Emily Spivey and Paula Pell joined Fey for the outing
Credit: Bruce Glikas/WireImage
NEED TO KNOW
- Maya Rudolph’s Broadway debut in Oh, Mary! has been extended through July 5 due to critical and audience acclaim
- The comedy Oh, Mary! has repeatedly broken box office records at the Lyceum Theatre and recouped its investment
- Fellow SNL alum Tina Fey visited Rudolph in the play, hanging backstage with friends Emily Spivey and Paula Pell
“Live from New York it's Friday night!”
Tina Fey paid a visit to Maya Rudolph backstage at Broadway's Oh, Mary! on Friday, May 8, where the longtime friends and former Saturday Night Live collaborators posed for photos following Rudolph's performance in the hit Broadway comedy.
The pair were also joined backstage by fellow SNL alums and longtime writers Emily Spivey and Paula Pell.
Among their many collaborations was the 2019 film Wine Country, which was co-written by Spivey and starred Rudolph, Fey and Pell. Spivey also created Up All Night, the NBC sitcom Rudolph starred in opposite Christina Applegate and Will Arnett. And Pell wrote Sisters, the 2015 film led by Fey and Amy Poehler that also featured Rudolph.
Credit: Bruce Glikas/WireImage
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The backstage visit comes amid a major moment for Rudolph, whose run as Mary Todd Lincoln in the Tony-winning comedy has garnered critical and audience acclaim.
The six-time Emmy winner — known for roles in Loot, Bridesmaids and Big Mouth — made her Broadway debut in Oh, Mary! on April 28. Originally scheduled for a limited engagement through June 20, she's now remaining with the production through July 5 alongside castmates Phillip James Brannon, Cheyenne Jackson, Bianca Leigh and Tony Macht.
Credit: Emilio Madrid
Oh, Mary! officially opened on Broadway on July 11, 2024 at the historic Lyceum Theatre.
Written by Cole Escola and directed by Sam Pinkleton, the play is an outrageous reimagining of Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln's assassination, portraying the First Lady as a miserable, hard-drinking woman who dreams of escaping the White House to pursue her true passion: becoming a cabaret star.
Throughout its run, the production has become a box office phenomenon, repeatedly shattering house records and becoming the first show in the venue's 121-year history to gross more than $1 million in a single week.
Credit: Emilio Madrid
Oh, Mary! has since broken its own box office record fourteen times — the latest being during Rudolph's very first week in the role when it grossed $199,935 for a single performance on Friday, May 1 — setting a new house record — before bringing in $1,540,979.58 for the week ending May 3, another all-time high for both the production and the Lyceum Theatre.
It also became the first show of the 2024-25 Broadway season to recoup its investment.
The comedy has extended its Broadway run through Jan. 3, 2027, with a West End engagement currently underway and a North American tour set to launch in Hartford, Conn., in September.
Rudolph's arrival in the show comes during an especially strong season for SNL veterans on Broadway.
Rachel Dratch is currently starring in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show at Studio 54 through Nov. 29, while Ana Gasteyer is appearing in the stage adaptation of Schmigadoon! at the Nederlander Theatre through Jan. 3, 2027.
Both Dratch and Gasteyer — who starred in Wine Country, too — also earned 2026 Tony Award nominations in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical category. Rudolph's performance in Oh, Mary! is not Tony eligible, however, since the industry's top honor only recognizes performers who originate roles, rather than those who step into existing productions.
Tickets for Oh, Mary! are now on sale.
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