Sean Hayes, right, plays pianist/composer/raconteur Oscar Levant and Ben Rappaport plays 1950s/1960s late-night TV host Jack Parr in Goodman Theatre’s world premiere of “Good Night, Oscar” by Doug Wright.
“Good Night, Oscar” — ★ ★ ★ ½
Hours before its official opening Monday, Goodman Theatre extended its premiere of “Good Night, Oscar,” Doug Wright’s play about pianist, composer and celebrated wit Oscar Levant — the foremost interpreter of George Gershwin’s music, who concertized, composed for stage and screen, acted in such films as “The Band Wagon” and “An American in Paris,” and was a sought-after talk show guest during television’s golden age.
Emmy Award-winner and Glen Ellyn native Sean Hayes stars as composer/pianist/actor/quipster Oscar Levant in Goodman Theatre’s premiere of “Good Night, Oscar.” – Courtesy of Liz Lauren
Emmy Award-winner Sean Hayes (“Will & Grace”) stars as Oscar in Wright’s deliberate, affectionate, laugh-out-loud funny examination of the troubled musician, who openly shared his mental health struggles and opioid addiction with audiences at a time when few people did.
Certainly, director Lisa Peterson’s engrossing production benefits from Hayes’ celebrity. But it’s the Glen Ellyn native’s tour-de-force as the accomplished, deeply insecure, endlessly anguished Levant that animates the production.
The ghost of friend and fellow composer George Gershwin (John Zdrojeski), left, looms over the troubled Oscar Levant (Sean Hayes) in “Good Night, Oscar” running through April 24 at Goodman Theatre. – Courtesy of Liz Lauren by signing up you agree to our terms of service
Hayes navigates pathos and joy, tragedy and comedy, mania and rationality in a rhapsodic performance that will likely be remembered come award time here and in New York, where Goodman’s production is surely bound. The theater has not announced a transfer, but considering the strength of the show, the Broadway bona fides of its artistic team and its exceptional cast, and the audience’s effusive response opening night, I’d say one is imminent.
Much of the credit goes to Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Wright, who pairs his droll humor with Levant’s famous quips to create a poignant portrait of a troubled artist. No mere bio-dramedy, “Good Night, Oscar” also comments on the function of comedy, the power of television, the burden of celebrity, and the toll creating art exacts on the artist.
The time is 1958. The setting is NBC’s Hollywood studio (a sleek, midcentury modern design by Rachel Hauck) where “The Tonight Show” host Jack Parr (Ben Rappaport, terrific as a provocateur using charm to advance his agenda) is preparing for his first West Coast broadcast. Arguing that late-night audiences want provocative programming, Parr insists on having as his first guest the world-class musician and intellectual, who he says treats “chitchat with all the daring, all the danger of a high-wire act.”
Emily Bergl and Sean Hayes play June and Oscar Levant in Goodman Theatre’s premiere of “Good Night, Oscar” by Pulitzer Prize-winner Doug Wright. – Courtesy of Liz Lauren
Fearing Levant’s acerbic, offhand comments will alienate viewers and jeopardize the network, NBC president Bob Sarnoff (Peter Grosz) balks. Parr prevails only to learn that Oscar’s wife, June (Emily Bergl), had him committed to a mental health facility after a particularly violent outburst caused by his drug use and depression.
Like Jack, June has an ulterior motive for her husband’s appearance. Parr’s is ratings. June’s is her husband’s dignity. Oscar’s is the audience response that bolsters his shattered self-esteem.
Understanding how desperately her husband needs that applause, June arranged a pass from the facility so Oscar could appear on the show. Accompanied by orderly Alvin Finney (Tramell Tillman), Oscar becomes increasingly agitated despite the best efforts from star-struck production assistant Max (Ethan Slater), who notes in reference to one of Oscar’s films that his every quip is underscored by melancholy. Its source? Admiration and envy of his friend and idol George Gershwin (John Zdrojeski) — whose ghost Oscar hallucinates — because of Oscar’s deep-seated feeling of inadequacy that his compositions lack Gershwin’s genius and regret over abandoning his music to advance Gershwin’s.
Before his 1958 appearance on “The Tonight Show,” Oscar Levant (Sean Hayes), center, discusses what he can and cannot say on air with host Jack Parr (Ben Rappaport), left, and NBC president Bob Sarnoff (Peter Grosz) in Goodman’s “Good Night, Oscar.” – Courtesy of Liz Lauren
“From the grave, George did me a horrible favor,” Oscar says. “He showed me the limits of my own talent. I stopped composing. Zip. Nada. I couldn’t compete, not with that kinda brilliance. I gave up living my own life, so I could be a footnote in his.”
Late in the play, Hayes’ Oscar tries to reconcile that conflict in a mesmerizing scene that is both triumphant and heartbreaking, and not to be missed.
