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Bowen Yang Brings ‘Oh Mary!’ To ‘SNL’ With Epic Musical Sketch
Bowen Yang returned to “Saturday Night Live” as Mary Todd Lincoln in a musical sketch that parodied songs from Broadway shows and made jokes about New York City transport and public life. The appearance came during his run in “Oh Mary!”, bringing the play’s historical character into a sketch about the city’s changing streets.
John Mulaney played a horse-drawn carriage operator lamenting the city’s ban, while other performers appeared as a marathon runner, a rival pedicab driver, a homeless man, a cloud of cannabis smoke and a “Park Slope Cuck”. Their songs spoofed numbers from “Dreamgirls”, “Funny Girl”, “Anything You Can Do”, “Cats” and “West Side Story”. Yang’s run in “Oh Mary!” has been extended through 17 January 2027, which the article attributes to popular demand.
In short
- Bowen Yang played Mary Todd Lincoln in an SNL musical sketch.
- The sketch parodied Broadway songs and New York City life.
- Yang’s “Oh Mary!” run has been extended to 17 January 2027.
Explained simply
Saturday Night Live, often called SNL, is a long-running American television comedy show built around live sketches and musical performances. Bowen Yang is a cast member, and John Mulaney is a comedian and former SNL writer who sometimes returns as a host.
Oh, Mary! is a Broadway comedy in which Yang plays Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of US President Abraham Lincoln. The sketch brought that stage character into jokes about New York City, where disputes over transport, public space and changing neighbourhoods are part of civic life.
The songs drew on well-known Broadway musicals, whose familiar tunes and styles helped shape the parody. The story connects a popular stage production with a television show and uses both to play with historical figures and present-day city life.