Emmy and Golden Globe winner Mariska Hargitay will bring her Broadway solo show "Every Brilliant Thing" to Palo Alto's Lucie Stern Theatre for three benefit performances on Friday, August 7, and Saturday, August 8, kicking off TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's 23rd annual New Works Festival.

The connection is personal. TheatreWorks Artistic Director Giovanna Sardelli is Hargitay's half-sister. Sardelli has led the Tony Award-winning nonprofit theater company since July 2023, after 15 years with the organization.

Hargitay wrapped her Broadway run in the one-person show on Sunday, July 5, having succeeded Daniel Radcliffe in the role in May. Written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, "Every Brilliant Thing" follows a character who begins listing reasons to live after a parent's suicide attempt. The show is interactive — audience members play roles including the narrator's childhood best friend and eventual spouse.

"I'm a novice, and I'm going into this new. There was nothing familiar about this," Hargitay told NBC's Hoda Kotb on June 24 about taking on the stage role after 27 seasons on "Law & Order: SVU."

The Palo Alto performances mark Hargitay's first stage appearances since her Broadway debut. Proceeds will benefit both TheatreWorks and the Joyful Heart Foundation, which Hargitay founded in 2004 to support survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse.

TheatreWorks will also host a post-show reception with Hargitay and a panel discussion featuring the actor, Sardelli, and their sister, Las Vegas producer Pietra Sardelli. The panel will cover both the play and Hargitay's documentary "My Mom Jayne," about their mother, the late actor Jayne Mansfield.

Tickets range from $270 to $400. The Lucie Stern Theatre seats approximately 400. Tickets are available at theatreworks.org or by calling 877-662-8978.

The New Works Festival, which runs Friday, August 7, through Sunday, August 16, also features "Come From Away" composers Irene Sankoff and David Hein, who will bring their new musical "Vienna" to the festival and perform in a fundraising production of "Come From Away."

Upcoming:

  • Friday, Aug. 7, 7 p.m. — Mariska Hargitay in "Every Brilliant Thing," Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.
  • Saturday, Aug. 8, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. — Mariska Hargitay in "Every Brilliant Thing," Lucie Stern Theatre.
  • Aug. 7–16 — TheatreWorks New Works Festival. Full schedule at theatreworks.org.