Good Night, Oscar on Broadway starring Sean Hayes Tickets

By: Doug Wright
Director: Lisa Peterson
Cast list: Sean Hayes (as Oscar Levant), Emily Bergl (as June Levant), Peter Grosz (as Bob Sarnoff), Ben Rappaport (as Jack Paar), John Zdrojeski (as George Gershwin), Marchánt Davis (as Alvin Finney), Alex Wyse (as Max Weinbaum)
Design: Rachel Hauck
Costumes: Emilio Sosa
Lighting: Ben Stanton and Carolina Ortiz Herrera
Sound: Andre Pleuss
Other info: Music supervision by Chris Fenwick; wig, hair, and makeup design by J. Jared Janas; dramaturgy by Jacqueline E. Lawton

Prior to the events of the play, Levant had built up a celebrated career as a concert pianist, actor, and composer in both Hollywood and New York. He wasn't necessarily trying to be an infamous wit when he appeared on Paar — he just wanted to discuss his battles with addiction and mental illness that left him hospitalized. Such public talk was practically unheard of, so audiences — and censors — tempered it by calling it comedy.

Good Night, Oscar is Wright's first play on Broadway in nearly 20 years, since his 2004 debut with I Am My Own Wife. That one-man show won Best Play at the Tony Awards, along with the Pulitzer Prize. In between that show and Good Night, Oscar, he wrote the books for four Broadway musicals: Grey Gardens, The Little Mermaid, Hands on a Hardbody, and War Paint.

Hayes has played two previous Broadway roles: God in An Act of God and Chuck Baxter in Promises, Promises. He first played the role of Levant when Good Night, Oscar premiered in Chicago in 2022. The production received critical acclaim under the direction of Lisa Peterson, who now makes her Broadway debut after a 30-plus year Off-Broadway career.

What to Watch For

• After Levant stopped appearing on Jack Paar, Paar would often end his shows by saying, "Good night, Oscar Levant, wherever you are." That's where Wright's play gets its title!
• Levant soon became a regular on Paar’s show and reportedly began to make $10,000 per episode. The average salary for a guest at the time was $320!
• As a pianist, Levant was known for his recordings of George Gershwin's compositions. Gershwin appears as a character in Good Night, Oscar on Broadway.
• During the 1940s, Levant became the highest-paid concert pianist in the U.S. for a time.
• Did you know Levant was on Broadway? He was involved with five Broadway shows: one as a performer, two as a conductor, and three as a songwriter. (He conducted one of the shows he composed.) Plus, he starred in the movie musical An American in Paris, which was adapted for Broadway in 2014.
• Levant inspired the fictional title pianist, played by Peter Sellers, in the 1964 film The World of Henry Orient.