HARRY POTTER CURSED CHILD as 1 Part — Page 2

whatacharacter said: "Any updates on this? Have tickets for 11/26."

Previews start next week. There will be plenty of updates then.

ColorTheHours048 said: "whatacharacter said: "Any updates on this? Have tickets for 11/26."

Previews start next week. There will be plenty of updates then."

Will there be another opening night given the new shorter length of the play?

Website has been updated to note:

What is the running time?
The running time will be a work-in-progress until we complete rehearsals but it is anticipated that the show will be less than 3hours and 30 minutes including intermission.

I saw it Sunday night in San Francisco with my older daughter, who had seen it on Broadway a few weeks earlier. She's a fan, and I read all but the last book in the series to her when she was young, so it was nice to see it with her as an adult. This certainly colored my feelings about the show, which felt like less of a play than an experience.

As an event for fans, it works pretty well. Some of the special effects are terrific, and enough of it worked for me to leave satisfied. But I got our tickets through TodayTix for $59 plus fees and that's not going to work for the producers in the long run. The audience who was there (it wasn't sold out) had a good time, and several of the actors - especially Jon Steiger, who plays Scorpius Malfory - are definite standouts. My daughter thought the cast was at least as good as the Broadway cast. The performances are solid throughout, although at times it's hard to understand all of the dialogue even from our seventh row seats - in part because it felt like the actors were rushing through a lot of plot exposition. The odd dance/movement sequences that essentially function as scene changes give the audience time to catch up.

I can't compare the two-part version to what I saw last night, but there's a rushed and hectic pace to much of the show that undermines its themes. I would not recommend this to anyone not familiar with the Harry Potter books and films. I may read the play, just because I'm now curious if it lost some important stuff or just more fan service. There are no flashbacks to Harry as a child, for better or worse, or some child characters, but Dumbledore's painting remains. My daughter said audiences laughed at this in New York, but people didn't chuckle in San Francisco. It was a raucous audience, however, and they greeted familiar characters and the sometimes-amazing special effects with enthusiasm.

This is the stuff I love:



"I have not seen the 2-part production, but from what I've read, I think the condensed version is probably a more fulfilling experience - to me, I know it was."

"Their deep friendship, which is as explicitly romantic as I assume JKR's estate will allow..."

FWIW I had quite a good time at the two-part show and felt so enthusiastic about it that I actually heard myself say OUT LOUD: "The cool thing about this is it doesn't really feel like a cash grab." Then they threw half of it away and I realized I was oh, so wrong. It's funny how you invest money in something and it fundamentally changes your critical abilities.

Hopefully my posts on here aren't annoying. I've been really enjoying Ijay's Company posts so maybe someone will get a kick out of these.

I saw the SF production again yesterday and it does amaze me how consistent the cast is - on Broadway (for various shows) I definitely saw performances after opening where it felt like some of the young actors in particular were phoning it in. I'm happy to say that this cast remains as on fire as they were the night after opening, when I first saw the show.

The main reason I returned yesterday is for Cynthia Jimenez Hicks, who was on for Delphi all weekend. Cynthia usually does the Polly/Myrtle/Lily track and even among this talented cast, she is consistently one of the standouts of the show. Her Myrtle is just so good it helps alleviate the restlessness a lot of the audience is feeling at the end of a very long first act. Though she sometimes does the job too well - people will try to leave for intermission at the end of the scene because she wrings the role dry and people think it's the end!

She was a phenomenal Delphi - who, along with Rose, I would say is the most difficult characters to wring complexity out of from the script. She brought the appropriate vulnerability to the first act and was appropriately villainous in the second - though her pathos after the battle was more noticeable. Her "relationship" with Albus still doesn't make any sense in the abridged production, particularly without the Delphi/Scorpius scene, but the actors make it work. I'd love to see her again when she's had a longer time to explore the role. She's certainly an actress to watch (and, totally superficially, her highlighter was stunning! I loved how it glowed during the battle scene). Kita Grayson was a great Polly - she brought a fresh mean girl energy that I loved.

Angela Reed, who will be going into the Broadway production next month, gives one of the most consistently grounded performances in the production. I really love her performance: the dimension she brings to the role makes her an ideal partner for John Skelley's Harry. She's dry but conflicted about her husband and son which makes an interesting combo. She's another actress who has a talent of bringing more to the character than the script does. Y'all in NYC will have a chance to see her soon enough.

Jon Steiger’s Scorpius has continued to dominate the performance. He has the role down to a science: he can sense the energy of the audience and matches it perfectly. He wrings every laugh from the script, using his voice to transform ordinary dialogue into vocal comedy. He does a good job balancing the comedic with the pathos, not veering too much into performative comedy. His library scene, set up perfectly by the staircase ballet, brings down the house (even the Sunday matinee crowd).

I find myself actively looking forward to the initial Harry/Albus confrontation at the start of every performance. Benjamin Papac remains the most captivating actor to watch for me. The layering, the subtlety, the nuance! His expression when he’s sorted into Slytherin - and how his entire body transforms when he realizes he’s with Scorpius! His argument with Skelley brings both actors to their A-game and the final fallout - "I didn't mean that..." "Yes. You did... And, honestly, I don't blame you." - is just as much a gut-punch as it was the first time I saw it. And Skelley is perfection during the Scorpius-as-Harry scene: the vocal ticks and physicality make the scene.

Papac and Steiger continue to have such an infectious chemistry together. Smaller scenes, like them viewing Hogwarts from the forest, have turned so tender and full of life. You can feel a change even from opening night. The romantic underpinnings have infused every scene - “I’m nothing like my dad.” “No, you’re better.” - and make the confrontation in the library into more of an event. “Well, I wasn’t a loser before I met you” gets gasps now, almost as much as the “Sometimes I wish you weren’t my son” line.

And the change of Delphi’s “friendship” to “love?” just rocks the house. Brittany Zeinstra, the regular Delphi, asks it like a question, twisting the knife as she watches Papac’s tormented reaction before howling with laughter. Papac and Steiger exchange a look that contains so much without even a blink. It’s a chilling moment.

In my earlier post, I talked about how the penultimate scene between Albus and Scorpius has changed over the last few weeks. Albus asking if Rose is who Scorpius wants in his “palace”, putting both hands on Scorpius’ shoulders. Scorpius stutters and there is a LONG moment (I swear it gets longer every time I see it) where they just stare at each other and Albus slowly leans in for a kiss. And then Rose interrupts and they tear apart from each other. But even her “this is only going to be weird if you let it be weird,” line now seems to be about their relationship instead of being friends with her. And the hug at the end of the scene and their final look at each other plays even more cute now, with Papac watching Steiger leave and sitting on the staircase with a dopey grin. Usually, I would say playing the scene so explicitly would have robbed it of its power, but because all of this is subtext, even with the changes in the script, it really works and makes it more real to those audience members (like my family) who would have left the theatre talking about what “good friends” Albus and Scorpius are.

And because of that revised scene, the final father-son scene is now a coming-out scene. Obviously, the entire play, with Albus being sorted into Slytherin and not being the son his father wanted, is allegorically a coming-out or queer coming-of-age story anyway. But having the play begin with Harry’s unease with Albus’ friendship with Scorpius, forcing them apart, and at the end, accepting that Scorpius is “the most important person in [Albus’] life and he might always be the most important” is a beautiful moment. The final tableau perfectly encapsulates the show and that central father/son dynamic. Just all around a really strong production.

Also this picture from the penultimate scene was released a few weeks ago and it just makes me smile whenever I see it. :)

Albus: What’s this? I thought we decided we don’t hug.

Scorpius: I wasn’t sure. Whether we should. In this new version of us...

Updated On: 4/11/22 at 03:17 PM

Lot, I wish I knew! I haven't seen the Broadway production. Just from the previews thread here, it does appear that all of the textual changes (Delphi saying Albus' weakness is "love" instead of "friendship"; the elimination of any indication that Scorpius likes Rose romantically; the added line where Albus tells Harry "Scorpius is the most important person in my life" were made to both productions. The real change has been in the final Scorpius/Albus scene.

I first saw the SF production the day after opening, and it was played like there could be some romantic underpinnings, but the two boys maybe hadn't figured it out yet. The hug was the big climatic moment in that scene.

I know the current version came to be shortly after John Tiffany visited the production a few weeks after opening. I think Tiffany (this is speculation of course) gave Papac and Steiger permission to be more explicit in the romantic pairing, and the two have really been exploring that the last few weeks. I know the first time I saw Albus put his arm on Scorpius' shoulder and ask if Rose was who he wanted in his palace, I was taken aback. And the silence between the two where Albus subtly leans in closer to Scorpius as if to kiss has gotten longer and longer.

The rest of the production is virtually the same as opening, except maybe there's more romantic subtext in some of the smaller scenes, but nothing that the average theatre go-er would notice. I know the Broadway actors (James Romney and Brady Dalton Richards) were instrumental in a lot of the textual changes during Broadway previews, and their chemistry had a lot to do with the Rose subplot being axed. They talk a lot about it towards the beginning of this interview.

I'd love to hear if their final scene on Broadway is the same as the one here in SF. It didn't start being changed till about a month ago, so maybe it would have shifted around then if Tiffany did a return visit?

Also, I'd selfishly like more comments on the Broadway show since I probably won't get to see this cast, and I feel like I've gone on so much about the SF production in this thread already. But I could see a lot of these actors transferring to the Broadway production eventually. Honestly, Papac brings such a complex take to Albus that I really wish more of y'all got to see it. And Cynthia's Myrtle is just a masterclass of physical & vocal comedy.

Updated On: 4/12/22 at 12:55 PM

I was at tonight's performance on Broadway. I'd seen the original two-part production three times (many thanks to the Friday Forty) and - while reading the play is an overall unpleasant experience - I was a massive fan of the stage production. The magic, effects, and lighting design are so clever and awe-inspirig, and there were so many 'wow' moments that I genuinely got the chills watching. Onto tonight.. (Vague plot point spoilers below.)

This evening's performance left a lot to be desired. The condensed version of the play is VERY rushed. Like literally there were moments when the actors seemed to be on stopwatches. I understand they have a lot to get through, but it is as if they didn't fully commit to condensing the story properly. They should have either left it as two parts or cut more out. There was still a ton of 'fat' that could have been trimmed from the production I saw this evening. Honestly, if they wanted to get rid of some stuff, there was no need to spend 40 minutes rushing through their first few years at Hogwarts. There are certainly other ways to let us know stuff was not going well for either of them. Even as someone who'd read the play and seen the show before, I had difficulty following the plot and what was happening. The chaotic energy that came from condensing the script and speeding things up made it difficult for those 'wow' moments to really stick and they did not feel earned. Moments that got a ton of applause before were met with mostly silence. It was sad to see.

On the acting - wow. The actors don't have a ton to work with to begin with, but most were not doing much with what little they had. Some actors were better than others (particularly Ginny, who I believe is now played by Erica Sweany) but my goodness some of the acting was downright bad. It wasn't strong before but it's certainly declined since. Also - and maybe I'm in the minority here - I cannot stand the squawky voice that every actor I've seen play Scorpious does. I do not remember this being mentioned in the text and am sad that it's become the standard. When used for effect it can be great, but when it's every word it is insanely grating and distracting.

In terms of changes: someone above said the portraits were cut. Not sure if anyone has mentioned but that is not the case, Dumbledore is still very much in this production. The scene in the 'retirement home' was (mercifully) cut. And as we all know by now, the scenes with children were cut, as well as some additional exposition scenes. I was surprised that a lot of the choreographed luggage/trunk, wands, and stairwell scenes remained. Anyone know if these are there to buy time while they set up for other effects? If they were looking to cut time, we can infer that Scorpious and Albus miss each other without a 6-minute stairwell dance. The Voldemort Day scene at the beginning of Act Two (what used to be beginning of Part 2) remains really freaking cool, though.

The romantic subtext between Albus and Scorpious was much more obvious in this new version, but I wished they'd just fully commit. They kept tiptoeing up to it and then backing away at the last moment. But lots of little lines were changed to remove the romantic interest that Scorpious and Albus had in Rose and Delphi, respectively.

And my final note in this very long post: the audience. Wow. Terrible behavior all around. My audience was mostly children (which actually wasn't the case the first few times I saw it) and most of the parents were behaving worse than their kids. They were speaking at full volume, having the kids stand up and move, and encouraging the kids to stand on their seats so they could see better. Six cell phones went off (one woman even answered hers!), and around 15 people (not an exaggeration) got up in each act to leave and go to the bathroom. It was truly something to behold. I'd never seen anything like it and it definitely detracted from the experience.

Also, the show started promptly at 7pm, however there was still a substantial queue to get into the theater, use the restroom, or get concessions, which meant that the first 10 minutes or so were filled with people filing into their seats.

tl;dr: This condensed version comes across as very rushed, and all the things that made the two-part production special get lost in the chaos of the one-part.

Updated On: 4/14/22 at 12:54 AM

Saw the new Broadway version a couple weeks ago. Had seen the old 2-part version in NYC and London 3 times before this.

I agree with much of what the previous couple of posters have said.

My only big difference of opinion is that the "staircase ballet" is my absolute favorite part of the production and I was so glad to see they didn't cut that out. To me, the best parts of this show are the choreographed sequences where they explore character and story without feeling the need to blast us in the face with a magic trick.

I agree now that all of the really impressive stage "tricks" now come so rapid-fire and back-to-back that it feels more like a "look at what cool things we did" show rather than a story that uses stagecraft as one of the elements to tell a story.

Albus and Scorpius' relationship is now definitely (if not completely overtly) homosexual. And it is clearly a change in direction that the production has chosen. I agree that it would be nice if they would actually commit to it rather than getting so close to the edge and then never really saying anything about it. But ya, before it was maybe a distant subtext. Now it is very clear that is what the show is wanting to portray in that relationship.

I also agree that a lot of the acting in NYC is lacking right now. Particularly from the younger actors. Its still weird to me that Tony Winner Stephen Spinella is just chilling in a supporting role doing his customary great work as Snape/Voldemort. The kids are, in my opinion, playing things way too broadly and have lost all of the humanity and heart that the original production and London production had. Particularly this new Scorpius. And I think I read that maybe the actor is in his 30s? I could be wrong, but if so, that might be the reason why he seems so false and fake. Nothing worse than actors "trying" to act like teenagers. But ya, I didn't believe almost anything he said to the point that I wanted to just leave during his big scenes because he was so aggravating to me. Albus was similar at the beginning, but as the play went on, relaxed into it a bit more. The actor playing Scorpius just seems to be TRYING. SO. HARD. And everything is a joke now. Things that before were touching and heartfelt between the two of them are now played for laughs. I miss Anthony Boyle...

I particularly agree with the statement above that the 2-part version didn't seem like a cash grab, but now it kind of does. And that's sad to me. Although their sales have gone way up, so I guess it was a good way to keep it open...

Honestly, if they wanted to get rid of some stuff, there was no need to spend 40 minutes rushing through their first few years at Hogwarts.

I actually find the first 45-minutes or so to be the most consistently compelling part of the show in terms of character building and the magical tone. The montage of Albus' first three years tell a complete story that sets up the central relationship between him and Harry and him and Scorpius. I don't think the Harry/Albus confrontation would be as big of a deal if it happened in the first fifteen minutes. When I saw the show for the first time, I hadn't read the script yet. I definitely needed the context of the first 20 minutes to understand what was going on character-wise.

There's definitely parts of the show where my interest wanders, but it's all necessary plot points. In particular, I think the second half of Act II (previously Act IV) is deathly leaden and just not that compelling. But obviously you can't cut any of it because the story needs each of those scenes to make sense and conclude. I think the main issue is just that Act I (previously Part 1) is just a much more compelling play. So your interest lags in the second half because so much of it is undoing the plot previous act and then immediately going to the Delphi reveal. The main characters of Albus and Scorpius become plot devices after the third task and the emotional weight goes to the adults. And to me, that's just not as compelling.

Albus and Scorpius' relationship is now definitely (if not completely overtly) homosexual. And it is clearly a change in direction that the production has chosen. I agree that it would be nice if they would actually commit to it rather than getting so close to the edge and then never really saying anything about it.

Yeah, it would be nice for it to be more explicit. If in the last scene between the two, they had a brief kiss before Rose interrupted, I think it would make the final scene have a bit more heft. Though, as it is, Albus telling his father that Scorpius is the most important person in his life has been getting gasps and occasional applause in the SF production. The last time I went, there was a couple in front of me who kept whispering during the show about whether or not Albus and Scorpius were together. So it's definitely at least top of mind for the audience.

The kids are, in my opinion, playing things way too broadly...

This is something I've noticed as well. It works for some characters, but not for others. And it does lead to some tonal inconsistencies as well. There's a difference between playing a character like Myrtle broadly and mugging as an ensemble member in the background of a scene.

In terms of Scorpius, it does seem that the actors have been instructed to try and get laughs from the audience. I think that is a very tricky balance to strike because it can quickly become too muggy or desperate for laughs. And it can make Scorpius an overpowering presence that overshadows the other actors. Or worse, make him grating.

Jon Steiger is gifted in that he can simultaneously be true to the character and be comedic. It also sets off a nice contrast between him and Benjamin Papac who gives one of the most grounded and specific performances in the play.

In my opinion, if the SF actors had opened the show originally, there might have been more attention payed to Albus in the reviews. Watching the SF production, it almost feels like a realignment from all the reviews I had read where Scorpius is the dominant character. Steiger is a fantastic Scorpius, but the dimensionality Papac brings to Albus makes the characters true co-stars: it never feels like Scorpius is outshining Albus. You could only watch Papac during the library scene and come away being blown away by the chemistry of the pair. They're doing what great acting partners do: enhancing the other's performance and complimenting it.


Also, absolutely I second that it was one of the worst audiences I've ever seen.

The audience is always hit or miss. There was one performance where girls in the center orchestra were talking back to the actors ("Yassss, Ginny!", "You tell him, Hermione!" and that was horrific. It really is just night to night.

Updated On: 5/12/22 at 01:16 PM