Review: GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR at North Coast Repertory Theatre

Live television, a network executive having a very bad day, and a man fresh out of a psychiatric hospital who also happens to be a famously unfiltered genius. What could possibly go wrong?

Quite a lot, as it turns out, and Good Night, Oscar makes wonderful use of it all. At North Coast Repertory Theatre, Tom Frey’s carefully calibrated production is funny, fast, and unexpectedly moving, with David Corlew delivering a remarkable performance as Oscar Levant.

Doug Wright’s play imagines a 1958 episode of The Tonight Show with Jack Paar. The show has moved to the West Coast for sweeps week, and Jack Paar (Brian Mackey) is counting on Levant (David Corlew), a celebrated composer, pianist, actor, and professional provocateur, to boost ratings. The problem: Levant has been institutionalized. His wife, June (Megan Carmitchel), who committed him, has negotiated a four-hour furlough so Oscar can appear on the show. He must be accompanied by Alvin (Isaiah Frazilus), an orderly understandably concerned about what happens when Oscar is surrounded by people who indulge his addictions in exchange for a few quips.  Jack Paar, NBC executive Bob Sarnoff (Jason Maddy), and everyone else involved are left wondering whether bringing Levant onto live television is brilliant programming or an impending disaster.

Corlew is terrific, capturing Levant’s sharp wit, self-loathing, and physical unraveling of tics and addictions while keeping him sympathetic and not cartoonish. His compulsive coffee stirring, chain-smoking, and nervous movements become part of a portrait of a man desperately trying to maintain control while everyone around him is essentially asking him to be entertaining. Corlew is also a fantastic pianist, and the production's emotional weight shifts noticeably when he sits at the piano.

The rest of the cast rises beautifully to the occasion as their characters orbit around Levant, each needing something different from him. Megan Carmitchel brings warmth and strength to June, who may understand Oscar better than anyone else. Brian Mackey is wonderfully charming and sly as Jack Paar, switching effortlessly between the polished television host performing for the audience and the more candid man backstage. Jason Maddy's increasingly exasperated Bob Sarnoff perfectly captures the particular panic of a network executive wondering whether his biggest ratings draw is also his biggest liability.

Isaiah Frazilus is deeply empathetic as Alvin, the orderly who understands that Oscar's vulnerabilities aren't something to ignore just because everyone else wants the show to go on. Wyatt VanHazel brings an appealing guilelessness to young gofer Max, while Jay DeYonker makes an appropriately haunting and dapper George Gershwin.

Director Tom Frey keeps the 1-hour, 40-minute production moving at a terrific pace, allowing the comedy to land while giving the more emotional material room to breathe.

Michael Wogulis' scenic design makes smart use of North Coast Rep's intimate space, quickly shifting between dressing rooms and the Tonight Show set. The grayscale NBC logo is a particularly nice touch, reminding us that this is the era of black-and-white television. Elisa Benzoni's costumes and Peter Herman's wigs create a convincing mid-century look, while Christopher Williams' detailed props fill out the world. Matthew Novotny's lighting subtly changes the temperature of the room—and then makes the piano shine when the moment demands it.

There is a lot happening in Good Night, Oscar: comedy, music, celebrity, addiction, mental illness, ambition, and the uncomfortable bargain between an artist and the audience that wants to consume his genius, and this production handles it all with impressive performances and empathy.

Honestly, Levant might have made a killing in today’s media landscape where a sharp tongue, a willingness to say absolutely anything, and a complicated relationship with the filter button can be a winning career strategy.

How To Get Tickets

Good Night, Oscar is playing at North Coast Repertory Theatre through October 11th.  For ticket and showtime information, go to northcoastrep.org 

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