"Good Night, Oscar," show #947

It’s never not impressive when a piece of theatre manages to capture a pitch-perfect production, where material matches direction matches design matches performance. The currently running Good Night, Oscar at Good Company Players’ 2nd Space Theatre is a masterly done production; helmed by J. Daniel Herring and led by Chase Stubblefield in the title role, this show, from first line to final bow, affects on every level theatre was meant to.

(Chase Stubblefield (Oscar Levant) and Gordon Moore (Jack Parr); Photo source: Good Company Players)

Doug Wright’s historical fiction play places Oscar Levant at the NBC studio ahead of an appearance on the Jack Parr-hosted The Tonight Show. The unfolding drama, inappropriate quips, and musical talents Levant was known for are written in a style that is befitting the stage. Stubblefield’s Oscar and Gordon Moore’s Parr match the cadence and familiarity the two figures sincerely shared. Moore tenderly shows the care and deep-seated respect Parr has for Levant, delivering an emotionally driven chemistry with the pianist/comic/personality that was Levant. Renee Newlove plays Oscar’s wife, June, and delivers a dramatically stirring and commanding turn. As a wife who both supports and convicts Oscar’s behavior and recovery, Newlove’s rollercoaster of subdued intimacy and brash tough love responses match Stubblefield’s equally emotional rollercoaster delivery of Oscar. The two share a moment at the very end of the play that brings their relationship full circle, not just in honor of Wright’s text, but in a beautiful payoff of a simple routine Oscar has locked in; it’s the perfect coda to a flawless performance. 

(Starting Up Left and moving Clockwise: Jayvaughn Sterns, Jr. (Alvin), Gordon Moore (Jack Parr), Henry Montelongo (Bob Sarnoff), Renee Newlove (June Levant), Chase Stubblefield (Oscar Levant); Photo source: Good Company Players)

Joshua Shadle is well-featured as George Gershwin, having the calm, cool demeanor and delivery of the icon-to-Oscar,  serving as a looming–whether as encouraging or haunting–presence. Owen Melros is an affable, earnest Max, who works for Parr and the studio and is privy to much of Oscar’s wit, wisdom, and antics. Jayvaughn Sterns, Jr. is a solid Alvin, the orderly assigned to supervise Oscar while he is away from his recovery facility, giving an all-business approach that suits the medical professional while letting the empathetic human beneath the white coat show when it affects most. Rounding out the cast is a splendidly antagonistic Henry Montelongo, playing NBC President Bob Sarnoff, whose comedy comes through him trying to keep Levant’s inappropriate humor tame and keeping Parr in line with what is asked and responded to during the interview. 

And then there’s Stubblefield who, even without the absolute crescendo of theatrical brilliance that is his turn at playing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, is a tour-de-force as Oscar. His physicality, his voice, his meltdowns and pacing, his all-encompassing performance is tuned as perfectly as the baby grand on which he plays. Sometimes, playwrights will add a "gimmick" or something out of the ordinary that the play is clearly written for, and in lesser hands one could see a full piano solo done in a play could be a uniform scene that doesn’t fit; however, such is not the case. The play is completely solid even without the musical performance, but is elevated by the piano turn as it serves the text and the actor who can play it, in full, from memory, which is what Stubblefield does. It’s a tremendous feat to witness live and brings a chilling awe to Stubblefield’s entire performance.

(Chase Stubblefield (Oscar Levant); Photo source: Good Company Players)

J. Daniel Herring’s direction matches the build and style of Wright’s text with a keen sense for when the laughs need to happen to release from the earned tension and delicious dramatic scenes. David Pierce’s superbly designed set, where less is more and the various pieces and furniture give the sense of each locale serving as a dressing room, backstage, or on set, but ultimately it’s all about the piano we know will be played and its placement serves as an attractive anticipatory piece of focus. Elizabeth Crifasi’s lighting design supports Herring’s direction and Pierce’s set by keeping true focus on each conversation but a soft focus on the wonderful furniture and dressing of the set. Ginger Kay Lewis-Reed’s excellent costume design gives detail and personality while being flashy and impeccably suited for 1958. 

The reach of emotion and impressiveness of the talent, direction, and design achieved in this production are palpable, inspiring, and precisely what one hopes to get out of an evening at the theater. This Good Night, Oscar is a gift of an experience that you would be remiss if you missed, so don’t miss it.