Oscar Levant News

I’d like to invite you, London lovers of American music – and especially of dark, sexy American music - to my cabaret nightclub concert fantasy on November 1-3. 

AEA featured prominently in industry news last week - voicing support for a casino project in Times Square, as the subject of a defamation suit from producer Garth Drabinsky, and their efforts to organize the dancers at Star Garden. All as the industry continues to work towards a new normal, while facing tremendous challenges on all fronts.

Last week A SIGN OF THE TIMES -- was announced for a new developmental reading. The release stated the musical had “several script revisions” and the librettist was now Lindsey Hope Pearlman. Absent was any mention of well-known comedy writer Bruce Vilanch, the original librettist, who had been developing the show for almost a decade.

As theatres work to return to the new normal, we continue to find new ways in which the industry needs to find improvements on the way that they treat those that are creating the art - we have arrived at the “rubber meets the road” moment for every theatre that issued statements about their ideals in the past few years.

Today's top stories include reviews for Death of a Salesman, which opened last night on Broadway. Plus, we took you on the red carpet at the Hudson Theatre for last night's festivities. 

It surprised the industry this week when playwright David Adjmi went public about his own tale of developing an Oscar Levant play with Sean Hayes – and not the one that will be seen on Broadway this spring. It has become a he said/they said battle, but BroadwayWorld has the most info in the war of words thus far, including emails between Adjmi and Hayes.

What did our critic think of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS at The Argyle Theater?

Top stories include: Sean Hayes will return to Broadway in Good Night, Oscar, opening in Spring 2023! Plus, One Shubert Alley will close its doors, get an update on Laura Osnes' defamation lawsuit, and more.

Sean Hayes will return to Broadway this spring starring in Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright’s new play, Good Night, Oscar, directed by Lisa Peterson, at the Belasco Theatre. In Good Night, Oscar, Sean Hayes plays Oscar Levant: Hollywood actor, concert pianist, and the most subversive wit ever to appear on television during its Golden Age.

Recognizing a strong return to the spotlight over the 2021-2022 Equity theater season, the Joseph Jefferson Awards in Chicago announced its nominations for theater excellence. This year’s nominees include 201 theater artists across 38 categories of excellence in theater production among shows from 43 companies.

The Joseph Jefferson Awards have announced this year's Equity nominations, including 201 theater artists across 38 categories.  The 54th anniversary Equity Jeff Awards will take place October 17, 2022, at Drury Lane in Oakbrook, IL. 

The Al Hirschfeld Foundation has launched its latest online exhibition “Call Her Madam: Sex. Crime & Fun in Polly Adler's New York.”

On the latest episode of his podcast, Smartless, co-hosted by Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, Sean Hayes revealed that following a run at Chicago's Goodman Theatre - Good Night, Oscar will come to Broadway.

Fresh off a sold out appearances at historical gay venues, The Duplex and Don't Tell Mama, New York City-based cabaret singer/actor Zoë Van Tieghem kicks off Pride month with her Birdland debut. Van Tieghem, accompanied by Matt Baker on piano, Paul Goldfinger on bass and Adam Ray on drums, brings her unique flair to the cabaret genre.

Chicago is never lacking outstanding theatre, whether epic Broadway shows, engrossing dramas or bold fringe offerings. BroadwayWorld is rounding up our top recommended theatre every month. Coming up in April, we've got a ton of major Broadway hits, starry new works starring Sean Hayes, great shows for children, and more!

Doug Wright’s GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR, now in its world premiere production at Goodman Theatre, is an engaging play that brings the story of one infamous night in the life of Oscar Levant to the stage. Read our critic's review.

Chicago loves Oscar Levant! Six performances have been added of the world premiere of Good Night, Oscar by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright (War Paint, I Am My Own Wife), directed by Lisa Peterson.

Over the course of a four-hour release from a mental ward, and in front of thousands on live TV, the irrepressible and witty Oscar Levant, played by Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated actor Sean Hayes, lays bare the necessity of insanity in the making of brilliant work and the cost he is willing to pay to entertain the masses.

This spring, the nostalgia of 1950s late-night talk-shows takes the stage in the world premiere of Good Night, Oscar—Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright’s exploration of the nexus of humor and heartbreak, the ever-dwindling distinction between exploitation and entertainment, and the high cost of baring one’s soul for public consumption. 

Association of Theatrical Press Agents & Managers  retired member Terry M. Lilly. Terry was a Press Agent on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and across the country, who came into membership in September of 1977. He passed away peacefully at home on November 24, 2021 after a long illness, surrounded by loved ones.