GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR Reviews

NYT/Jesse Green is unimpressed.

The “Will & Grace” star is unrecognizable in a Broadway biography of Oscar Levant: wit, pianist and “Eeyore in a cheap suit.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/24/theater/good-night-oscar-review-sean-hayes-with-demerol-and-cadenzas.html

"Oscar Levant, the troubled midcentury musician and wag, often said he’d erased “the fine line between genius and insanity.”

He says it again, or a version of it, in “Good Night, Oscar,” the unconvincing biographical fantasia that opened Monday at the Belasco Theater. But on the evidence of the character as written, and especially as impersonated by Sean Hayes in a gloomy if accurate performance, Levant doesn’t erase the line so much as fudge it."

A from Entertainment Weekly:

https://ew.com/theater/theater-reviews/good-night-oscar-sean-hayes-review-broadway/

Deadline:

‘Good Night, Oscar’ Broadway Review: Sean Hayes Pays Tribute To Golden Age Second Banana

https://deadline.com/2023/04/good-night-oscar-sean-hayes-broadway-review-deadline-1235334934/

"Some of his witticisms survive him. He’s the guy who said he knew Doris Day before she was a virgin, and that beneath all the phony tinsel of Hollywood is real tinsel.

Vulture:

The Playing’s the Thing: Sean Hayes Shows Range in Good Night, Oscar

https://www.vulture.com/2023/04/theater-review-sean-hayes-levant-good-night-oscar.html

"I would not recommend showing up an hour and twenty minutes into a Broadway show, but it sure would be nice if you could do that at Good Night, Oscar. The play, structured around Oscar Levant’s appearance on The Tonight Show With Jack Paar in 1958, idles in neutral for the bulk of its run time, falling into that Wikipedia-theater trap of having characters relay their histories to each other via factoid. But once the TV taping starts, the thing shifts into gear and the performances come to life—or really, one key performance."

Daily Beast:

Review: Sean Hayes Plays a Dark Rhapsody in ‘Good Night, Oscar’

“Will & Grace” star Sean Hayes plays comic Oscar Levant in a Broadway play that finally locates its power in Levant’s jokes and Hayes’ bravura piano-playing of “Rhapsody in Blue.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/review-sean-hayes-plays-a-dark-rhapsody-in-good-night-oscar-on-broadway

Theatremania is a rave:

Review: Sean Hayes Plays Oscar Levant in Good Night, Oscar

I had quibbles with the play, but I thought Sean Hayes was magnificent. My quibbles appear to be deal-breakers for Jesse Green and others. These reviews surprise me.

I'm forever disappointed in Jesse Green since his move to the Times. He now always has to have some big opinion just for the sake of going against everyone else. I really enjoyed his previous work so it's a bummer.

EDSOSLO858 said: "DTLI Consensus:Sean Hayes shines in an otherwise flawed look at Levant's life.

4 mixed, 3 positive, 3 negative (including the NYT).

https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/good-night-oscar/

"

Breakdown is now 5 positive, 4 mixed, 3 negative.

Ive been frustrated by Green's reviews recently, too-- there seems to be a shift since he moved to the NYT. I still miss Sara Holdren, and mostly look to Helen Shaw for actual advice since Green and I are apparently on different planets.

THAT SAID the anger in these parts at Green is.... odd. Hes literally been hired to write his opinions. Hes clearly no dummy, and clearly takes it seriously. And at least with respect to Good Night Oscar and Prima Facie, he isnt even an outlier? Hes echoing alot of what many critics have said, so...

If anything, I wish the NYT would invest in another serious critic to balance him out (because the others have been no better, and dont write as well) but lets not get mad AT him because we disagree? I dont even think it matters what the NYT says anymore, at least not as much as it used to. These shows need a quote or two to lure NJT/LIRR riders, and some other hook.

Updated On: 4/25/23 at 02:26 AM

Variety criticizes play; praises Hayes

‘Good Night, Oscar’ Review: Sean Hayes Gives a Bravura Performance as Late-Night TV Virtuoso

https://variety.com/2023/legit/reviews/good-night-oscar-review-sean-hayes-broadway-1235592711/

I'm no fan of Green's -- on the contrary, to me he's often guy to make us miss Brantley -- yet his review here isn't really an outlier take, as some seem to opine. If you read all of those tallied, the play is dissected with something akin to consensus*. The Vulture review is close to a companion piece to the NY Times. After a discerning friend's report from Chicago I expected more genuinely mixed reviews, but it seems to be an especially unpredictable season.

*An example from a review considered positive, Variety's. A review that calls the play proper "conventional" and "unmemorable" is more of a definitive "mixed."

"In this, “Good Night, Oscar” seems content to provide a showcase for a notable figure accompanied by musings on topical themes. It could surely go deeper to find more to say beyond the simple, “Look how exploitative this system is.” But the largest fault of the play may be its conventionality. It is without a doubt a well-made play, with clear structure and stakes, tight pacing, funny jokes and concisely rendered characters. But it does not push the envelope in any way — which is a shame, considering that is exactly what Oscar Levant was famous for. Still, Hayes’ performance in “Good Night, Oscar” demands to be seen. Though the play itself may not be memorable, Hayes’ acting feat undoubtedly is."

Updated On: 4/25/23 at 07:37 AM