Anything can happen on live TV

As brilliant as he was troubled, Oscar Levant's genius has become the stuff of legend, despite the fact it was also his downfall. Now explored in this new play by Doug Wright, Sean Hayes steps on the Goodman stage as titular Oscar, embodying the mordant comedian, actor, pianist, and wildcard as he makes an unforgettable appearance on Jack Paar's Tonight Show in 1958.

Known initially as a concert pianist and composer, it was Levant's acid-laced witticisms that truly bought him to public attention, betraying his own demons within. A regular on the late-night circuit and radio panel games of the time, his frank approach to his own neurosis gained him fans and an influence that still continues to this day.