Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Subsequent US Productions

Angels in America toured back in the 90s. Cider House Rules may not have done a full-out tour, but the production did move to a few different cities after it opened in Seattle.

I wonder how a lot of the magic will be done in tour houses. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers but there’s some effects that I feel like can only be done in theatres modified for the show.

Updated On: 6/15/18 at 08:30 PM

^^^ All the above. After seeing it second time recently, I've had to resign myself to changing my opinion of it's ability to tour. Heaven knows, I'd love it to travel and it seems so do the powers that be, but the logistics of setting up a theater in various cities to do this seems just as much of a massive undertaking as putting on the show itself. This is very much a sit down, "permanent" type of show. That said, I fully support it going into any of the San Fran houses.

I agree that sit-downs are more likely. I think that SF could support it. There were sit-downs for Phantom that lasted about 4 years, as well as long sit-downs for Les Miz (Curran) and Rent, and extended engagements for Wicked and Jersey Boys in other theatres, if I recall correctly. I'm sure LA could as well (but not likely both)

I would think that they would also be looking for appropriate houses that they could modify for the production. The Curran would probably fit the bill here (It seats 1600+ but staging-wise, I don't know how extensive the trap space is - I assume that it plays a large part in the magic and the stagecraft). I wonder if, due to technical requirements, they'd need modern houses or could use smaller, more classic ones with history in their bones.

Updated On: 6/16/18 at 02:42 PM

I imagine a Toronto production is likely as well and they have options like the Elgin, Royal Alexandra Theatre and perhaps the Ed Mirvish, the latter a few years ago was able to play a production of Gaslight by using fake walls to reduce the capacity from 2300 to 1400.

They seem very picky about what theaters they choose, so I'd be curious how that would work. They'd probably want a decent sized house, but a lot of the touring houses are so huge, I don't think they'd appeal to the team. I do wonder if they'd recreate any front of house stuff, or how extensive their marquees etc would be.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Comcast/Universal works out some type of deal with JK Rowling to build a theater in Orlando or in one of its Sound Stages in Hollywood to house a production, like Disney did with Lion King for Disneyland Shanghai.

I believe that The Princess Theatre in Melbourne has been book for a 5 year run--don't know anything more than that.

If they're just going to do sit-down engagements, they would cover large chunks of the country if they do a West Coast (LA or SF), a midwest (Chicago), and Toronto. Then, New York can remain the East Coast destination city for the play. Fewer productions could help the NYC production's longevity, too.

(That is, if all these spinoff movies don't cause wizarding fatigue.)

^Tell that to the bank accounts of Hamilton's producers, with their multiple productions...