As Cole Escola’s ‘Oh, Mary!’ Sidekick, Bianca Leigh Is Smashing Barriers And Getting Her Due

“It’s a bold, honest, wacky, silly act of defiance at a time when a lot of people are toning things down,” the New York actor said of the hit Broadway comedy.

As one of the stars of “Oh, Mary!” on Broadway, Bianca Leigh is thrilled to be performing to sold-out crowds and garnering some of the best reviews of her career. Still, she’s aware it could very well be a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience that never happens again.

“It’s a funny feeling, saying that this is as good as it gets,” the actor, who is transgender, told HuffPost. “It’s odd when it’s happening in real time. I’m not a spring chicken, as my grandmother would say, so I’m very lucky this has happened, and I get to do what I want to do for the foreseeable future.”

Directed by Sam Pinkleton, “Oh, Mary!” broke box office records when it opened at New York’s Lyceum Theatre in July following an off-Broadway engagement earlier this year. On Thursday, the show ― originally set to close this month ― formally extended its run through January.

The historical farce depicts first lady Mary Todd Lincoln (played by actor-writer Cole Escola, who uses they/them pronouns) as a booze-swilling, lovesick woman who yearns to be a cabaret performer, and President Abraham Lincoln (Conrad Ricamora) as a closeted gay man with a predilection for trysts in the Oval Office.

Leigh’s character, Louise, is Mary’s chaperone and sole confidante in the White House. As it turns out, Louise is hiding a few secrets of her own beneath her demure, buttoned-up appearance.