To deal with the trauma of his mother’s attempts at suicide when he was a child and a teen, and then with his own depression as an adult, a son compiles a growing list of a million things that make life worth living, in Every Brilliant Thing, written by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahoe, and now playing a limited Broadway debut engagement at the Hudson Theatre, after being performed in more than 80 countries around the world. The intimate and immersive solo show, starring Tony winner Daniel Radcliffe, includes extensive audience interaction and voluntary participation that begins during the pre-show warmup, continues throughout the performance, and requires a significant amount of improvisation on the part of the fully committed and highly engaging actor, in this deeply affecting and uplifting look at the beauty, wonder, and delights, big or small, that we all experience, value, and often overlook, help get us through the most difficult and devastating times, and remind us of our love of life in spite of its hardships.
Under the vibrant direction of Jeremy Herrin and MacMillan, Radcliffe actively moves around, both on and off the stage and into the aisles, getting up close and personal with the audience, creating a sense of community and support that resonates through the house and makes everyone feel a part of the experience. The format of the demanding performance combines first-person direct-address narration of reflections on his unnamed character’s life – from his initial encounter with death as a young boy who lost his beloved dog, to his ultimate realization of the need to talk, to share his feelings, to recognize that you can never truly understand the “why” of someone’s suicide, and to appreciate what makes him happy – with enactments of the key episodes that shaped him, and the ebullient recitation of a number of the “brilliant things” that he wrote down in numerical order and with which he tried to cheer up his mother and himself.
For the latter two components, the actor enlists members of the audience to join him on stage, to take on the roles of such main figures in the man’s revealing recollections as his pet’s veterinarian, his father, his school counsellor, and his spouse, giving the volunteers lines to read and instructions on what to do and to say, or calls out numbers from the list of the things he loves for them to read out loud from their seats, written on cards that he hands out before the official start of the performance. There’s even a card inserted into each Playbill, for the entire house to participate, as we do in high-fiving him and one another, standing up, hugging those closest to us, and dancing along in an exuberant disco scene, designed to spread the joy and unity among everyone in attendance.
Through it all, the masterful Radcliffe expresses the depth of emotions with his gestures, body language, facial expressions, and voice, with non-stop energy and radiant humanity, delivering the humor that helps to alleviate the sorrows and challenges, never becoming mawkishly sentimental but always remaining positive and insightful, eminently likeable and heartwarming, wearing everyday clothes that make him completely relatable (costume design by Vicki Mortimer), in another award-worthy performance by the star. On the date I attended, he likewise succeeded in eliciting amusing deliveries from the audience participants, joking, teasing, and thanking them for their contributions, which were met with enthusiastic cheers and applause from the rest of the crowd.
To accommodate the extensive interactions, the Hudson stage has been modified with rows of seating on three sides and stairs front and center, allowing for easy passage by Radcliffe and his volunteers (scenic design also by Mortimer), and providing an intimate space for him to go through the boxes of his saved lists of favorites as noted across the decades. Lighting (by Jack Knowles) enhances the overarching warmth of the story, with rows of pendant lights illuminated by Edison bulbs above the performance area and the orchestra section, spotlights directing our focus on the featured characters, and a revolving mirrored disco ball swinging in and reflecting the colorful lights and adding to the palpable excitement throughout the theater.
Music also plays a key role in the man’s memories and in the overall mood of the show, with Radcliffe singing and/or listening to the songs that he and his family enjoyed (sound by Tom Gibbons), concluding with the optimism of the 1970 hit “O-o-h Child” and reminding us, in times of distress, that “things are gonna get easier.”
In addition to the show’s significant theme and message, inclusive direction and design, and Radcliffe’s stellar performance, the program contains an insert with a warning about its central discussions of depression and suicide, the number to text or call to get help, and a scan code to connect with the production’s partner Project Healthy Minds, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding mental health support and helping people find the care that’s right for them. Every Brilliant Thing is not only supremely entertaining and uniquely immersive, it’s also an outstanding example of how impactful theater can be in its human outreach; everything about it is brilliant.
Running Time: Approximately 70 minutes, without intermission.
Every Brilliant Thing plays through Sunday, May 24, 2026, at the Hudson Theatre, 141 West 44th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $77.28-424.48, including fees), go online, or find discount tickets at TodayTix.
