Talk about Broadway magic. Former boy wizard-turned-Tony winner Daniel Radcliffe headlines the new one person show, Every Brilliant Thing, at the Hudson Theatre and the reviews are largely… well, brilliant. Written by Duncan MacMillan and Jonny Donahoe, the 70-minute play — which makes its Broadway debut after nearly a decade touring the world — finds Radcliffe’s unnamed narrator reviewing his life and all the brilliant things that have been part of it. And he makes the audience part of his journey, with their participation not only encouraged, but mandatory.
Writing in The New York Times, Helen Shaw credits Radcliffe’s boundless energy with making the crowd want to get involved. “This particular iteration. .. does not need Radcliffe and his sunflower openness,” she writes. “The play’s instruction to notice what’s beautiful about the world has real motive power and the interactive components have been machined to perfection.
“But the production does have Radcliffe, and he is himself a brilliant thing. … [He] makes himself extraordinarily available to us — his fondness for the audience radiates outwards whenever he is onstage. … Radcliffe doesn’t just do away with the fourth wall, he manages to expand his magical aren’t-people-wonderful optimism to include the whole orchestra, mezzanine and balcony.”
Deadline’s Greg Evans agrees, noting: “Radcliffe bounds around the Hudson Theatre stage, configured as an in-the-round space, like a pinball in play, conducting the audience like he’s leading an orchestra….A big part of the fun (and some surprisingly poignant moments) comes with the untrained enthusiasm and good-sport-nature of people delighting in co-starring, however briefly and fleetingly, with a pro as beloved as Radcliffe. He’s charming with each and every one, sweetly coaxing and encouraging, especially with the audience members who are given larger roles.”
“Any one-person show is obviously dependent on the magnetism of its performer, and Radcliffe is in total command of both the material and the room,” chimes in Entertainment Weekly’s Dalton Ross. “What Every Brilliant Thing does is create almost a communal support group filled with constant reminders of the things that make life worth living. And with Radcliffe as our guide, this show definitely makes the list.”
But the show is a little too up-with-people for some critics’ tastes. Writing in The Guardian, Jesse Hassenger dings the “often corny writing” that Radcliffe has to navigate. “At times, the combination of whimsical observations, an instructional tone and Radcliffe’s particular cadence starts to resemble a John Oliver monologue, only without political barbs or profane absurdities inserted as asides,” he writes. “The laugh lines here are sweet-natured, but often cornily fixated on cute relatability.”
The only outright pan comes from The Wrap’s Robert Hofler who puts a hex on the production. “Even an actor of Radcliffe’s enormous charisma and charm can’t help but be buried in the deluge of audience participation that’s about to be unleashed,” he writes. “Now that Every Brilliant Thing has played Broadway, the show’s next stop should be a Celebrity Cruise. At 75 minutes, it’s the perfect length to fill up that awkward gap between the evening buffet and the floating slot machines.”