If ever a play had good reason to front-load itself with exposition, Good Night, Oscar is it. Once among America’s premiere wits and raconteurs, Oscar Levant has gone the way of many another once-famous wits and raconteurs.
Which is to say, he needs lots of exposition. Good Night, Oscar, the new bio-play by Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife) starring Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) as Levant, goes a long way in introducing this long-ago talk-show staple to modern audiences.
Whether it justifies the effort is considerably less certain. A talented pianist and occasional second-banana movie actor, Levant is better known today for his frequent talk- and game-show appearances of the 1950s and ’60s, his aptitude for the improvised zinger and no-holds-barred confessional humor making him a sought-after, if controversial, Golden Age presence.
Others would follow in his wake – the Gore Vidals and Truman Capotes and Phyllis Newmans, but Levant was first. And before you ask Phyllis Who?, consider that even those of fleeting fame can make for fine, compelling biographies.
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