Actors Daniel Radcliffe and Joanne Christie pose backstage at the Gielgud Theatre. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
Equus, With Radcliffe And Griffiths, To Play The Broadhurst Theatre
By Andrew Gans, Playbill.com
Tue Apr 8, 2008
The eagerly awaited revival of Peter Shaffer's Equus, a hit at London's Gielgud Theatre, will begin previews Sept. 5 at the Broadhurst Theatre, which is currently the home of the acclaimed revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
As previously reported by Playbill.com, Daniel Radcliffe and Tony and Olivier Award winner Richard Griffiths — who played to sold-out crowds in the London revival — will reprise their work for Broadway audiences. Radcliffe will star as Alan Strang with Griffiths as Dr. Martin Dysart. Opening night at the Broadhurst is scheduled for Sept. 25, and the production will play a 22-week engagement through Feb. 8, 2009.
Thea Sharrock, who directed the London run, will direct on Broadway as well. The creative team also features set and costume designer John Napier, lighting designer David Hersey and sound designer Gregory Clarke.
"Harry Potter" star Radcliffe made his West End leading-role debut in Shaffer's 1973 drama at London's Gielgud Theatre on Feb. 27, 2007, following previews that began Feb. 16. Radcliffe drew positive reviews from the London critics and lots of attention from gossip columnists because of the much-written-about nude scene.
Radcliffe is cast as the disturbed adolescent Strang, an English stable boy who blinded six horses with a spike. Griffiths takes on the role of psychiatrist Dysart, who attempts to discover the source of Strang's psychosis. Playwright Shaffer based the play on a true story told to him by a friend.
Equus reunited Radcliffe and Griffiths, who appeared together in the "Harry Potter" movies. London Equus producers David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers gave Radcliffe his first role in the West End as a celebrity guest in The Play What I Wrote.
Equus bowed on Broadway in October 1974 at the Plymouth Theatre. The production — directed by John Dexter — won the 1975 Tony for Best Play and ran 1,209 performances. The upcoming production will mark the show's first Broadway revival. Playwright Shaffer is also the author of Amadeus, Lettice and Lovage, The Royal Hunt of the Sun and White Lairs & Black Comedy.
The Broadhurst Theatre is located in Manhattan at 235 West 44th Street.