Bowen Yang Plays Mary Todd Lincoln on SNL
The Oh Mary! star made a surprise musical-sketch appearance on Saturday Night Live, and the Broadway run has been extended into 2027.
Updated on Nov. 15, 2026 in Comedy
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Tony nominee Bowen Yang appeared as Mary Todd Lincoln in the musical sketch "The Little Park of Horrors" on Saturday Night Live, a parody of the Dreamgirls song "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" about the MTA. The producers of Oh Mary!, in which Yang stars, have extended the show to January 17, 2027, due to popular demand.
Why it matters
The sketch shows how Yang's Oh Mary! stint, which he took a break from to appear on the show, is drawing attention beyond the stage. The extension gives audiences in the United States more time to see the production.
The only hard commercial figure available is the extended closing date of January 17, 2027 for Oh Mary!. The source does not provide grosses, attendance, or the original run length for comparison, so the production's commercial performance cannot be measured from this report.
The players
Bowen Yang
Bowen Yang is a Tony-nominated actor and comedian best known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, and he stars in Cole Escola's Broadway musical Oh Mary!.
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is the long-running NBC sketch comedy series broadcast from Studio 8H in New York City.
The details
Yang appeared in the musical sketch "The Little Park of Horrors" on Saturday Night Live, in which he played Mary Todd Lincoln and introduced a series of characters through parody songs. In the same episode he played Jensen Huang in the cold open, and other cast members performed sketch bits about a horse-drawn carriage operator, a marathon runner, a pedicab driver and a cloud of weed smoke.
Timeline
Saturday, before November 15, 2026: Bowen Yang appears as Mary Todd Lincoln on Saturday Night Live.
January 17, 2027: Closing date of Oh Mary! following its extension.
Season Trajectory
The sketch continues Saturday Night Live's long-running pattern of building cold-open and musical-parody bits around Broadway material, placing Yang's Oh Mary! role in the show's established tradition. Because the sketch borrows from Dreamgirls and Cats, it reflects how the series has repeatedly tied its sketch comedy to stage musicals.
Audiences who want to see Oh Mary! now have until January 17, 2027 to buy tickets, since the run has been extended. The extension gives Broadway-goers in the United States a longer window to plan a visit.
The takeaway
Extended runs and cross-over appearances like this one show how Broadway productions can benefit from the visibility of television sketch comedy. Readers planning a theater visit should check current ticket availability before the January 17, 2027 closing date.
Further reading
Explore more comedy coverage for context on live sketch and stage performance.
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