The reviews are rolling in for Good Night, Oscar, which opened at the at the Belasco Theatre on April 24 after beginning previews on April 7. Directed by Lisa Peterson, the newest play by Pulitzer winner Doug Wright will run for a 20-week limited engagement through August 27.
Tony nominee Sean Hayes plays Oscar Levant, a respected wit from Hollywood's mid-century whose self deprecating style of humor made him a familiar face on the late night television circuit.
Wright's play is set in 1958, while Jack Paar is hosting The Tonight Show. He’s booked his favorite guest, Levant. In 90 minutes, Levant will have audiences howling, censors scrambling, and, when it’s all over, America will be just a little less innocent than she was before. The work premiered in 2022 at Chicago's Goodman Theatre with Hayes leading the cast.
Hayes is joined by Marchánt Davis as Alvin Finney, Alex Wyse as Max Weinbaum, Emily Bergl as June Levant, Peter Grosz as Bob Sarnoff, Ben Rappaport as Jack Paar, and John Zdrojeski as George Gershwin. The production's understudies are Sam Bell-Gurwitz, Postell Pringle, Max Roll, Thomas Michael Hammond, and Stephanie Janssen.
Read the reviews here.
The Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones)*
Entertainment Weekly (Lester Fabian Brathwaite)
The New York Times (Jesse Green)*
New York Post (Johnny Oleksinski)
TheaterMania (Zachary Stewart)
*This review requires creating a free account or a paid subscription.
Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
Good Night, Oscar features scenic design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by Ben Stanton and Carolina Ortiz Herrera, sound design by André Pluess, music supervision by Chris Fenwick, wig, hair, and makeup design by J. Jared Janas, casting by Stephen Kopel, and dramaturgy by Jacqueline E. Lawton.
David Lurie-Perret is the production stage manager, and Penelope Daulton is the company manager. Incidental music within the piece is played by Leandro Varady on the piano, Christopher Merril on the upright bass, Marques Carrol on the trumpet, and Robert Dicke on the drums.
The production's creative consultant is Tramell Tillman, production management is by Juniper Street Productions, and general management is by Allan Williams and Andrew Joy for Foresight Theatricals. Raz Golden is the associate director.
Good Night, Oscar is produced by Grove Entertainment, Barbara Whitman, Hazy Mills Productions, Yonge Street Theatricals, Frank Marshall, the Rich Entertainment Group, and Jeremiah J. Harris.
The project is the second attempt to craft a play around Hayes portraying Levant. Playwright David Adjmi recently alleged that his own Levant play, written for Hayes and the same producing team behind Good Night, Oscar, was stymied by the development of Wright's.
Visit GoodNightOscar.com.
