In 'Good Night, Oscar,' Sean Hayes finds anguished reality in a vintage Broadway sitcom.
), the painful source of this humor is exposed. Levant, portrayed in all his hobbled hilarity by Sean Hayes, becomes the subject of an unusual Freudian case study.
Quips are delivered but the only one who isn’t laughing is Levant, whose entire body seems weighed down by an inner gravity. Hayes never lets us forget that the curmudgeonly wag being entertainingly outrageous is receiving electroshock treatments. Ratings may be all any of the suits at NBC care about, but Paar is not about to water down his content. As he explains to NBC President Bob Sarnoff , he needs guests who “treat chit-chat with all the daring, all that danger of a high-wire act.”
Wright, who wrote the book for the musical “Grey Gardens,” is operating on a reduced scale. The play traffics in TV tropes and formulas. The stakes are artificially inflated so that we’re meant to believe that the future of independent television, and not just Levant’s well-being, are on the line with this perilous broadcast.
“Good Night, Oscar” provides a vehicle for Hayes to be snappy and tragic. Ironically, his performance is the least sitcom-y thing in the production. The weight of Levant’s mental illness comes through with powerful monotony. This condition isn’t a costume that can be discarded at will.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Good Night, Oscar’ review: Sean Hayes stars in off-key Broadway playSean Hayes takes on the role of Oscar Levant, the virtuoso piano player, in this mostly unsatisfying dramedy.
Read more »
Chris Hayes: How the American right built its own echo chamberChris Hayes: 'There is no referee. Fox News and the conservative movement destroyed the conditions for that. So now, it is just a head to head battle of who you like more, who you believe, who you trust more. They trust Donald Trump.'
Read more »
Nets could have eyes on Damian Lillard with Sean Marks not ruling out a splashGeneral manager Sean Marks wasn’t about to label this Nets team a contender. But he also wouldn’t rule out a move to turn it into one.
Read more »
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten says Oak Forest office will focus on constituent servicesOne of the four main areas of expertise provided by the U.S. Rep. Sean Casten's staff in Oak Forest will be issues from the Internal Revenue Service such as residents not receiving their previous year’s return.
Read more »
Nets’ Sean Marks emphasizing ‘a little nastiness’, size on offseason wish listIt was hardly a state secret, but Nets general manager Sean Marks acknowledged what neutral observers had said all year: Brooklyn has to get bigger.
Read more »
Catherine Corsini’s ‘Le Retour,’ Sean Penn Starrer ‘Black Flies’ Added to Cannes LineupCorsini’s film is returning to the competition in Cannes after a delay on the announcement due to complaints about the filmmaker during her shoot.
Read more »