Harry Potter takes it all off

Some things are worth $137. A nice TV. A great pair of boots. A dinner at Lower.

The ultimate question: Is seeing Harry Potter naked worth it?

Last weekend, the first Broadway revival of the Tony Award-winning play Equus opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on 44th Street in New York. This provocative dark drama is about a teenage boy who commits an extremely violent crime and his psychiatrist who strives to understand him. The boy, Alan Strong, is played by Daniel Radcliffe, star of the Harry Potter films, and Richard Griffiths plays the psychiatrist Martin Dysart. Griffiths, an incredibly talented Tony Award-wining London actor, is sadly better known as the doddering Uncle Vernon in the Potter films.

Now, I love the Harry Potter books. I've (religiously) done the midnight releases and the midnight movie showings. But I am a theatergoer and theater-lover as well. When I go to Broadway, I hope to see performances that go above and beyond the call of duty.

So back to my original question: Does Radcliffe have what it takes to be a Broadway star? The producers of Katie Holmes' Broadway debut of Arthur Miller's All My Sons would say so. Apparently, being Tom Cruise's wife is good enough for them, even if you were dumped by the Dark Knight. Her name sells tickets.

Broadway has been littered in the past with Hollywood stars looking to try real acting. Even Madonna has been on Broadway. Some of them have been incredibly successful; actors like John Malkovich, Patrick Stewart, Jeremy Piven, and countless others do fantastic theatrical work. But it is a different world and requires different chops to really be deemed a success.

So, does the (barely legal) "Boy Who Lived" have it? London critics lauded the show when it opened there in 2007. New York critics seem to be following suit. Ben Brantley opened his New York Times review of the show with the phrase, "The young wizard has chosen wisely." The overall reaction to stage Radcliffe was not just positive, but praising.

I was lucky enough to have tickets for opening weekend. I hopped on the everclassy Fung Wah with two friends to New York City with more than a few apprehensions. I braced myself for an evening of annoying Harry Potter fanatics cheering when Radcliffe came onstage and trying to sneak snapshots, or worse giggle, when he finally dropped trou. I even feared that Radcliffe's at times angst-prone Harry Potter would translate to Alan Strong.

Imagine my pleasure at the wonderful decorum of the audience, who applauded just as vigorously the wonderful performance of Griffiths as they did our favorite British boy. And let's face it guys; he's no kid anymore (minds out of the gutter). Radcliffe has truly grown as an actor from his first major appearance on film seven years ago.

In an interview earlier this fall, Radcliffe described how he did the character research, took acting lessons, learned Alexander exercises, and really strove to make the part his own. It worked. His performance was engaging, disturbing, and even amusing at times.

Any complaint I had about the play does not include the overall marvelous acting of its two leads. Some of their co-stars, however, particularly Radcliffe's mother played by Carolyn McCormick and the court magistrate played by Kate Mulgrew, were downright annoying.

The young Jill Mason played by Anna Camp who tries to seduce Alan, however, was a pleasure. (Interestingly enough she also gets completely naked with Radcliffe, but of course that is rarely as exciting as a male movie star in the nude.)

Whatever the complaints about Equus, it is a powerful drama with beautifully twisted imagery and interesting "psychosexual themes," as one critic dubbed it. It was infinitely more appealing, entertaining, and worthwhile than a pair of boots. n