the freedom to bring those parts of myself in a way that they'll be effective.

Without spoilers, do you have a favorite moment in the show to perform?

The whole show is full of moments that are wonderful to watch and wonderful to perform. It's like a relay race. But, hell, making out with Michael Urie is going to be a highlight, I'm not going to lie.

[In rehearsal,] I actually accidentally added a kiss. In that moment, I grabbed his face, kissed him, pulled away, and screamed, "I'm sorry!" And then we kept kissing. We're not keeping it in the show, but it was a moment of truth we found. I'm not trying to get with my good pal Michael Urie, but I ain't complaining.

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This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

Photo credit: Jinkx Monsoon. (Photo by Frank Correa)