Jane Krakowski will go to great lengths for a role. The actress roller-skated throughout her Broadway debut in “Starlight Express,” sang while suspended upside down in her Tony-winning performance of “Nine” and learned Bob Fosse’s famously particular style of dance for “Damn Yankees.” Her latest role as Mary Todd Lincoln in “Oh, Mary!” presented a different challenge: screaming and running across a stage in a hoop skirt.
The retelling of the first lady’s life recasts her as a petulant former cabaret performer who would rather be on stage than in the White House. Krakowski, 57, rehearsed for two weeks before starting her limited engagement on Oct. 14, and sought advice from previous Marys. From Jinkx Monsoon, a drag queen and actress who played Mary earlier this year, Krakowski learned to treat the role almost as if she were singing the whole time, with “that quality of support and of vocal breath.” Her run was extended until January 4.
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