Long live the Solow Administration!
Hannah Solow just finished her two-week run playing Mary Todd Lincoln full-time in “Oh, Mary!” on Broadway. But the Jewish actress and comedian is clearly not going anywhere. When I saw Hannah take the stage as Mary a few weeks ago, her unbridled talent and silliness were on full display. Her ultra-bratty and devilishly brassy interpretation of Mary had me, and every audience member in the entirely filled theater, glued to our seats.
As Hannah’s Mary tries to get her husband Abraham to let her return to performing her madcap medleys on the cabaret stage, it’s impossible not to compare her turn (and any other replacement’s turn) with Cole Escola’s iconic drag clownery Mary. But Hannah deliciously makes her mark on the role, molding Mary into a character that feels more like a deranged showgirl or a Madame Alexander doll possessed by a failed Hollywood starlet. (All complimentary, not derogatory.)
Hannah has been a part of the company of “Oh, Mary!” since the show’s Off-Broadway debut at the Lucille Lortel Theater, understudying for Cole Escola’s Mary and Bianca Leigh’s Mary’s Chaperone. As of now, it seems her plan for Jane Krakowski’s turn in the title role is to continue on as an understudy. And thanks to her viral characters, bits and songs on TikTok — perhaps you’ve heard of “We could see ‘BOOP!‘” or “You can’t get on the train if I can’t get off the train” — it’s a feat to miss Hannah online. But even so, one has to wonder what and where and how Hannah will shine in the future. Because she absolutely will.
I recently caught up with Hannah on everything from how she describes her Mary, whether or not her bat mitzvah was Broadway-themed, what Muppets movie-musical she would like to be a part of and her dream future projects.
On How She Describes Her Mary
“Someone said ‘a demented Shirley Temple,’ and that sort of rang true for me. I think Mary is both like a human woman who is completely shut down by the people and the world around her, but she’s also a gremlin who emerges from under the boards of the White House floor.”
On How She Gets Into Character
“I do find that I get a little bratty once the wig comes on. I’m a little bit sassier to my dressing roommates. I stand backstage and I have to sort of be like, ‘Fuck everyone, fuck the audience, fuck everything. It doesn’t matter. I am the best.’ Which is both Mary and also me. A little bit of just trying to get over the understudy of it all, I think.”
@babymcgoo
On Things That Have Gone Wrong Onstage
“I don’t get as much practice in the hoop skirt, and so I’m constantly getting my foot caught, getting it stuck in the door. Once I got stuck in it on the ground, and couldn’t get up. You have the thought of being like, ‘What if I never get out of the skirt and I’m stuck on the ground for the rest of the show? I guess I’ll just have to do the show from the floor.’ But then it’s like, what feels like five minutes is actually five seconds. And you stand up and you’re fine. I do live in fear that the wig will fly off. One time Cole’s wig flew off in tech [rehearsal], and I laughed so hard that I had to excuse myself and lock myself in a bathroom stall in the mezzanine of the Lyceum. But that was the last time it ever happened to anyone, knock on wood.”
On Her Jewish Identity
“I grew up going to temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach. Yes, my bat mitzvah theme was Broadway. Each table was a different show. Of course, my table was ‘Hairspray.’ I should ask my mom what the other tables were. Probably, knowing me, ‘Rent’ and ‘Phantom of the Opera.’ I loved being Jewish growing up, I found a lot of community in my temple. At this point I’m no longer really practicing. But I still love the culture and traditions of Judaism. And like, you know, I love chopped liver. My ancestors would be so pleased to hear I love chopped liver.”
On Being in ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ as a Kid
“I was literally so pissed that I didn’t get The Narrator. I played ‘The Lively Lad,’ which had one single line. I was so mad.”
On Auditioning to Be in “Oh, Mary!”
“I auditioned to play Mary’s Chaperone, actually. Initially, I sent in a tape, and I did use wigs. I was like, I think Cole [Escola] likes wigs. I’m gonna take a risk here and use some really silly wigs and a tiny hat. And they were like, ‘We like your tape, but we think Louise needs to be someone older. Would you be open to understudying?’ And I had understudied a little bit in ‘Oklahoma’ when I was on tour. So I was like, you know what? Sure. I really wanted to work with [director Sam Pinkleton]. I really wanted to work with Cole. And at the time, we thought the show was going to be, I think, 10 weeks. It was going to be like this little summer job, and then it just kept going and going and going. And I went in for the callback, I worked with Sam and Cole, and Henry, the casting director. I did the scenes with Cole and I left being like, ‘If I don’t get this, I don’t know what’s going on.’ I don’t feel that way always. But I was like, ‘I think I’m the person to do this.'”
On Learning That “Oh, Mary!” Was Going to Broadway
“No one even expected we were going to go to Broadway. When we had the meeting that we were gonna go to Broadway, we had had a dead rat in the wall of the [Lucille Lortel Theater] for weeks. It smelled so bad — it was the summer — it smelled of rotting flesh. And so when we got an email saying that we needed to go to the producers’ offices, I was like, ‘I think that maybe the show’s gonna close because of the rat.’ Turns out it was actually that we were going to Broadway! I don’t know if the rat was ever removed. But there is a little stuffed rat on the bookshelf on stage in this rat’s honor, from Amy Sedaris.”
On Advice Cole Escola and Sam Pinkleton Have Given Her About Embodying Mary
“I think they’ve been very generous in letting me explore my version of Mary. They’ve said like, ‘No, no, stick to stick to your Mary and who she is for you. You don’t need to copy what Titus or Betty or Jinx is doing.’ I feel like the best Mary is the Mary who is a version of the person who’s playing her, and not a copy of something else.”
On the Celebrities She Was Most Gagged To Meet Backstage
“The person that everyone was the most gagged to see — I’ve never seen everyone act this way — was Weird Al. We were losing our minds. We never ask for selfies and every single person was like, ‘I’m so sorry, sir. Could I have a selfie with you?’ Rita Moreno was like, completely everything you wanted a Broadway Dame to be, just telling us stories about Tommy Tune. And I had a fun conversation with Este Haim. I sort of liken it to when your parents are having a dinner party, and they’re like, ‘OK, kids, come downstairs.’ And then we all come downstairs and we’re like, ‘Hiiiiii.’ And like meet all the celebrities. And it’s like, ‘Oh, hey, sorry I have my pajamas on. I’m the understudy.’ I’m trying to do better, because enough photos of like, me with Jessica Chastain have ended up on People.com where I’m wearing like, a Big Bud Press sweatshirt that I didn’t wash.”
On Creating Characters and Viral Content on TikTok
My family, my upbringing, still informs me and my comedy to this day. Listen, I love an aunt character. A lot of my characters are taken from the Passover Seder, from me eavesdropping. And I do think that element of Jewish forthcomingness and friendliness and openness is an energy that I strive for in my comedy. But honestly, I’m annoying and I’m constantly doing bits. I will do bits around my house, on the street, backstage, and then be like, ‘Wait, that’s kind of funny, isn’t it?’ And I’ll write a Notes app in my phone, come back to it and try decipher what does ‘woman in cafe eating pasta’ mean? And then sort of work backwards from that. I just try to make myself laugh.”
@babymcgoo
On “We Could See ‘BOOP!'”
“My second cousin Reese was at Jewish camp and texted me, being like, ‘Everyone’s saying ‘We could see BOOP!’ I was like, this has gone too far. How did we reach the hills of Northern California? These children are surely not going to see ‘BOOP!’ But the spirit of “BOOP!” is alive inside of them. That’s so beautiful, my legacy.”
On Her Favorite Jewish Divas
“Why is the first person that I’m thinking of Debbie Friedman? The songs that I’m currently making are surely derivative of the taste of Debbie Friedman that I listened to at Hebrew school. I also grew up and my parents exposed me to Mel Brooks. I was obsessed with ‘The Producers’ beyond belief and still am. I mean, I would love to work with Mel Brooks at some point. Let me think, what Jewish divas am I forgetting? Oh, Barbra Streisand, duh. What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you for not correcting me? Barbra, I’m sorry. You should have been the first person that I mentioned. That’s horrifying. On my wall, in my dressing room, I have a Bette Midler record, a Barbra Streisand record and a Liza Minnelli record — though Liza isn’t Jewish. They’re sort of watching over [and bringing] beautiful energy to the space.”
On People Coming to See Her in “Oh, Mary!”
“I was genuinely so moved. I cried at the stage door probably three or four times because the first time I did the show I was scared that I was going to look out and see no one in the audience. And now to see people beyond my family and my friends coming and meeting people at the stage door who are like, ‘We traveled from Wisconsin to be here to see you.’ I’m overwhelmed. I actually can’t fully feel the weight of it, or I would just sob for like 10 hours. But I’m just so moved. I’m so grateful that people are willing to take a chance on me.”
On Her Dream Next Projects
“It’s always been my dream to play Adelaide in ‘Guys and Dolls.’ I’m trying to write a musical about a nun who faked her own death. Which has proven interesting, as I really don’t know a lot about that religion. But I’m working from what I do know and trying to make it silly. I’m just interested in bringing true comedy to musical theater.”
On What Movie She’d Like to Star in With The Muppets
“‘Meet Me in St Louis.’ I play the Judy Garland role, and we could have a field day with all the townspeople being played by the Muppets. During ‘The Trolley Song’ they could hang off the car all willy-nilly.”
