Tony-nominated Cole Escola recalls growing up in Oregon: ‘lots of trees and nothing much else’

Tony-nominated Cole Escola recalls growing up in Oregon: ‘lots of trees and nothing much else’

Cole Escola has come a long way since the days when the actor and writer was growing up in Clatskanie. Escola has scored a major success with critics and audiences alike as the writer and star of “Oh, Mary!,” a comic take on Abraham Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, in which Escola plays the First Lady as an alcoholic, aspiring cabaret performer who’s not all that concerned with the Civil War.

Cole Escola's 'Oh Mary!' is a hoot, but the Tony should go to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' 'Purpose'

Cole Escola's 'Oh, Mary!' is the front-runner in the Tony Award race for best play. But in one of the strongest playwriting categories in years, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' 'Purpose' deserves to win.