Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to Broadway 2017?- Page 4

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 7/29/16 at 10:49pm

Yes, agreed. Please don't think that I'm just putting this show down for the sake of it. It's clearly well done in many ways and has been extremely successful, especially for a new show in London! We really don't get many shows that premiere here that are super successful and critically acclaimed so it's all good news. It's just that, as you say, music has a way to reach people quickly and with great effect in a way that a script doesn't. The play will run for years and give a lot of people a memorable theatre experience but no, it wont be quoted by political candidates or become the only thing talked about in the arts sections of our newspapers.

Updated On: 7/29/16 at 10:49 PM

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 8:55am

You all are making me nervous so I'm just going to start saving money now for what I hope to be a 2018 release. 

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 9:09am

aaaaa15 just can't stand the fact that something else may come along that will be a hotter ticket than his beloved Hamilton. 

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 9:37am

I'm not a guy and that has nothing to do with it. I didn't start the comparisons with Hamilton. Am I not allowed to raise any slightly (and it was slight!) negative thing about any other show? It seems some are being overly defensive over this play rather than me being overly defensive over Hamilton to be honest, especially the ones that haven't seen it yet. Updated On: 7/30/16 at 09:37 AM

[lilitalybabe09]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 9:41am

Why does there need to be some sort of competition with Hamilton? I'm not sure why the two are being compared. They are completely different. Harry Potter will sell out for years even if it was a bad production, which it isn't at all. Once the script comes out tomorrow and people read it/a broadway run is officially announced, people will get excited.

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 9:54am

Agreed. I'm seeing the show this weekend and am looking forward to it. Of course, the fact that I've paid to see it doesn't fit in with my agenda of wanting to divert ticket sales away from anything other than Hamilton so I guess I've messed up.

[Mr Kelly]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 3:58am

Would people recommend reading the script first, or seeing the play without having done so? (Tickets booked for April, am a huge fan of the book series, not so much the movies) . Thanks 

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 5:23am

What i really don't understand is this business of going to Toronto first, like of all shows does this REALLY need an out of town, the NYT could pan it to death and it will still be sold out for years on day one. 

[thomaspaine]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 9:24am

Mr Kelly said: "Would people recommend reading the script first, or seeing the play without having done so? (Tickets booked for April, am a huge fan of the book series, not so much the movies) . Thanks "

I would say that if you can avoid spoilers, wait to see the play first, because some of the stagecraft and the reveals are breathtaking. You may not be able to, but you at least don't need to read all of the script and can save yourself a little bit for the stage. But then again, I'm a purist and told all my friends not to listen to the Hamilton album until they saw it. The way I look at it, you have so few chances in life to be truly surprised anymore :)

[lilitalybabe09]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 9:26am

thomaspaine said: "Mr Kelly said: "Would people recommend reading the script first, or seeing the play without having done so? (Tickets booked for April, am a huge fan of the book series, not so much the movies) . Thanks "

I would say that if you can avoid spoilers, wait to see the play first, because some of the stagecraft and the reveals are breathtaking. You may not be able to, but you at least don't need to read all of the script and can save yourself a little bit for the stage. But then again, I'm a purist and told all my friends not to listen to the Hamilton album until they saw it. The way I look at it, you have so few chances in life to be truly surprised anymore :)

 

"

I came down here to say the same thing!! :)

[RW3]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 9:51am

LightsOut90 said: "What i really don't understand is this business of going to Toronto first, like of all shows does this REALLY need an out of town, the NYT could pan it to death and it will still be sold out for years on day one. 

Exactly. 

 

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 10:30am

Mr Kelly, if you feel you can wait then that is absolutely the right thing to do.

[RW3]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 12:16pm

New update: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/01/theater/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-producers-consider-a-broadway-run.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

[MinervaMoon]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 9:46pm

I saw the show (matinee/evening) on Wednesday and was at the red carpet premiere on Saturday. I can't predict how big a deal this would be in the U.S. compared to Hamilton but I'm willing to bet it will be huge. There are a lot of U.S. fans of Harry Potter and the name alone draws sales more than Hamilton or LMM. The first sale for Cursed Child last October put me in an online queue of over 70,000 people trying to get tickets, with predictable aggravating technical difficulties. And that was more than 7 months before the show had even come out, before it had even been cast, much less reviewed. Much as I love Hamilton, there was not as much interest in that show when it premiered at the Public.

Cursed Child is not a perfect show but it is visually spectacular, with magic and spells occurring frequently, including things like Polyjuice transformations right in front of you (as in one actor on stage seamlessly transforming into another, without smoke or any other obscuring elements, which I'm guessing happens with the help of trap doors). I've read some of the script and it seems incredibly different to the experience of seeing it, and can understand why people are disappointed. But my point is, now that this has been given wide publicity in the form of the published book, and is now receiving very good reviews, the talk of and demand for this show will be enormous if/when it transfers to Broadway. Hamilton is big but a good majority of the U.S. population is literally oblivious to its existence. But most people know about Harry Potter, and the news of the show will spread even farther by the time plans to bring it to NY have been brought to fruition.

[thomaspaine]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 10:01pm

Agreed regarding the special effects: they are transformative. People were spellbound, especially by the Part 1 ender. Even knowing intellectually how they must have done some of the effects, it felt in the moment like nothing less than magic.

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 10:34pm

So I saw the show and read the script this weekend. The show is very good, a real magical experience and people seemed very happy with it. The plot (to me) is a 5/6 out of 10 and everything else is a 9/10 out of 10 putting it at about a 7/8 overall. It is definitely worth seeing.

As I predicted, the script is receiving mixed reviews. It is currently sitting at a 3.5 out of 5 on Amazon with 20% of the reviews being 1*. A lot of the reviews are calling it fanfiction etc. This is what I originally meant when I said there are a lot of fans that wouldn't be happy with the plot. My original point was pondering whether the Broadway production would sell as well as the West End now that a lot of fans have read the script and haven't enjoyed it. I am still unsure of this, but either way it will obviously be a success. The plot seems better when you're watching it in the context of the play and I hope people are willing to give the whole experience a chance, rather than brush it all off now that they don't like the script.

Updated On: 7/31/16 at 10:34 PM

[Mr Kelly]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 11:23pm

Thanks all! Will attempt to steer clear of any spoilers! Just wish April was closer than it is

[MinervaMoon]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 11:49pm

I agree that a lot of it seemed like fanfiction, but I feel that a lot of Harry Potter itself seemed like fanfiction. I don't mean that it's bad quality -- and a lot of fanfiction isn't either -- but it's about wish fulfillment and characters you've grown to love so there is some pandering to what fans wanted to see. For instance, Act 3, Scenes 5-9 contains an interaction in which a character is able to learn about and appreciate something I've always wished they could but that they wouldn't have been able to in the original canon. Things like this no doubt have an element of fan service, but the backlash seems disproportionate. I don't care that one character seems tropey because she has silver/blue hair and writes angsty things in her room. It's heartwarming and entertaining and true to the original spirit, and not meant to be analyzed for the Pulitzer Prize.

[thomaspaine]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 12:24am

Agree totally, MinervaMoon. Ben Brantley kind of nailed it when he said that watching the play is like reading one of Rowling's books: the experience is meandering adventure until a mad rush of action to the ending. It feels so much like Rowling, and all the many side plot alleyways off the main drag are so part of the experience of the original books. I think it's set up the next generation for more adventures if/when she wants to write them, too. The two boys are wonderful together.

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 12:28am

She has said she is done with Harry Potter now, but didn't she say that after the last book too?

[gypsy101]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 3:40am

MinervaMoon said: "Hamilton is big but a good majority of the U.S. population is literally oblivious to its existence. But most people know about Harry Potter, and the news of the show will spread even farther by the time plans to bring it to NY have been brought to fruition."

Are you attempting to peer into the minds of hundreds of millions of people? you cannot say that it is "literally" unknown to a "majority of the U.S. population." You would need to prescient to know whether or not they are oblivious to it.

Having a big name means basically nothing when it comes to attempting to have a hit on Broadway. Look at all the musicals based on popular movies that were unsuccessful (Little Mermaid, Legally Blonde, Christmas Story, Sister Act and the Wedding Singer come to mind from the last decade or so). Lots of shows also are successful in London and then aren't on Broadway. totally separate cultures.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 4:39am

I just finished reading the play. I found part two to be far more enjoyable than part one. I have never been a big fan of the idea of the magical device that is at the play's center, so it really took me a while to get into.

That being said, I know I would certainly love to see this realized on stage. If it does transfer, I would certainly come to New York to see it.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 2:32pm

Having a big name means basically nothing when it comes to attempting to have a hit on Broadway. Look at all the musicals based on popular movies that were unsuccessful (Little Mermaid, Legally Blonde, Christmas Story, Sister Act and the Wedding Singer come to mind from the last decade or so). Lots of shows also are successful in London and then aren't on Broadway. totally separate cultures.

Normally, I would agree with the above, but Harry Potter is iconic to a whole other level, on both sides of the pond.  Barnes & Noble even had midnight release parties of the script for fans.   If this were to be an adaptation of the original stories, then I think the musical of Lord of the Rings (which I happened to love) would be appropriate as a reference, but considering this is a new continuation of the Harry Potter canon, and given the scale of the show and the response to its staging and visual effects, I can't imagine a scenario where this would bomb on Broadway other than the show being far too expensive to run in order to ever make a profit.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 6:24pm

She said she's done with the Harry Potter series. Doesn't mean she couldn't spin off another character. But she's kind of squeezed all she can out of it. 

[Jonwo]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 6:51pm

RippedMan said: "She said she's done with the Harry Potter series. Doesn't mean she couldn't spin off another character. But she's kind of squeezed all she can out of it. 

She wrote the screenplay for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them which like Cursed Child was suggested as an idea by Warner Bros. While Harry's story likely is done for now, I still think we'll see more from the Wizarding World either as prequels or sequels but not with Harry at the main character

"