On April 14, Broadway’s “Every Brilliant Thing” hosted a special LGBTQIA+ Mental Health Night at the Hudson Theatre. The performance was followed by a talkback with star Daniel Radcliffe, Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black and AFSP CMO Dr. Christine Yu Moutier. The conversation about mental health advocacy and suicide prevention was moderated by ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton.
The talkback was presented in partnership with the Trevor Project and AFSP, both mental health nonprofits. The Trevor Project focuses on LGBTQ+ youth, providing crisis services, peer support, advocacy, education and research, while AFSP advocates for mental health education and research through nationwide programs.
“The powerful experience of recentering hope by reflecting on positives that give life meaning is an element of proven therapies such as CBT and Safety Planning. It's incredible that such an influential cultural pillar, a Broadway stage, is amplifying this lifesaving message,” said Moutier in a statement. “We thank the production company and Daniel Radcliffe for giving me and my colleagues, Jaymes Black and Dr. Darien Sutton, the opportunity to be a part of a discussion tackling such complex topics of mental health and suicide, with a focus on LGBTQ+ youth.”
“There’s something really powerful about knowing ‘oh, I’m not alone, actually. Someone else has been through this, and is now looking back from a place where they can make art about it — or talk about it in a way that is not just full of despair, but is actually a source of hope,” said Radcliffe during the talkback. “Every night, there is something being shared between me and the audience — I’ll never get a chance to do [something like this] again, and it feels really authentic, and honest, and beautiful.”
“Sharing the stage for this powerful conversation was a true honor, and I'm deeply grateful to Daniel Radcliffe, Dr. Christine Yu Moutier and Dr. Darien Sutton for their compassion, expertise and commitment to mental health and suicide prevention,” said Black in a statement. “Every Brilliant Thing is a poignant reminder that even in our darkest moments, connection, humor, and hope can all coexist — and that storytelling can be life-saving.”
“Every Brilliant Thing” previously hosted a talkback between Radcliffe, People magazine’s deputy news director Dave Quinn and Phillip Schermer, the founder/CEO of Project Healthy Minds, a nonprofit that connects people with mental health services. This talkback took place after the April 1 performance.
Radcliffe has frequently aligned with mental health causes, and is a recurring partner with the Trevor Project. He received the Trevor Project’s Hero Award in 2011 and hosted a roundtable with trans youth as part of the nonprofit’s “Sharing Space” video series in 2023.
