Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Is Cursed Child actually any good?
broadwayislive
Swing Joined: 6/2/17
froote
Broadway Star Joined: 2/14/17
#3Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 1:54am
froote said: "Production yes, script not really.
"That script hurt my soul.
#4Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 2:06am
As a huge fan of the Harry Potter books, I thought there was almost no way I wouldn't enjoy reading the script... But they found a way. The dialogue is clunky and unlike anything in the books. Not to mention the fact that the plotting and characters suck. The actual production has a lot of bad writing to overcome.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#5Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 2:13am
The writing is incredibly disappointing. I still think that a prequel would have made better subject matter and that a better playwright could have made it a truly great play to match a truly great production.
#6Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 2:43am
The script literally reads like a mediocre fan fiction. I don't mind it going off of the epilogue too much, it's just I assumed that they could get some higher caliber writing. All of the time turner nonsense was completely unnecessary. I still find it hard to believe that any production could overcome a script like that, but hey, the hype seems to disagree. I guess we will see this fall!
#7Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 4:14am
Just saw Jack Thorne's adaptation of Woyzeck in London. It turns out Cursed Child is not an exception of his bad writing.
#8Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 4:47am
It's actually quite terrible.
Keeping BroadwayWorld Illustrated
Plannietink08
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/2/11
#9Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 5:50am
It's fairly incredible if you don't go in expecting to see a groundbreaking piece of theatre. The staging, effects, lighting, acting, and just about everything that isn't to do with the script is absolutely top notch.
"Charlotte, we're Jewish"
LJD123
Understudy Joined: 1/14/16
#10Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 6:25am
Does the actual scripted performance follow the book that was published?
willep
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/08
#11Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 7:39am
As I recall, the published one is a rehearsal draft and they recently announced they were going to release a paperback of the performance script. I haven't seen or read it, so I couldn't tell you how different it is. I would guess not too much though.
Callum_brown1
Stand-by Joined: 4/20/16
#12Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 7:56am
I didn't much like the script and only liked it a little more after seeing the show. My big takeaway is that it really doesn't need to be two parts, and obviously, when you add on the fact that two parts = two tickets it left a slightly bad taste in my mouth.
pdjennings
Stand-by Joined: 2/3/06
#13Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 8:16am
Wow -- surprised by these reactions. I was under the impression this was a huge hit by the theatrical world *and* the Potter fandom.
HUGE Potter fan -- and I found the script to be wonderful.
If there was anything I was disappointed by, it was that the HEAVILY implied romantic undertones were completely axed in the final pages. *grumble* Otherwise -- I loved it and can't wait to see it next spring on Broadway.
astromiami
Understudy Joined: 7/12/12
#14Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 8:20am
It IS a huge hit.
But that does not make it a good play.
sorano916
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/6/08
#15Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 8:26am
I feel like Cursed Child is a packaged deal, like many other shows.
Is the script that greatest? No. Not by a longshot but I wouldn't call it terrible.
John Tiffany had given some wonderful direction to give meat to scenes that don't necessarily stand out in the script.
The OLC (I haven't seen the new one) definitely brought nuances to their characters that came across flat in the script.
The rest of the package... the set, the lighting, the sound, the costumes, the magic illusions, the movement/choreography... really mesh well together, too.
So, to answer the OP's question, in my opinion (as someone who read the books, seen the films, read the script & seen the production): it's good... I found it enjoyable. It's not going to win a Pulitzer but it was a fun day at the theatre.
Owen22
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/11
#16Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 9:19am
Britain (and now by extension the US) has such wonderful directors that, when their talent is applied to a mediocre script (War Horse, Curious Incident) something magic can happen .
nasty_khakis
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/15/07
#17Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 9:51am
It was a great experience to see it, but between it and Fantastic Beasts it really made me realize Rowling cannot write dialogue.
#18Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 9:58am
^Rowling didn't write Cursed Child. I think her role really was more of a consultant on the script, but she was definitely not the primary contributor to the dialogue & overall structure of the play.
As for Fantastic Beasts, I recommend reading the screenplay of the movie if you can. It's surprisingly enlightening for a movie which is so visual to begin with. There's a lot more depth to the primary characters which are only hinted at in the spoken text. I think it's fair to say that the dialogue should make some of that stuff more clear, but it would have become a very dense & distracted movie if they hadn't cut all of that stuff.
Caption: Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.
ScottyDoesn'tKnow2
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/22/14
#19Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 10:09am
As a huge, obsessed Harry Potter fan, I was incredibly disappointed in the text of Cursed Child. It was one of those classic examples of something needing to be seen live with a great director and skilled actors rather than read. I'm also used to reading plays that deal with weighty themes that are actually about something with scenes that are useful in promoting the themes and character studies. I found Cursed Child attempted to do that on a very shallow level, but got lost in the fan service and "fun" magical scenes. I also had a huge problem with the characterization of Ron and how he was used, but that's more of a criticism of play rather than whether the play was well-written or "good". I probably would have appreciated it if JK Rowling actually had a heavier hand in this play...just going by the text.
#20Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 10:16am
I have seen it twice. The production is magnificent. The script as others pointed out is something to be desired. Harry Potter fans will love it. Others not so much and will probably despise it. The special effects are simply amazing. The staging and acting were amazing. It's only flaw was the script. If another play was produced with a great script next season, I wouldn't be surprised if it beat Harry Potter. I just don't see Tony voters being Harry Potter fans...
Not to be confused with Dave19.
sorano916
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/6/08
#21Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 11:42am
ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said: "As a huge, obsessed Harry Potter fan, I was incredibly disappointed in the text of Cursed Child. It was one of those classic examples of something needing to be seen live with a great director and skilled actors rather than read. I'm also used to reading plays that deal with weighty themes that are actually about something with scenes that are useful in promoting the themes and character studies. I found Cursed Child attempted to do that on a very shallow level, but got lost in the fan service and "fun" magical scenes. I also had a huge problem with the characterization of Ron and how he was used, but that's more of a criticism of play rather than whether the play was well-written or "good". I probably would have appreciated it if JK Rowling actually had a heavier hand in this play...just going by the text."
I've heard this criticism on how he comes across on the page, but on stage (at least with Paul Thornley), the character had more depth and not just used as a comic relief. And that was a combination of Tiffany's direction and what Thornley brought to the character. For example, even the way he walked in one of the AU showed an aspect that didn't come out in the script.
And for someone who asked above if the script/book is what is performed on stage... yes and no. About 90% of what's in the "rehearsal" script is what's on stage. However, the OLC did change or omitted some lines that have now been put back in with the new cast (or so I've heard) so who knows what's in the "final" script version.
#22Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 12:08pm
It's a truly thrilling production. I saw the play before the script was published and didn't have the same issues as people who only read the script. The published script doesn't do the show any justice. As others have said before, the direction, the acting and the production values all work together to build a unique and exciting day of theatre. As a Potter fan, I was delighted, but as a theatre fan, I was constantly struck by the endless ingenuity and pure theatricality on display.
I hope the main group of actors from the original cast transfer to the Broadway production because their characters were lovingly crafted and beautifully performed.
#23Is Cursed Child actually any good?
Posted: 6/9/17 at 1:49pm
Saw Cursed Child a couple weeks ago and, sad to say, I found it to be pretty dreadful.
Yeah, there are some good effects, but the plot is nonsense and the script is horrible. Dialogue rarely rises above the most basic "Oh, look!" level, and there is no complexity to the characters at all. In fact, much of the play (which is far too long) seems to have no interest in doing anything but triggering fan reactions -- Hagrid! Floo powder! Trolley witch! Dumbledore! -- that are painfully cobbled onto the plot.
I've read all the books and seen the movies several times, and am quite surprised that some fans actually like this mess, as it distorts and violates several canonical aspects of the HP Universe. (Am even more surprised that J.K. Rowling signed off on it.)
A huge disappointment.
P.S. After seeing Cursed Child, I digitally checked the play out of my local library. I didn't find any significant difference between that "rehearsal script" and what was presented on stage. There may have been an altered line here or there, but nothing struck me as being particularly significant. Overall, I'd say that what I read was what I saw.
