Daniel Radcliffe on Broadway

This musical, based on the play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, has a book by George Furth, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and musical direction by Joel Fram. Radcliffe stars as playwright and lyricist Charley Kringas, alongside Jonathan Groff as composer Franklin Shepard and Lindsay Mendez as novelist and theater critic Mary Flynn, in this story that follows the changing relationship of the three friends over 20 years. Other cast members include Krystal Joy Brown as Gussie Carnegie, Katie Rose Clarke as Beth Shepard, and Reg Rogers as Joe Josephson. The revival played off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop before transferring to Hudson Theatre on Broadway and is directed by Maria Friedman, choreographed by Tim Jackson, and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani, Patrick Catullo, and Jeff Romley. The original 1981 production was directed by Hal Prince. Time Out New York wrote, “Groff, Radcliffe and Mendez are so appealing as performers…all three deliver exceptional work…Radcliffe, bright-eyed and tightly wound, is a ball of clenched energy that explodes to great effect in the unhinged talk-show meltdown number ‘Franklin Shepard, Inc.’” The show has a number of hit songs, including “Good Thing Going,” which was later covered by Frank Sinatra.

This comedy, written by Hamish McColl, Sean Foley, and Eddie Braben, was a celebration of two British comedy greats: Morecambe and Wise. Foley and McColl starred in this production, which was directed by Kenneth Branagh (who played Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). Toby Jones, the voice of Dobby in the Harry Potter films, made his Broadway debut with this play. The story, with its play within a play structure, involves a celebrity guest appearance where the celebrity plays himself. Many big-name actors made guest appearances, including Ralph Fiennes and Ewan McGregor during the London run and Daniel Radcliffe and Jeff Goldblum during the Broadway run. The Play What I Wrote debuted at the Liverpool Playhouse Theatre before opening at the Wyndham’s Theatre in West End in late 2001. The production moved to the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway in 2003 where it was nominated for a Tony Award.

James Graham wrote Privacy to explore how personal information shared by the government affects security. It premiered at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 2014 before its limited run in New York at the Public Theater off-Broadway in 2016. Josie Rourke directed Daniel Radcliffe, Reg Rogers, and Rachel Dratch, among others, in this production.

Part comedy, part tragedy, this play by Tom Stoppard follows the exploits of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two minor characters from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Many main characters from Hamlet make appearances but are the minor players in this production. Daniel Radcliffe, who played Rosencrantz, starred with Joshua McGuire, as Guildenstern, in the 50^th-anniversary production in 2017 at The Old Vic in London. The Evening Standard wrote, “Daniel Radcliffe excels at this game of intellectual ping-pong.”

Daniel Radcliffe starred in a double feature of Endgame, a one-act play, and Rough for Theatre II, a short play, at The Old Vic in London in early 2020. Both plays were written by famous playwright Samuel Beckett. Endgame follows the hilariously tragic story of a blind and paralyzed elderly man, his geriatric parents, and his dithering servant in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Of Radcliffe’s performance, The Guardian wrote, “Over the years, Radcliffe has admirably worked at perfecting his stagecraft. To increasingly impressive vocal heft and variety, his Clov adds impressive comedic physical skills, deftly fulfilling the health-and-safety-taunting stage directions requiring a character with a walking disability to climb up and down stepladders and lean down into dustbins.” Rough for Theatre II follows two bureaucrats, Bertrand (Daniel Radcliffe) and Morvan (Alan Cumming) as they investigate a suicide in progress. This double feature, directed by Richard Jones, closed after only six weeks due to COVID-19.

The cast recording of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was produced by five-time Grammy nominee Robert Sher and features the original cast members, including Daniel Radcliffe, John Larroquette, Rose Hemingway, and Tammy Blanchard. Songs include: “How To Succeed,” “Been A Long Day,” “Cinderella, Darling,” and “I Believe In You.”

This Broadway revival released a cast album featuring all the cast members, including Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez. Songs include: “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Old Friends,” “Not a Day Goes By,” and “Our Time.”