Harry Potter and the Cursed Child came to Broadway on April 22, 2018. It takes place 19 years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. All of the original characters are now parents, and they have to deal with new responsibilities. Hermione is the Minister of Magic, Harry is the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, and Ron runs a silly joke shop. In an odd way, each of those professions end up tying into the dark story.
Albus Potter deals with being the son of the great Harry Potter and being in Slytherin, unlike the rest of his family. It is in Slytherin where he meets Scorpius Malfoy, his best friend. Albus soon thinks his father is not the hero people say he is. Albus and Scorpius use time travel to save “the spare” Cedric Diggory. They end up corrupting the timeline, erasing people from existence, and creating an alternate evil reality. Not only is there the adventure of Albus and Scorpius, the story of Harry, Ron and Hermione continue on in the show. Harry begins to believe Voldemort is still out there, ready to strike again.
I was lucky enough to go and see the show in early August. The show is split into two parts, each two and a half hours long. The special effects for the show makes it appear like magic is real. The show was filled with effects that blew me away. From people appearing out of fire to evil creatures flying over the audience. The show was very well done.
The cast is complete with great actors portraying the iconic characters. James Snyder is the actor who plays Harry Potter. He was in many small films and tv series, but his biggest was She’s the Man, a teen rom-com in 2006. The young actor playing Albus Potter is Nicholas Podany. He has not starred in any movies, but he has appeared in a few episodes in the CW show, Hart of Dixie. Jenny Jules, is a English actress who plays Hermione Granger alongside Matt Mueller as Ron Weasley. Jonno Roberts plays the Slytherin nemesis Draco Malfoy. He has starred in many TV shows throughout the years. He was Declan Stanwick in the comedy show, Wrecked for nine episodes. Many of the actors have starred in crime shows like Blue Bloods and the NCIS franchise.
After the second part of the show, I was able to go behind the scenes. I got to meet the main cast members of the show, James Snyder, Nicholas Podany, and many others. Since the actors cannot reveal the “secrets” to the magic, I was unable to figure out the way the magic is really done. Each character seemed to have many costumes, some are even identical to the rest. The production crew really did a great job with the show. A family friend of mine Kimberly Dodson, played Rose Granger Weasley. She told me she is a “swing”, so she covers 12 tracks. This means she has to prepare for 12 different roles and she goes on whenever they need her.
This is a great show to see, especially if you are a Harry Potter nerd like I am. It’s funny, dark, advernterous, and has an amazing story. The play was written by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany. I highly recommend seeing this show. The show has a rating of 91% by critics, and a 3.7/5 for the book. Do you think you’ll see the magic?
