RuPaul’s Drag Race Winner Alaska and Tony Winner J. Harrison Ghee to Lead National Tour of Oh, Mary!

The upcoming national tour of Cole Escola's Oh, Mary! has lined up not one, but two stars to take the show on the road, with RuPaul's Drag Race star Alaska Thunderf*ck and Tony winner J. Harrison Ghee (Some Like It Hot) joining the boards for the tour's first performances. The news has been heavily rumored since a recent leak on the show's official website, with official confirmation coming July 30.

via: People

PEOPLE can exclusively announce that RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars champ Alaska Thunderf--- 5000 and Tony winner J. Harrison Ghee will both star as the famously unhinged version of Mary Todd Lincoln in the upcoming 2026–27 national tour of Broadway’s hit comedy.

Written by Tony and Olivier Award winner Cole Escola and directed by Tony winner Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary! follows the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination through the eyes of the outrageously dissatisfied former former first lady, whose long-buried cabaret dreams take center stage.

Alaska will launch the tour in the title role beginning Sept. 19 at The Bushnell in Hartford, Conn., and will continue through Jan. 17, 2027, in St. Paul, Minn. During that stretch — which includes a stop at Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre — Ghee will appear opposite Alaska as “Mary’s Husband,” the show’s satirical version of Abraham Lincoln.

Beginning Jan. 19 in Chicago, Ghee will swap the stovepipe hat for Mary Todd Lincoln’s signature curls, taking over the lead role through the end of the tour in May. In doing so, the theater star will become the first actor to play both Mary Todd Lincoln and Mary’s Husband in the Tony- and Olivier Award-winning comedy.

“I’ve often been asked what my dream role would be. I never had a dream role. Until I saw Oh, Mary!,” Alaska said in a statement. “So, it is an actual dream come true that I, Alaska Thunderf---, get to play Mary F---ing Todd in the greatest play of the generation.”

The performer first rose to fame as a fan favorite on season 5 of RuPaul’s Drag Race before returning to win season 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. Since then, she’s become one of the industry’s most recognizable names, releasing multiple studio albums and launching her own podcast and digital content network called Moguls of Media (MOM), which she co-created with fellow Drag Race alum and Race Chaser co-host Willam.

She also recently co-wrote and starred in the Off-Broadway hit Drag: The Musical, which earned multiple award nominations and an Outer Critics Circle Award during its acclaimed run. Her screen credits include Hulu’s Drag Me to Dinner, The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time and Scared Famous, among others.

“I am infinitely grateful to the inspired genius known as Cole Escola for creating the best role in the best show ever to exist. (How did you do it? Are you a time traveler perhaps?),” Alaska continued in her statement. “And to my dear pal and confidante Sam Pinkleton: Thank you for bringing this play to life with such brilliance and bombast. I can’t wait.”

The drag superstar also joked that her fiancé, Matt Herrmann, is “a celebrated Abraham Lincoln impersonator,” calling the casting “destiny.” She ended her statement by saying the national tour’s upcoming Sin City stop will make her “the first-ever Mary to don the hallowed hoop skirt in Las Vegas — an accolade which will surely make it into my obituary.”

As for Ghee, the actor made Broadway history in 2023 as the first openly nonbinary performer to win the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical, taking home the honor for their acclaimed performance as Daphne/Jerry in Some Like It Hot. The role also earned Grammy, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards, cementing Ghee as one of Broadway’s leading musical theater stars.

In addition to starring as Lola in Kinky Boots and originating the role of Andre Mayhem in Mrs. Doubtfire on Broadway, Ghee has appeared in Netflix’s Raising Dion, Fox’s Accused and recently starred in the world premiere of the stage adaptation of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Playing both Mary’s Husband and Mary Todd Lincoln is “a dream come true” for Ghee, they said in a statement.

“I have seen Oh, Mary! three times and relished the beauty of this show — how different people shine so brightly in these roles, and yet you see the influence of Cole all over the production,” they said. “I love getting to switch it up and show multiple sides of myself. We all possess so much within us. If we surrender to circumstances, we will find the possibility for expansion beyond belief.”

Ghee shared their excitement for starring alongside Alaska, too. “There are bound to be some brilliant moments, and we are going to set the road on fire with this electrifyingly hilarious play,” the actor said.

Further casting for the national tour of Oh, Mary! will be announced in the coming months.

In addition to the aforementioned cities, the production will also travel to San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Cleveland, Tampa and Houston. It’s currently scheduled to wrap in West Palm Beach in May.

Oh, Mary! became one of Broadway’s biggest surprise hits after opening at the Lyceum Theatre in July 2024, breaking box office records and becoming the first show of the 2024–25 Broadway season to recoup its investment. A production opened in London’s West End in late 2025, where it went on to win the 2026 Olivier Award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play.

Escola originated the role of Mary Todd Lincoln on Broadway, winning the 2025 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play. Since then, a rotating lineup of stars has stepped into the one-act comedy on the Main Stem, including Jane Krakowski, Tituss Burgess, Betty Gilpin, Hannah Solow, Jinkx Monsoon, John Cameron Mitchell, Maya Rudolph and Hacks breakout Meg Stalter, who is currently playing the role.

Earlier this month, it was announced that a live stage performance of the play in London’s West End — led by Escola, Michael Urie, and a number of original cast members from Broadway and across the pond — will be filmed for a future theatrical release.

Tickets and more information about the national tour of Oh, Mary! are available on the show’s website.