The Tamesis
“It’s vital that we talk about mental health,” says Daniel Radcliffe’s character in the film. every glorious thing, We’re halfway through this high-energy one-man Broadway show. An hour later, shortly after Thursday night’s performance, the British actor, a Tony winner and nominated again this year, walked across the street from the Hudson Theater to the Lamb’s Club. Radcliffe, along with Mariska Hargitay, who will replace him in the play later this month, and director Jeremy Herrin, were celebrated at an intimate post-theater dinner organized by patrons and supporters of the NewYork-Presbyterian Center for Youth Mental Health.
Dr. Zandy Forbes, Ayesha Shand, Dr. Charlie Shaffer, Elizabeth Shaffer and Anna Wintour served as co-hosts for the evening. The guest list included familiar faces from the New York arts, theater and fashion world, as well as New York-Presbyterian physicians. After the show, Louisa Jacobson, Derek Blasberg, Adam Baidawi, Bee Carrozzini, Robert Denning, Natalie Massenet, Greg Nobile and Billy Norwich Gathered in the Art Deco-style crimson and black dining room, the show’s themes were discussed over cocktails and appetizers before a seated dinner.
Shortly before the main course, Dr. Schaefer, a psychiatrist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College, delivered a warm address to the guests. “As a psychiatrist, it’s very difficult to watch a play or a movie about mental illness,” he begins. “One of the great things about the show is that it doesn’t have psychiatry, and I think it reflects what’s really going on in our world right now. Everyone knows we’re facing a mental health crisis in this country right now, and certainly what psychiatrists can do and the treatments we can provide can have a real impact. But I think a lot of the solutions are actually going to come from outside the medical model. That’s why it’s so fascinating to watch this show, it’s the creativity of those directly affected that gets the characters through it, the same thing we see with our own patients and their families.”
In this critically acclaimed Broadway production, Radcliffe’s character tells how he makes a list of “everything wonderful in the world”—a list, in effect, of reasons to live. He created it as a coping mechanism during his childhood to help himself and his suicidal mother. As he replays key moments in his life and reflects on this list (which he continues to add to throughout his adulthood with the help of the show’s happy audience volunteers), he discovers the essence of joy while illuminating the importance of support and community for those struggling with mental health.
“I felt like this show was exactly what I needed. A real-life, shared human experience. It’s a play with a capital T and a wonderful reminder of the beauty of life,” Jacobson said Fashion After the show. “It’s a very serious subject, but it’s handled with great grace and humour.”
“At its core, the show is a story about loss and the failed attempt to keep someone alive,” Peter Hermann, who attended the dinner with his wife Hargitay, told us Fashion. “It’s always extraordinary to have a story told by one person and then witnessed by a group of people. It’s the oldest form of storytelling we have. There’s another beauty too, because the show makes it clear in its form, ‘I can’t tell this story alone.’ “It’s about community.”
