Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

​I've been trying to come up with what I could possibly say about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that

1. Hasn't already been said
2. Can be said without spoiling it

The first thing you should know is that there are two parts to this show.  I attended on a Sunday, so I was able to see the entire thing in one day.  If you count intermissions, you're looking at around five and half hours.  When going on the same day, you'll end up in the same seats for both shows.  Seat wise, there really isn't a bad seat in the house, but if you can afford to splurge, try and do anything downstairs.  There are some things that occur that will be easier to see if you're down there.


If you're not familiar with the story, I recommend picking up Harry Potter in general.  Although I can't imagine why you'd want to go see this show if you have zero Potter knowledge.  We pick up 20ish years after the Battle of Hogwarts.  Harry's sending his kids off to school and his second son Albus Severus Potter is struggling with teenage-hood and with being the son of someone so famous.  Through a few plot points I won't spoil, he decides to help the world by travelling back in time to save Cedric Diggory.  Everything goes wrong of course.


Production wise there is no orchestra and there is an interesting soundtrack for when they are moving set pieces around.  A lot of what sounds like 90's new age jams play over the loud speaker.  That's really the only jarring thing about this show though. The music and a little bit of being "extra" with the cape work.


Almost every main scene has some kind of trick to the eye.  Puffs of smoke.  Flames being thrown around.  People changing into other people. Wire work that is seriously fantastic.  I want to tell you all of the things but I can't bring myself to do so.  Hell, they even have a hashtag #keepthesecrets.  They are really strict about cell phones.  They even tell you to turn off your watches.  It's worth it though.  Sitting there in the almost total darkness, the gasps when things occur are much more well earned.


The show is expensive but honestly, I felt like it was worth it.  Let me put it this way.  You could pay $200ish for the balcony of Harry Potter and get five hours of entertainment with characters you already know and love…or you could pay $500 for Hamilton and only get a couple of hours. I know, bad comparison, just my personal preference.


Unsurprisingly I would describe this show as magical. 


There's also enough time in between the shows to go sit and eat somewhere, so you don't necessarily have to hang around.

---