Good Night, Oscar

Post-pandemic, the Barbican’s summer programme has been dominated by glitzy US musicals: Anything Goes (twice), A Strange Loop, and last year’s Kiss Me, Kate. For 2025’s Howard Panter-produced summer slot we’re getting something a little different: Good Night, Oscar is still glitzy and American, but it’s not a musical. Instead it’s a straight up transfer of Doug Wright’s hit Broadway play that’ll see Will & Grace star Sean Hayes reprise his Tony-winning role as pianist and noted wit Oscar Levant, a mainstay of American television throughout the mid-twentieth century. Directed by Lisa Peterson, the drama follow Levant one livewire evening as he appears on the hugely popular late night talkshow Tonight Starring Jack Paar.