Alaska Thunderf*ck and J. Harrison Ghee to Lead Oh, Mary! North American Tour

Shantay... across America. RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Alaska Thunderf*ck and Tony winner J. Harrison Ghee will both star as Mary Todd Lincoln in the upcoming 2026-27 national tour of Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary!, directed by Tony winner Sam Pinkleton. Alaska will begin donning the bratty curls as Mary Todd Lincoln beginning September 19, 2026, at The Bushnell in Hartford, Connecticut, and will play the role through January 17, 2027. During Alaska’s run, Ghee will star opposite her as Mary’s Husband.

Beginning January 19, 2027 in Chicago, Illinois, Ghee will trade the top hat for Mary’s hoop skirt, stepping into the role of Mary Todd Lincoln through May 16, 2027. With this transition, Ghee will become the first performer to play both roles in the hit comedy. Additional casting for the tour will be announced in the coming months.

“I’ve often been asked what my dream role would be. As an eight-foot-tall drag queen from outer space, I never really had an answer. Mama Rose? I’m too tall. Evita? I’m too short. Willy Loman? Wait… that might actually be amazing. But the point is, I never had a dream role. Until I saw Oh, Mary!. So, it is an actual dream come true,” Alaska 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. The opportunity to get a crack at Mary’s Husband is beyond a dream come true,” said Ghee in a statement. “I’m so excited to play opposite Alaska; there are bound to be some brilliant moments, and we are going to set the road on fire with this electrifyingly hilarious play.”

Alaska is best known as the runner-up on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5 and the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 2. She co-wrote and starred off-Broadway in Drag: The Musical, earning Lucille Lortel, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations. Her screen credits also include The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, Scared Famous and appearances in AJ and the Queen. In addition to her television work, Alaska is a recording artist and co-host of the popular drag podcast Race Chaser.

Ghee won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical, making history as the first non-binary actor to be nominated and win in this category. They starred in the world premiere of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil at Chicago's Goodman Theatre as well as in Saturday Church off-Broadway. Their Broadway credits include Kinky Boots, Mrs. Doubtfire. Ghee joins Oh, Mary! fresh off a run as Hermes in Hadestown on Broadway.

Oh, Mary! is a ridiculous comedy that follows miserable, suffocated Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. 

On Broadway, the play stars Meg Stalter as Mary Todd Lincoln, Phillip James Brannon as Mary’s Husband, Barrett Foa as Mary’s Teacher, Hannah Solow as Mary’s Chaperone and Ryo Kamibayashi as Mary’s Husband’s Assistant.