When Cole Escola last appeared on NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers” show last summer, Escola was basking in a wave of praise and box-office gold for “Oh, Mary!” the farcical take on First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln that Escola both wrote and starred in.

If things were looking good then, they’re even better now. “Oh, Mary!” has continued to be a smash on Broadway, and Escola recently won a Tony Award in the category of best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play, becoming the first out nonbinary performer to win a Tony in that category.

Escola, who grew up in Clatskanie, returned to “Late Night” this week for an appearance that Meyers referred to as part of a “victory tour.” With just a few more appearances in “Oh, Mary!” left to go before they depart the show, Escola talked about seeing other performers take the lead role in the play, which Escola described this way: “It’s about Mary Todd Lincoln, and her dreams of becoming a cabaret star; meanwhile, she’s a frustrated alcoholic.”

During an earlier break Escola took from the show, actress Betty Gilpin (“Glow”) took over the role of Abraham Lincoln’s wife, and as Meyers praised Gilpin’s performance, Escola jokingly said, “You liked her better.”

Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) has also played the role, and is set to again take over after Escola’s last performance, which happens June 21. Burgess will play the role for six weeks beginning June 23, and Escola’s fellow Oregonian, the Portland-raised Jinkx Monsoon, will then play the role for eight weeks, beginning Aug. 4.

As a note on the “Oh, Mary!” website says, Monsoon won’t appear in the Sept. 9-10 performances. On her Facebook page, Monsoon notes that she will be appearing in concert with the Oregon Symphony on Sept. 10 in Portland.

Asked how they felt to see other performers play Mary Todd Lincoln, Escola said, “It was surreal, in that it was not surreal at all. I was in the audience expecting, like, ‘Oh, this is going to be so weird, watching this play with this role that I did.’ And I watched it, and I was, like, ‘What a lovely show.’”

Escola also talked about the gown they wore to the Tony Awards being inspired by one that actress Bernadette Peters wore. On “Late Night,” Escola was attired less formally, showing up dressed as a doctor, complete with “Dr. Escola” name tag, surgical gloves, a stethoscope, and a physician’s white coat.

During the segment, Meyers read a quote from Escola that appeared in a New York Times story, in which Escola said, “I didn’t have money for school, and because I couldn’t afford a conservatory or one of those big theater schools, I felt there wasn’t a place for me in theater. I just kept doing my own things on the side — cabaret, sketch, solo shows. I feel like I snuck into theater through a side entrance, and then barricaded myself. I am not leaving.”

Escola joked about that, too, saying it wasn’t true and was only said to win the Tony, adding, “I’ve got plenty of money, I come from — I don’t know if you guys are familiar with the Sacklers,” referencing the wealthy family that was sued over ownership of a pharmaceutical company, and the role that company played in the country’s opioid crisis. (As The Oregonian/OregonLive has reported, “Oregon is expected to get up to $66 million as part of a national multi-billion settlement reached against the Sackler family and their company, Purdue Pharma Inc., for their role in fueling the opioid crisis.”)

“I changed my name to Escola,” the actor and writer told Meyers. “It used to be Escackler. So, that was just part of the publicity.”