‘Oh, Mary!’ Mania Takes Over L.A.: Director Sam Pinkleton on Bringing the Unruly Broadway Comedy Phenomenon to Full Houses at the Ahmanson

Nov 12, 2026 4:23pm PT ‘Oh, Mary!’ Mania Takes Over L.A.: Director Sam Pinkleton on Bringing the Unruly Broadway Comedy Phenomenon to Full Houses at the Ahmanson

'The play is not what one would call subtle, so it really works in these big rooms. It's also just so fun to be with that many people laughing,' says Pinkleton

By Chris Willman

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Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

ChrisWillman

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See All Add us as a Google Preferred Source Evan Zimmeran ('Oh, Mary!' cast), Getty (Sam Pinkleton)

• Comments

As most theater fans already know, “Oh, Mary!,” which is as hysterical as it is ahistorical, is the story of possibly unhinged presidential spouse Mary Todd Lincoln, and her thwarted aspirations to escape life in the parlors of the White House for a career in show business. If there is anything Mary would appreciate, it’s a bigger room. So she would be deeply pleased with the production of “Oh, Mary!” that opens this week at L.A.’s Ahmanson Theatre, where the vast majority of seats for its nearly month-long run sold out in advance. That’s not something that happens with every engagement in the 2,100-seat theater, but Mary — and “Mary” — are a unique case, to say the least.

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