Cole Escola

Episode notes

(Photo: Grapevine PR)

Cole Escola is a New York-based actor, writer and comedian. As a performer, you may have seen Cole on Difficult People–the great comedy from Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner–or Search Party, where they play Chip–the obsessive stalker turned kidnapper. They’ve also written for a slate of TV comedies like Hacks, Ziwe and The Other Two.

Escola’s latest work is not on the small screen but on the stage. It’s called Oh, Mary!, a brilliantly hilarious play written by Cole. In it, Mary Todd Lincoln is miserable and afflicted by alcoholism, in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. She yearns for an end to the Civil War. Not for the sake of her countrymen or to see a divided nation rest, but to return to her one true love: Cabaret!

Last month, the play won two Tony Awards. One for Best Director and one for best actor: Cole Escola. When we spoke to Escola last year, they starred in the original production as the play’s title character: Mary Todd Lincoln. The role has since been passed along to other luminaries like Betty Gilpin, Tituss Burgess and, most recently, drag legend Jinkx Monsoon.

Cole joins Bullseye to talk about their depiction of the great Mary Todd Lincoln, their writing process for the play, and if they will ever write something not so silly.

A version of this interview originally aired in April of 2024.