One of the 20th century’s most subversive wits comes to Chicago next winter. Goodman Theatre announced today it will premiere Good Night, Oscar, starring Emmy Award-winning actor and producer Sean Hayes (Broadway’s Promises, Promises, NBC-TV’s Will & Grace) as erstwhile character actor, pianist and wild card Oscar Levant. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife, War Paint), Good Night, Oscar is directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman (Chinglish). Good Night, Oscar appears in the Goodman’s 856-seat Albert Theatre as part of Goodman Theatre’s 2020/2021 Season; additional plays in the new season will be announced next month, at which time tickets will be available by Goodman Theatre Membership. Discounted tickets for Groups of 15+ are available now at 312.443.3820 or Groups@GoodmanTheatre.org
“We are thrilled to produce the world premiere production of Good Night, Oscar—and to welcome the inimitable Sean Hayes, whom I’ve long admired as one of our most versatile contemporary actors,” said Artistic Director Robert Falls. “It’s exciting to once again team up with Doug Wright and Leigh Silverman, two extraordinary artists whose previous collaborations have yielded exciting projects on our stages and beyond.”
It's 1958, and Jack Paar hosts the hottest late-night talk-show on television. His favorite guest? Oscar Levant. Famous for his many epigrams, Oscar has a favorite: "There's a fine line between genius and insanity; I have erased this line." Oscar will prove just that when he gets a four-hour pass from the mental ward to appear live on national TV. It's an episode Paar's audience—and the rest of America—won’t soon forget. Good Night, Oscar explores the nexus of humor and heartbreak, the ever-dwindling distinction between exploitation and entertainment and the high cost of baring one's soul for public consumption, all through the eyes of one of America's most memorable and subversive wits.
“I had terrific experiences at the Goodman with I Am My Own Wife and War Paint,” said Playwright Doug Wright. “I’m so happy to have the continued support of Robert Falls, and can't wait for audiences to meet the maelstrom that is Oscar Levant."
Added Director Leigh Silverman, “The Goodman is one of the most exciting theaters to develop and premiere new work. I am beyond thrilled to be returning and with a dream team of incredible collaborators: the incomparable Sean Hayes giving a career re-defining performance and master playwright, Doug Wright.”
Oscar Levant (1906 -1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, actor, and raconteur who eventually became one of the most celebrated and sardonic wits of his era. The son of Russian immigrants, Levant moved from New York to Hollywood in 1928 where he met and befriended George Gershwin. Over the next two decades he composed the music for more than twenty movies. At the height of his popularity, Oscar Levant was the highest-paid concert artist in America. Levant's 1945 recording of “Rhapsody in Blue” remained one of Columbia Records' best-selling albums for decades and the first exposure for many to the Gershwin masterpiece. From the 1930s through the mid-1950s, Levant appeared in a number of feature films, often playing a pianist or composer including major supporting roles in the notable Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), An American in Paris (1951) and The Band Wagon (1953). In 1938 and 1939 Levant worked on Broadway as a conductor (filling in for his brother Harry) on Kaufman and Hart’s The Fabulous Invalid and conductor and composer for The American Way, another Kaufman and Hart production. Levant became well known to a wider audience as a regular panelist on the radio quiz show Information Please in the late 1930s and 1940s. This led to a series of radio and television appearances including, NBC radio's Kraft Music Hall starring Al Jolson, NBC’s Who Said That? and between 1958 and 1960, he hosted a television talk show on KCOP-TV in Los Angeles, The Oscar Levant Show, which later became syndicated. In time, Levant's reputation as a caustic, sometimes provocative humorist eclipsed his former glory as a pianist.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Sean Hayes (Oscar Levant) is an Emmy Award-winning actor and producer, best known for his role as Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award and four SAG Awards, along with six Golden Globe nominations. He is also known for his work on Broadway, including An Act of God and Promises, Promises, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Hayes is the co-founder of Hazy Mills Productions, the television production company behind several hit shows such as Hot in Cleveland, Grimm, Hollywood Game Night and History of Comedy. Upcoming projects include the Netflix series Q-Force and the feature film, Lazy Susan.
Doug Wright (Playwright) earned the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for his play I Am My Own Wife. Other Broadway works include War Paint, Grey Gardens (Tony nomination), The Little Mermaid and Hands on a Hardbody. Film credits include Quills, based on his Obie Award-winning play and nominated for three Academy Awards. Television credits include Tony Bennett: An American Classic, directed by Rob Marshall. Honors include the Benjamin Dank Prize (the American Academy of Arts and Letters), the Tolerance Prize (Kulturforum Europa) and the Paul Selvin Award (Writers Guild of America). He is the president of the Dramatists Guild, a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, a frequent guest at Yaddo, and serves on the board of the New York Theatre Workshop. Mr. Wright is married to singer/songwriter David Clement.
Leigh Silverman (Director) directed the world premiere of Chinglish at Goodman Theatre, as well as the subsequent Broadway transfer. Other Broadway credits include Grand Horizons (WTF, 2ST); The Lifespan of a Fact (Studio 54); Violet (Roundabout, Tony nomination); Well (Longacre Theatre). Recent credits: Soft Power (Public Theater, Ahmanson Theater, Curran Theater); Hurricane Diane (New York Theatre Workshop); Harry Clarke (Vineyard Theatre, Minetta Lane, Lortel nomination); Wild Goose Dreams (Public Theater); Sweet Charity (New Group); On The Exhale (Roundabout); The Outer Space (Public); All The Ways To Say I Love You (MCC); The Way We Get By (2ST); Tumacho (Clubbed Thumb); American Hero (WTF, 2ST); No Place to Go (Public Theater); Kung Fu (Signature Theatre); The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence (Playwrights Horizons). Encores: Violet, The Wild Party, Really Rosie. She received the 2011 and 2019 Obie Awards for Sustained Excellence.
ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards, among other accolades. The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fourth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.
As a cultural and community organization invested in quality, diversity and community, Goodman Theatre is committed to using the art of theater for a better Chicago. Using the tools of the theatrical profession, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand the cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered free of charge for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.
Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.
Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Kimberly Senior, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr. is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Denise Stefan Ginascol is Women’s Board President and Megan McCarthy Hayes is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.