By David Gordon

Former “Harry Potter” actor Daniel Radcliffe makes an impressive Broadway debut in a revival of Peter Shaffer’s 1973 drama, “Equus.” Radcliffe plays Alan Strang, a mentally unstable 17-year-old, committed to a mental institution after blinding six horses with a hoof pick. It’s up to his psychiatrist, Martin Dysart (Richard Griffiths) to do some detective work and figure out what provoked Alan into performing such a terrible act.

Shaffer based his play on a story he heard from a journalist friend, about a stable boy who blinded a number of horses. He set out to write a fictional account of the event with hints of truth, but his friend died before he could hear any more details. Only the idea is true, and, according to a note in the program; the characters are all made up.

This production, directed by Thea Sharrock, opened in 2007 in London to a great deal of buzz, most of which stemmed from the fact that Radcliffe’s character spends the last half of the second act entirely naked. Of course, there are some voyeurs who will go specifically for the nudity; everyone else will be enthralled by how thrilling his performance is.

Radcliffe is a shockingly good serious actor, and delivers what is perhaps the best celebrity Broadway debut in recent memory. He manages to capture Alan’s internal and external conflicts convincingly and checks his “celebrity” at the door to become one of the ensemble. It’s a shame that he’s not served very well by Sharrock’s production.

Part of the problem stems from Richard Griffiths’ size. He is, to put it lightly, a rotund fellow, and it’s not all that easy for him to get around the stage. In many of his scenes, Sharrock has blocked him to be sitting or standing in one place most of the time, with much of the action happening around him. His performance, in effect, lacks the passion of his co-stars, all of whom have been given action, though perfunctory, at best.

Kate Mulgrew is quite peppy as Hesther Salomon, the magistrate who brings Alan’s case to Dysart’s attention; Anna Camp, who also appears quite naked for an extended period of time, is lovely as Jill, who stems Alan’s act of destruction, even if her British accent sounds like a high school student’s; T. Ryder Smith and Lorenzo Pisoni are very strong as Alan’s father and Nugget, the horse of Alan’s affection, respectively.

It is with Smith, Camp and Pisoni that the production truly comes to life. Their scenes together, the ends of the first and second acts, are highlights and the only exciting parts of Sharrock’s tension-free staging.

John Napier, who designed the original production, returns to the show, setting the playing area almost like a Roman coliseum, with audience members in seats high above the stage. None of the action is played towards them (as opposed to audience member seating on the floor of the stage in the original production), and the view doesn’t exactly look good, either. Seeing them lean over the railings to view the show was often distracting. David Hershey’s lighting and Gregory Clarke’s sound were both strong points.

Peter Shaffer’s play is dated in certain ways; a lot of the psychology of the 1970s doesn’t fly particularly well today. It’s certainly a verbose work, and credit must be given to the audience, who seemed entirely enthralled at the performance; not a single cell phone rang.

“Equus,” has been given a first rate cast. If only the staging were stronger.

Daniel Radcliffe brings to Broadway “Equus,” the infamous play in which he sheds both his Harry Potter image and his clothing to much publicity. The play originally opened in London in 2007. (jaunted.com)