Emmy winner and Tony nominee Sean Hayes will star as character actor, concert pianist, and composer Oscar Levant in Good Night, Oscar at Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, starting January 2021.
The play by Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife) is set to be helmed by Grand Horizons director and Tony nominee Leigh Silverman (Chinglish).
Hayes (Will & Grace, Promises, Promises) will play the hilariously caustic performer—best known today for his performance in the 1951 movie An American in Paris—during a particularly memorable episode of The Jack Paar Show in 1958. Good Night, Oscar explores the intersection of humor, heartbreak, exploitation, and entertainment, and the choice to bare one’s soul for public consumption.
Good Night, Oscar will play in the Goodman’s Albert Theatre as part of the 2020–2021 season; additional productions in the new season will be announced in March.