12/29/08 The "Equus" horses went to Greenwich for a day to visit a horse farm owned by one of the show's producers and Radcliffe keeps his pants on

Daniel Radcliffe (left) speaks with Spencer Liff (right) during a rehearsal of the play "Equus" in New York in October 2008. (Frank Franklin II/AP)

Actors find their way as horses in B'way's 'Equus'

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Michael Kuchwara
ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- Even horses need to rehearse. Especially those played by humans.

It's 30 minutes before the audience begins filing into the Broadhurst Theatre for a Tuesday evening performance of "Equus." Actors in street clothes pace and leap across the stage. In the center of all the activity stands Daniel Radcliffe, wearing jeans and a number 10 Eli Manning New York Giants jersey. He, too, is in constant motion.

The performers' movements are under the watchful eye of Spencer Liff, dance captain for the Broadway revival of Peter Shaffer's play about a young man (portrayed by Radcliffe) who blinds six horses and a psychiatrist (Richard Griffiths) who wants to find out why.

It's a group warm-up after a day off for Radcliffe and the young men who portray the horses and who, during the show, wear masks made of tubular aluminum and high, platform hoofs.

Liff will not be going on tonight as one of the steeds. Instead, he will be observing the performance along with the paying customers. Understudy Kevin Boseman will take Liff's place. And the 23-year-old Liff will be giving notes on the movement, just as if "Equus" were a musical and he was critiquing the dancing.

"But you can't really call it choreography because without music it's hard to have choreography," Liff says during an interview in a dressing room several days later.

The performer should know. He's a Broadway dance baby, touring in "The Will Rogers Follies" at age 6 and making his Broadway debut at 9 in "Big." He has also danced in such recent musicals as "The Wedding Singer" and "Cry-Baby" as well as in the films "Across the Universe" and "Hairspray."

"I definitely think that what we do on stage is not dancing," Liff continues. "But I still hold the job as dance captain, which is normal for a musical to have, because we do have six guys on stage. We need to be together. We need to stay tight. And we need rehearsals, just as dancers do....

....The "Equus" horses went to Greenwich, Conn., for a day to visit a horse farm owned by one of the show's producers. The actors watched professionals groom the animals and then took turns grooming the horses themselves.

Liff, who is from Arizona, has ridden before; Pisoni had been on horseback only once while growing up, although he did go riding with his 6-year-old niece after he got the "Equus" job. Now both men are more aware of the animals they occasionally see on the streets of Manhattan, particularly those ridden by police officers in the theater district.

"I can't help but stop and just take any glimpse I can as they go by, they just kind of refresh what we are suppose to be doing at night," Liff says. "You just stop, look and say, 'That is what I play every night.' It's a constant reminder. There is a fascination now and I know that all of us pay attention."

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