North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach is staging the West Coast premiere of Doug Wright’s fictionalized play “Good Night, Oscar,” featuring New York actor and pianist David Corlew as Oscar Levant. The play is based on Levant’s appearance on a talk show, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The Solana Beach engagement
Previews are scheduled from 7 p.m. Thursday through 2 p.m. Saturday, followed by the 8 p.m. Saturday opening. The production runs through Oct. 11, with regular performances at 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays. An additional 2 p.m. performance is scheduled for Oct. 2. Tickets cost $63.50 to $85.50 and are available at northcoastrep.org. The theater is at 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach; its phone number is 858-481-1055, according to the Union-Tribune.
From Chicago to Broadway
“Good Night, Oscar” premiered at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre from March 12 to April 24, 2022, under director Lisa Peterson. Its Broadway engagement at the Belasco Theatre opened April 24, 2023, and ended Aug. 27 after 126 performances. Sean Hayes won a Tony Award for playing Levant, and the production received three Tony nominations, according to the American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards and Wikipedia.
Arts participation after the pandemic
National participation data provide a broader backdrop for live theater and other performing arts. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, the percentage of U.S. adults who created or performed art in 2022 slightly exceeded the share who attended arts events in person.
The figure behind the play
Levant was a pianist, composer and film actor known in part for his performances of George Gershwin’s music. He also spoke publicly about mental illness and prescription-drug addiction and appeared on television programs including “The Tonight Show with Jack Paar.” During the 1940s, he was recognized for a time as the highest-paid concert pianist in the United States and studied composition under Arnold Schoenberg, according to Wikipedia.
Levant co-wrote the 1934 song “Blame It on My Youth” and composed scores for more than 20 Hollywood films between 1929 and 1948, according to the Classical Music Wiki. He died of a heart attack in Beverly Hills on Aug. 14, 1972, at age 65, according to the Pennsylvania Center for the Book.
The local arts economy
The broader nonprofit performing-arts environment remains challenging for organizations seeking to expand their audiences. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, a study found that organizations repeatedly concluded that audience-crossover strategies did not produce the hoped-for results. In California, the California Arts Council’s 2024-25 State-Local Partners program awarded 53 grants totaling $3,431,450 to county-designated local arts agencies, according to the California Arts Council. Those figures document current grant support but do not, by themselves, establish how nonprofit theater participation or funding has changed since the pandemic.
Corlew’s role
Corlew previously played Levant at Farmers Alley Theatre in Kalamazoo, Michigan, before joining the Solana Beach production, according to Farmers Alley Theatre and the Union-Tribune.
