Will and Grace’s Sean Hayes stars as trouble pianist Oscar Levant in a fast-paced, zinger-packed play which has an unforgettable climax

File Goodnight, Oscar next to a litany of West End hits including Network at the National Theatre and Best of Enemies with David Harewood with Zachary Quinto. In Doug Wright’s piece, Sean Hayes, most famously Jack in Will & Grace,

Tony-winning Sean Hayes exudes awkward brilliance and pathos as a troubled pianist - 3/5 Doug Wright’s midcentury period piece delivers a glimmering, beguiling surface without looking too hard at what

Sean Hayes is best known to audiences from the sitcom Will and Grace, but now he’s taking on a much darker role onstage at London’s Barbican theatre playing post-war pianist and actor Oscar Levant. ‘Goodnight, Oscar’ examines Levant’s addiction and mental health struggles framed through an infamous TV appearance in the 1950s.

Nothing can prepare you for a viewing of Good Night, Oscar. No knowledge of Will & Grace, late-night talk shows, jazz – or in my case, none of the above – will ready you for this hurtling journey through the life and mind of American musician Oscar Levant.

The only weak element of the play is in the writing of NBC exec, Bob Sarnoff, and production gopher, Max Weinbaum. Though Richard Katz and Eric Sirakian do what they can with them, both are caricatures we’ve seen too many times before, a rare instance of the play going for easy laughs.

Read our review of Doug Wright’s Tony-winning play *Good Night, Oscar*, now in performances at the Barbican to 21 September. Read more theatre reviews on LondonTheatre.co.uk.