harry-potter

Cursed Child national tour delivers magical spectacle over story (Review)

| Rachel's Reviews

Back in 2016 I read the printed play for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and I was underwhelmed. The story with Albus and Scorpius was weak and the plot point of Voldemort having a daughter makes no sense. Here is my review from that read (at the time I was reviewing all the movies on my channel)

With such weak source material I was honestly surprised when the Broadway production came out to rave reviews concluding with it winning 6 Tony awards including Best Play (in 2018.) Then the high school edition became available and while I loved the teens I was again not the biggest fan of the play itself (particularly the run time.)

The whole time this was all happening friends and family kept telling me ‘the Broadway spectacle is unbelievable’ and insisting I would like it when I saw the professional production.

Well, now I have seen the national tour and…

They are mostly right. The spectacle really is amazing to watch.

The production of this national tour is directed by John Tiffany and the way the set combines physical set pieces like staircases and frames with projection videos is seamless and magical. I’ve heard the Broadway stage is even more immersive but they bring out the best of the Eccles for this national tour experience (set design by Christine Jones and video by Finn Ross and Ash J Woodward.) But what really impressed even more than the big spectacle was the smaller visual effects. When fire would come out of a wand or people would transform into another person it almost feels like actual magic is happening before your eyes (illusions by Jamie Harrison.) I don’t know how they pull off certain effects like shooting fire across the stage multiple times!

Fortunately these visual effects are constant enough that it allows us to forget about the bland and uninteresting story they picked for some unknown reason for Harry’s son Albus to go through in this sequel. The fact this tale is 6 hours in London makes me want to die. I will definitely never be reviewing that version. I can promise you that much.

As weak as I think the story is I do actually think the teen versions are a little more poignant in selling the emotions of the father/son dynamic between Harry and Albus. Being actual teenagers I feel their pain a little more acutely than I did with the national tour. I also felt the actors playing Albus (Adam Grant Morrison) and Scorpius (David Fine) are a little shouty in delivering their lines. While this makes sense for the action sequences it was harder to be invested in the performances in what should be softer more tender moments. I wanted to say stop shouting and just talk. The rest of the cast is entertaining and up for the physical demands of the long show but my favorite is probably Ryan Hallahan as Draco Malfoy and Katherine Leask as Professor McGonagall.

I did attend the play with a friend who is a die-hard Harry Potter fan, and she liked it but agreed about the weaknesses of the story. Like I said, it is more a play to be enjoyed for the spectacle of it and the immersive experience rather than for the story or profundity of the message. I suppose your mileage may vary depending on how much you enjoy theatrical spectacle. I had a fun time but I think it’s a one-and-done experience for me and unless teens ask me to see their new productions I will probably check Cursed Child off of my theater bucket list and be done with it. Let me know if you see it what you think. It is playing at the Eccles through October 11th and tickets can be purchased here.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is written by Jack Thorne with a story by J.K. Rowling, Thorne and John Tiffany based on the Harry Potter novels by Rowling. It first premiered in 2016 in London with a Broadway production in 2018. That production was a two-parter over 6 hours in length which is still running in London. The current Broadway production is just under 2 hours like the national tour production I saw.

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‘HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD: TEEN EDITION’ DELIVERS THE MAGIC AT RIVERTON HIGH (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

Last fall I had the chance to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Teen Edition at a local high school and while I was impressed with the teens I did not like the play itself. After this experience I was hesitant to review the play again but when Riverton High School invited me I decided to give it another chance. While still not my favorite play I did like it more this time and was thoroughly impressed with this production.

What I always look out for in a high school production is how many students are involved and is the director getting the most out of those students. Director Clin Eaton and his team at RHS seem to be achieving this in spades as the ensemble is massive and as many students as possible are given lines and moments to act in the play. For example, one of my favorite sections of the play is a long stretch where a ton of the kids perform magic tricks for the audience. Not only did they all excel at their tricks but it makes me happy to see so many students getting their moment to shine.

In my previous review of Cursed Child I mentioned the heavy use of projections over traditional hand-made sets. While this is still the case at RHS I had less of an issue with it as the students were clearly involved in other aspects. I don’t mind projections, but I just don’t want it to be a replacement for the positive experience building sets and painting backgrounds is for teens and the opportunities for more teens to get involved. This production had almost no practical sets but the visual effects in flying, quick costume changes were enough creativity for me to be impressed in these areas.

As far as our cast they all are excellent with Cade Snarr and Carter Reid leading the cast as Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter respectively. Other standouts in the large cast are Taya Faragher as Delphi Diggory and Tyler Summer as Harry Potter. The dynamic between Harry and Albus is definitely something that teens and parents of teens will connect with and it is the best part of Jack Thorne’s unwieldly play (I can’t believe it is even longer on Broadway and in other formats!)

Like I said, the visual effects they use at RHS for this production are a ton of fun. In one scene not only are deatheaters flying all around the stage but they came into the audience and even landed on my shoulder. That is a ton of fun and is guaranteed to get young students excited about theatre, which is the whole point of high school theatre. While I saw Cursed Child on its closing night I’d definitely keep an eye out for RHS and what they are producing next because between this and Hadestown (which was maybe the best high school production I’ve seen) they are doing outstanding things at this high school’s drama department.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.

TEENS GREAT. PLAY NOT SO MUCH… THOUGHTS ON HARRY POTTER AT EAST HIGH (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

It’s always an interesting experience when I’m asked to review high school or youth productions. How do you offer constructive critique when learning and making mistakes is literally part of the purpose of the experience? High school productions should be inclusive and exciting with as large ensembles that give kids the chance to try something new for the first time. In this sense Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: High School Edition at East High School was a resounding success. The chemistry amongst all the teens was obvious and they clearly stretched themselves in many ways including the many strong performances.

That said, I was not a big fan of this play. I know on Broadway it has a lot of awe and spectacle but I can’t imagine sitting through an even longer version of this story. I’m told the West End production was a two day event. Kill me now. But I am also not a die-hard Harry Potter fan. I have enjoyed some of the movies and books but really disliked the parody play Puffs and the Fantastic Beasts movies were painful to sit through. So if you are on board for all of that maybe you will find more joy in this journey than I did.

As far as the cast I love how big it is and the polyjuice transitions are very well done as are the costumes, Some standouts are Maxium LaPlante as the Sorting Hat and Oliver Oviedo as Professor Snape. Chaudron Brock Beesley and Wesley Magda have terrific chemistry as the 2 leads Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy respectively and I really enjoyed Liam Riedelbach-Armer as Draco Malfoy. They all did everything they could to elevate the story and create believable characters.

While I do think the direction by Kevin McClellan and Lucy Law was stong in getting the most from their young performers they could have been a little more creative with the production details. Most of the sets and atmosphere are created through video projections. While I know this is all the rage at all levels of theatre it denies the opportunity for the students to learn how to build sets and props and makes the experience feel more generic when it could be a chance to express their unique creative voices. I have very fond memories of painting set panels for my high school productions and while I’m sure they didn’t look as polished as a projection they were ours, homemade by us. Maybe that’s nostalgia talking but it just seems like a missed opportunity.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: High School Edition is a play by Jack Thorne, based on an original story by JK Rowling, Thorne and John Tiffany. It’s not for me but I’m sure big time Harry Potter fans will enjoy it more. It has finished its run at East High School but you can find out more about their drama department here.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.