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Mariska Hargitay made her Broadway debut in Every Brilliant Thing on May 26
The play involves audience participation and improv, a major shift from her nearly 30 years on Law & Order: SVU
Hargitay says the role has deepened her understanding of empathy and compassion, lessons she values as a performer and person
Mariska Hargitay has taken her talents to Broadway for the first time — and is learning a lot along the way.
The actress, 62, who is best known for her long-running role as Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, made her Broadway debut in Every Brilliant Thing on May 26, following Daniel Radcliffe‘s original run. However, the new platform raised learning opportunities for the seasoned actress, leading her to tell PEOPLE at the celebration of her debut on June 2 that starring in the play has been “nothing like I’ve ever done.”
“It’s very exciting, and it’s nothing like SVU, it’s nothing like I’ve ever done,” she says. “The idea that the longest take I’ve ever done is a few minutes, five minutes even, that’s a long take, but the idea of doing an hour and 21 minutes without a break in front of 1000 people, it’s like, wow.”
Mariska Hargitay poses as she makes her Broadway debut in “Every Brilliant Thing” on Broadway at Hudson Theatre on June 2, 2026 in New York City
Credit: Bruce Glikas/WireImage
One of the most notable differences from TV, Hargitay said — outside of the obvious of completing eight live performances every week — has been the introduction of more improv, as the one-person show relies on audience participation, including calling audience members onstage.
“People, do, they react very differently, and so you’re out on the ice every night not knowing how it’s going to go, but that’s also the fun of it, is that you figure it out, and you make it work, and it’s real. So, that’s extraordinary as well,” Hargitay says.
The actress has starred on SVU for nearly three decades as the show just finished airing its 27th season. Last year, she made her directorial debut with My Mom Jayne, a documentary about the life and tragic loss of her mother, Jayne Mansfield, in 1967.
She told PEOPLE in a recent cover story that her documentary and this play, which is about a person creating a list of everything wonderful in the world to help their depressed mother, have much in common.
“There are similarities between my film and this play. The stories are different, but the feeling is the same,” she said of the two projects.
Mariska Hargitay is seen arriving to “Every Brilliant Thing” Broadway show at the Hudson Theater in Times Square on May 27, 2026 in New York City.
Credit: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
While on stage, Hargitay has said the biggest lesson she’s learned — in addition to the physical training of having rehearsals six times a week — is that of “empathy and compassion.”
“It’s a lesson that I keep learning, and I think that it’s a lesson that keeps just dropping a little bit deeper, and that is of empathy and compassion, and we never know what somebody else is going through, and so we can never judge that,” she says to PEOPLE at her premiere celebration.
The actress adds, “We accept, and we love, and we love deeper, and we love harder, and we love in a more whole way, and it’s the greatest gift, greatest thing we can learn as humans.”
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Hargitay stars in Every Brilliant Thing at the Hudson Theatre through July 5.
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