Titus Burgess is heading back to Broadway, taking over the titular role in “Oh, Mary!,” the uproarious comedy expected to be a 2025 Tony Awards contender this spring.
The six-time Emmy nominee, known as a scene-stealer in the Netflix sitcom “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” will portray Mary Todd Lincoln in the hit production conceived by Cole Escola — who originated the role of President Abraham Lincoln’s “miserable, suffocated” wife weeks ahead of his assassination.
Producers announced Thursday that Burgess is scheduled to begin performances March 18 for a limited three-week engagement through April 6 at the Lyceum Theatre.
“‘Oh, Mary!’ blew me away when I saw it on Broadway. Cole Escola is a genius!” Burgess, 45, said in the announcement. “The show is fresh and impossibly funny. I understand the role of Mary Todd Lincoln maybe a little too well. I’m over the moon with joy that I get to join the company.”
Escola, who identifies as nonbinary, won a string of accolades including Obie, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for playing the female role in the Sam Pinkleton-helmed production. “Glow” star Betty Gilpin currently stars as the controversial character, while Phillip James Brannon — recently seen in Soho Rep‘s “The Fires” — plays the 16th U.S. president.
“Oh, Mary!” has been a box office juggernaut since opening last summer. The farce became the first show in the Lyceum’s 121-year history to gross more than $1 million in a single week.
Burgess, who got a chance to test his gender-bending mettle as the openly gay Titus Andromedon with a knack for cross-dressing in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” is no novice to the Broadway stage. The Georgia native last appeared in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” in 2023, and previously starred in “Guys and Dolls,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Jersey Boys.”