Oh, Mary! at the Ahmanson Theatre

Oh, Mary! arrives at the Ahmanson Theatre this fall, bringing one of Broadway's most talked-about comedies to downtown Los Angeles for a run from November 10 through December 6, 2026.

The show won the Tony Award for Best Play and centers on Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks before Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Rather than treat her as a historical figure deserving reverence, the play imagines her as a woman trapped in a suffocating marriage, quietly miserable, with ambitions of becoming a cabaret singer. It's dark, it's sharp, and it doesn't take its subject seriously in the way you'd expect from a period piece.

The production fits squarely into arts events in Los Angeles that push against the usual Civic Center fare. This is not a warm history lesson. The comedy leans hard into absurdist territory, pairing real historical dread (the assassination is coming, everyone knows it) with the mundane personal frustrations of a woman no one paid much attention to.

What to Expect

The Ahmanson is one of LA's premier stages, part of the Music Center complex in downtown. The theater seats over 2,000, giving the production room to breathe, though Oh, Mary! earned its reputation in smaller venues first. The transfer to a larger house is a chance to catch a show that sold out repeatedly in New York before it made the rounds.

Expect sharp writing, broad physical comedy, and performers who commit fully to the anachronistic premise. The play doesn't treat the 1860s setting with much fidelity. That's the point.

Tickets and Practical Info

Tickets start at $40.25 through Center Theatre Group. The run spans nearly four weeks, so there's flexibility on timing. Weeknight performances tend to have better availability than weekends.

The Ahmanson sits at 135 N Grand Ave in downtown LA, within easy walking distance of other Music Center venues and the Broad museum. Metro's Red and Purple lines stop at Civic Center/Grand Park Station, about a five-minute walk. Parking is available in the Music Center garage off Grand Avenue.

Whether you're a regular at the Ahmanson or looking for something new among upcoming events in Los Angeles this fall, Oh, Mary! is worth a close look.

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