Sean Hayes, who plays the witty but troubled pianist Oscar Levant in “Good Night, Oscar,” won the Tony for best leading actor.
Hayes, best known for his long-running role as Jack McFarland on the television series “Will & Grace”, received critical acclaim for his drastic transformation in this stage production, adopting the hunched posture, irritable frown and anxious twitching of Levant, who turned his neuroticism into crowd pleasers on radio and television.
Hayes, 52, also brought one of his lesser-known talents to the stage for this performance: classical piano, which he began studying at age 5.
The play tells the story of one night in 1958 when Levant made his way out of a mental hospital to be interviewed on Jack Paar’s ‘Tonight Show’. .
This is Hayes’ first Tony Award. He was previously nominated for his Broadway debut in the 2010 revival of ‘Promises, Promises’, a musical adaptation of the Billy Wilder film ‘The Apartment’.
“I want to thank Oscar Levant, whose wit, quick temper and virtuosity are not only inspiring, but truly original,” Hayes said in his acceptance speech. “Thank you, Oscar Levant, wherever you are.”
The actor won against the two leads of ‘Topdog/Underdog’, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Corey Hawkins; Stephen McKinley Henderson from “Between Riverside and Crazy”; and Wendell Pierce from ‘Death of a Salesman’.