Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to Broadway 2017?- Page 5

[MinervaMoon]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 9:52pm

gypsy101 said: "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."

You're trolling, right? You don't have to poll millions of people; a random sample size is enough. And if you've traveled outside of the NYC theatre bubble, people don't know or care. If you want to argue semantics and say that a person having read a headline or something but knowing nothing else is different from being entirely oblivious, I'm not even gonna engage with that because it's beside the point. Harry Potter is one of the highest selling book series ever written and has been around for nearly 20 years. Hamilton has barely begun to pique the interest of people not usually into theatre in the past year. It could get less than glowing reviews and people will still want to see it. And it is getting glowing reviews.  

 

[MinervaMoon]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 10:05pm

I can't even believe I'm even having to argue that Hamilton means little or nothing to most people in this country. As with most things people are interested in, it's far from universal. Although I am 50% sure you might be nitpicking my assertion that most of the US hasn't even heard of it, which (1) I maintain anyway, and (2) is choosing to argue something beside the main point that Harry Potter has an enormous advantage because it is already so well known. Tens of thousands of people were willing to buy tickets for it on the name alone, enough that the company was forced to extend the booking period in the midst of the sale for another several months. While it's not a given that any musical transfers well to either London or NY, it's gotta be a willful stubbornness to think that this has even a chance of bombing. 

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 10:42pm

You're right that Hamilton is nowhere near as known as Harry Potter (not surprising considering how long they've both been around and the inaccessibility of one compared to the other) but I don't think you can say no-one knows or cares outside of the New York theatre scene. Just look at this week's Billboard charts:

http://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200

Anyway, I don't know why we're still comparing them when we've all established they're completely different in many ways. As I said before, comparisons to Frozen are more apt but even then not really because one is still a musical.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 11:30pm

Nope, i wasn't trolling. you aren't a psychic, MinervaMoon. you don't know what the whole population of the United States knows about or thinks about. Hamilton also sells out hundreds of thousands of tickets in a day. Not everyone in the world loves Harry Potter, although that point may be shocking to you. I agree with aaaaaa15, look at the charts; Hamilton has been there for the past 9 months. You think that's because people don't know about it?

[thomaspaine]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 11:32pm

I just don't know why you're still arguing it's going to bomb, aaaaaa15. The New York Times theater AND book critics both gave it glowing reviews. The negative ones are basically just critics who never liked the Harry Potter series in the first place. The excitement among fans is totally mounting. I wouldn't be surprised if the next block of tickets is actually harder to get than the first block, since now the US fans will be more active about making a trip over to see the original cast. (That's why I did it.)

Updated On: 8/1/16 at 11:32 PM

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 11:43pm

thomaspaine said: "I just don't know why you're still arguing it's going to bomb, aaaaaa15. The New York Times theater AND book critics both gave it glowing reviews. The negative ones are basically just critics who never liked the Harry Potter series in the first place. The excitement among fans is totally mounting. I wouldn't be surprised if the next block of tickets is actually harder to get than the first block, since now the US fans will be more active about making a trip over to see the original cast. (That's why I did it.)

Que? I never argued in the first place that it was going to bomb, never mind 'still arguing' that. It obviously wont. I'm extremely confused where you got that from in my last post?!

You can believe what you want about the excitement mounting but type in 'Cursed Child' on Twitter and Tumblr, you'll see a ton of outright hate and that's not from people that have always hated the Harry Potter series, that's from people that have been fans for years. As I said in a previous post, I want it to continue to be successful as I enjoyed the show and think it is much better viewed than read.

[Notreallysilent 2]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 12:22am

A lot of principals contract currently ends in may 2017. So unless they extend they won't be part of the next block of tickets. And are people even that caring about which cast they see? I get like some theater fans would want to see the original cast, but i feel like Harry Potter fans don't  care about the cast since no one from the movie is in it. I think to Harry potter fans it's just to see the show. With the script coming out, thoufh, maybe more people will become interested in buying he next block.

[WestEndWendy3]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 10:52am

Listen everyone.. I presume most of you in the US have not seen this yet.

I have seen most plays and musicals on Broadway and the West End for the past 20 years. This show is just incredible!!! I left the first part speechless and so did the 1800 other people around me. It's on the scale of Vegas when it comes to the visuals. I personally do not think the script should have been released.

You cannot put any of it in context. The story is perfect, the character reveals amazing. This show will go to Broadway and will sell out and be in a theater for 50 years. It is that good. Trust me!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 10:54am

I'm surprised they released the script as well. I guess it's no unusual for a play,  think they'd want to keep most of it a mystery. 

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 11:08am

I believe they felt they had to release the script, as when they first announced that it would be a play (not a book or a film) a lot of fans were complaining that it was inaccessible.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 9:14pm

I've been working around the country this year. California? Kentucky? Minnesota? Hamilton is hot as hell. We are talking buzz for a SHOW, and not a brand name, which is not a predictor of Broadway success and never has been. I believe this will sell out for years, but Minerva is being a troll.

Updated On: 8/2/16 at 09:14 PM

[morgen6202]

Posted: 8/5/16 at 8:32pm

Random question but does anyone know when the current casts contracts are suppose to end? Just got tickets for June, really hope I can see it with most of the current.

[rodrigo_ca]

Posted: 8/6/16 at 4:18pm

In May, but the only ones I see going away are the child actors if they grow too much, otherwise...

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 8/6/16 at 6:17pm

Saying it doesn't have much buzz in the UK is odd to me. We tend not to go bat s**t crazy over a show and have sites posting pointless articles every 7 seconds, but HP did and does have a lot of buzz here.....in UK theatre terms. Articles were all over the national press, some who barely touch theatre, friends who know nothing about theatre know about this play, it's the hot topic on message boards and reviews were solid. It is the must see show in London right now. This has more hype than Book of Mormon did or other big US imports, the press for sure are pushing this show. 

 

To to compare it to Hamilton is daft, the US has gone crazy over a show that they probably will never see, most prob don't care but because of the amount of articles posted about it it's turned it in to an (annoying) over publicised high speed train. The US and UK do things very differently to the US.

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 8/6/16 at 6:26pm

Hmm I don't know, I think Mormon was almost as buzzed about here it just took longer to get to that point. It's hard to compare though because Harry Potter is its own brand with constant buzz aside from this play. It was definitely talked about as much in the theatre community though and I had people who weren't into theatre asking me about it. Again, I'm not equating ticket sales to buzz. More the amount the shows are being talked about.

The good news is the script backlash hasn't had an effect on ticket sales. 

Anyway, I wouldn't get your hopes up that all of the cast will stay but honestly they probably don't know themselves yet.



Updated On: 8/6/16 at 06:26 PM

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 8/7/16 at 1:50am

I'm doing the cancellation line in London. It's 6:48 am local time, and 13 people have already lined up in front of me. It'll probably be Hamilton-crazy when it comes to Broadway or even in London later in its run, considering how few people know a cancellation line exists now.

I think the one person per ticket rule really works in dissuading people to hire a line sitter. The rule makes the odds fair for real die-hard fans. At least the cost for a family to hire linesitters would be too nasty for most to afford. I hope Richard Rodgers can implement this rule just for the sake of fans.

Updated On: 8/7/16 at 01:50 AM

[belrowley]

Posted: 8/7/16 at 6:00am

Dancingthrulife2 said: "I'm doing the cancellation line in London. It's 6:48 am local time, and 13 people have already lined up in front of me. It'll probably be Hamilton-crazy when it comes to Broadway or even in London later in its run, considering how few people know a cancellation line exists now.

I think the one person per ticket rule really works in dissuading people to hire a line sitter. The rule makes the odds fair for real die-hard fans. At least the cost for a family to hire linesitters would be too nasty for most to afford. I hope Richard Rodgers can implement this rule just for the sake of fans."

Please keep us posted on your cancellation line experience! I haven't had much luck getting info on it. Some articles said you could just stroll up in the afternoon to get a ticket and... that didn't sound right.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 8/7/16 at 10:14am

Also not getting the comparison to Hamilton. This will be huge when it comes to Broadway. Harry Potter is a much bigger name than Hamilton, and that's saying something. Plus, given the 2-show format, its like only having 4 performances you can get tickets to. If Hamilton is this crazy with 8 performances, I can't even imagine the chaos on this one. 

[mikey2573]

Posted: 8/7/16 at 11:39am

I am wondering if the actors playing the children are actually child actors or young adult actors (say 18 to 21) who look like children.  It is hard to tell from the pictures but I would think with the very strict laws in the UK governing child actors (much more strict than Broadway) and the fact that they probably don't want to take a chance that a 13 year old playing Albus will suddenly hit his growth spurt that they would cast young looking adults in those roles.  Does anyone know for sure? 

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 8/7/16 at 11:47am

The actors for Albus/Scorpius/Rose are all in their early 20s.

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 8/7/16 at 12:15pm

The cancellation line is SO much better than what I expected. Although I had 13 people in front of me when I joined the line at around 7, I got my ticket only after roughly 5 hours' wait. The seat is J 12 in the orchestra (stall), 4 seats off the isle on the right and the row of mezzanine (dress circle) overhang. Fantastic view. Although I prefer to be two or three more rows up front, I really have nothing to complain. To be in the room where it happens is Christmas enough. The show is, in a word, magical, and unfortunately won't likely look good on paper. I can see how the superb acting, creative staging, and tons of magical effects won't translate well into a script for public release. If you have the chance, DON'T read the script before seeing the show because there's also something magical about the collective experience of gasping at every twist of the plot or cringing like scared Hogwarts students when things go awry. 

[belrowley]

Posted: 8/7/16 at 11:01pm

Thanks so much for the update, Dancingthrulife2! Your experience sounds incredible.

I read the script because I unfortunately won't be able to get to London until next spring, and I don't think I can wait it out that long (and there were too many spoilers online). But the moments of magic in the script left me VERY intrigued as to how they pull it off onstage. Can't wait to see it in person!

[rodrigo_ca]

Posted: 8/7/16 at 11:12pm

mikey2573 said: "I am wondering if the actors playing the children are actually child actors or young adult actors (say 18 to 21) who look like children.  It is hard to tell from the pictures but I would think with the very strict laws in the UK governing child actors (much more strict than Broadway) and the fact that they probably don't want to take a chance that a 13 year old playing Albus will suddenly hit his growth spurt that they would cast young looking adults in those roles.  Does anyone know for sure?"

Principal cast are played by actors in their young 20s, but it does make sense.

However, there child I was referring to was, i.e., the actresses playing Lily Luna and the boys playing minor roles who are considerably younger.

 

[Notreallysilent 2]

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

Yes the young Harry's, lily, etc are played by children/teenagers. 

Updated On: 8/8/16 at 12:12 AM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/10/16 at 4:08pm

Looks like a bunch of limited view tickets are available for the May-Dec 2017 booking period.

 

Not sure how these tickets are now all-of-a-sudden available. I do know that they allow returns, so maybe people don't want to sit in restricted view seats and are managing to get better, returned seats earlier. Or maybe they are in fact cancelling tickets seen on Stubhub and other sites (though these all appear to be limited view seats, so I don't think it's too likely).