Cole Escola

Cole Escola began performing in New York cabaret, appearing regularly in the Our Hit Parade series from 2008 to 2012 before launching monthly solo shows at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre. They later appeared in Scott Wittman's Jukebox Jackie (2012), Bridget Everett's Rock Bottom (2014), and premiered the solo show Help! I'm Stuck at Joe's Pub in 2017. In 2013, Escola appeared as Roland Maule in the Two River Theater revival of Present Laughter.

In 2024, Escola wrote and starred in Oh, Mary!, portraying Mary Todd Lincoln in the Off-Broadway production before the show transferred to Broadway later that year, marking their Broadway debut as both an actor and playwright. The play earned the John Gassner Award at the 2024 Outer Critics Circle Awards and was a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In 2025, Escola won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for Oh, Mary!, becoming the first openly non-binary performer to win the award in that category. In 2026, Escola was announced as Catherine Tate's successor in the West End production of Oh, Mary!.

On television, Escola co-created and starred in the web series Very Good Looking (VGL) Gay Boys before co-creating and starring in Jeffery & Cole Casserole (2009–2010). They later appeared in Difficult People (2015–2017), Mozart in the Jungle, Girlboss, At Home with Amy Sedaris, Search Party (2020–2021), Craig of the Creek, and What We Do in the Shadows (2021). In 2025, Escola was cast as Bon Clay in the third season of Netflix's One Piece.

In film, Escola is writing a Miss Piggy feature film in collaboration with producers Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence.