Becoming Oscar

Michael Beek catches up with actor (and pianist) Sean Hayes ahead of his Barbican run as Oscar Levant in the play Good Night, Oscar

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A fictional 1958 edition of The Tonight Show with Jack Paar is the setting for Good Night, Oscar, the critically acclaimed play by the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning Doug Wright. It imagines an appearance by the wildly talented polymath Oscar Levant, brought to revelatory life on stage by Sean Hayes. One of the stars of TV's Will & Grace and co-host of the hugely popular podcast SmartLess, Hayes won a coveted Tony Award for his performance in the role on Broadway in 2024.

Levant was a fascinating character, familiar to millions of American radio listeners and moviegoers in the 1940s and '50s. His quick wit, irascibility and addictive personality were certainly matched by his musicality. Indeed, he composed his own music and, as a pianist, became inextricably linked with the music of his friend George Gershwin. It's Gershwin's iconic Rhapsody in Blue, performed in full by Hayes – a classically trained pianist – which brings the play to a breathtaking close.

But what will it take to step back into Levant's shoes and play Gershwin seven nights a week? Sean Hayes tells us...

Was it always the plan to bring Good Night, Oscar to London? Did you need any convincing to take on such an intense role again?