Good Night, Oscar at the Barbican: ‘Sean Hayes gives an astonishing performance’

Sean Hayes, best known as the bitchily bright-eyed Jack McFarland in sitcom Will and Grace, transforms himself here into Oscar Levant, the depressive, drug-addicted pianist, actor and wit who was a mainstay of midcentury US talk shows. Doug Wright’s play is a fast-paced, highly polished, zinger-packed vehicle for his astonishing performance, which culminates in an electrifyingly expressive live rendition of Rhapsody in Blue, Levant’s showcase piece, written by his mentor and spectral tormentor, George Gershwin.