Sean Hayes will return to Broadway in a new play about the life of actor and pianist Oscar Levant.
In Good Night, Oscar, written by Doug Wright, Hayes plays Levant, who is booked on Jack Paar’s The Tonight Show in a 90-minute session that delights audience members, but also comes at a cost for the star.
Directed by Lisa Peterson, Good Night, Oscar will play a 20-week engagement at the Belasco Theatre starting April 7, 2023. Opening night is set for April 24. The play comes to Broadway after a premiere at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
“Though he’s somewhat forgotten by today’s audiences, Oscar Levant was a startling phenomenon in his own time; following a stellar concert and movie career, he became a celebrated pundit, holding forth on the chat shows of the 1950’s. A brilliant, often searing raconteur, he was the first celebrity to offer up his personal demons for the sake of entertainment. Time and again, Oscar challenged our notions about the acceptable boundaries of comedy, and — in doing so — revealed the psychic costs of offering up one’s life for public consumption,” Wright said.
Hayes, known for his role as Jack on Will & Grace, returns to Broadway after previously appearing in the 2016 one-man show, An Act of God, and in the 2010 revival of Promises, Promises.
“I’m thrilled for Broadway audiences to experience Good Night, Oscar. Oscar Levant was a multi-faceted pioneer, from concert pianist to infamous raconteur. It’s an honor to be portraying one of my heroes,” Hayes said.
Additional cast members include Emily Bergl (The Ferryman) as June Levant; Peter Grosz (Veep) as network executive Bob Sarnoff; Ben Rappaport (Fiddler on the Roof) as Paar; and John Zdrojeski (Off-Broadway’s Heroes of the Fourth Turning) as George Gershwin. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
Good Night, Oscar is produced on Broadway by Grove Entertainment (Beth Williams, Mindy Rich), Barbara Whitman, Hazy Mills Productions, Yonge Street Theatricals and Frank Marshall.
The creative team includes set design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by Ben Stanton andCarolina Ortiz Herrera, and sound design by Andre Pluess.
