Radcliffe's 'Every Brilliant Thing' Recoups $5.75M
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- "Every Brilliant Thing" recouped its full $5.75 million capitalization after 10 weeks on Broadway, making it one of only three productions to turn a profit this season alongside "Waiting for Godot" (starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter) and "Art" (starring Neil Patrick Harris, Bobby Cannavale, and James Corden).
- The production earned two Tony Award nominations the same week — for best play revival and for lead actor in a play for Daniel Radcliffe — announced Tuesday as the show was named one of Broadway's top-grossing plays of the season.
- Radcliffe spends roughly 30 minutes before each performance sprinting around the Hudson Theatre to recruit audience members for the show's interactive segments; participation is voluntary and no one in the crowd is required to speak.
- The play, written by Duncan Macmillan and British comedian Jonny Donahoe, premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and has since been staged in more than 80 countries following a 2014 London and Off-Broadway run.
- Radcliffe will depart the role on May 24, with "Law & Order: SVU" star Mariska Hargitay taking over; previews began Feb. 21, the show opened March 12 at the Hudson Theatre, and the run has been extended through June 28.
- Variety critic Aramide Tinubu praised Radcliffe's performance as "energetic, earnest and sincere," writing that his care for the play's themes keeps the tone from drifting into either excessive lightness or "a dark hovel of despair."
Why it matters: For Broadway producers, recoupment is the financial finish line — and "Every Brilliant Thing" crossed it in just 10 weeks despite being a one-person, interactive-format play. That puts the production on par with far bigger celebrity-driven vehicles like the Keanu Reeves-led "Waiting for Godot" and the Neil Patrick Harris "Art," suggesting star power plus a low-overhead format can rival traditional three- and four-actor plays in a brutal Broadway season where most shows lose money.
