Review Roundup: HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD National Tour

The National Tour of HARRY POTTER AND THE  CURSED CHILD is now on stage across the country. Read the reviews here!

John Skelley is playing Harry Potter with Trish Lindstrom as Ginny Potter and Emmet Smith as their son Albus Potter. Matt Mueller is  playing Ron Weasley with Ebony Blake as Hermione Granger and Naiya Vanessa McCalla as their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley.  Playing Draco Malfoy is Ben Thys with Aidan Close as his son Scorpius Malfoy. Delphi Diggory is played by Julia Nightingale and  Severus Snape is played by Larry Yando. 

They are joined by Kaleb Alexander, Julianna Austin, Markcus Blair, Casey Butler, Erin Chupinsky, Reese Sebastian Diaz, David Fine,  Simon Gagnon, Alexis Gordon, Caleb Hafen, Lauryn Hayes, Nathan Hosner, Torsten Johnson, Katherine Leask, Markelle Leigh,  Mackenzie Lesser-Roy, Evan Maltby, Zach Norton, Travis Patton, Maren Searle, Ayla Stackhouse, Jennifer Thiessen, Timmy  Thompson, René Thornton Jr., and Kristin Yancy playing a variety of characters. 

The touring production is based on the acclaimed Broadway production, currently playing at the Lyric Theatre, New York. It picks up  right where the last Harry Potter film left off: Nineteen years after Harry, Ron, and Hermione saved the wizarding world, they’re back  on a most extraordinary new adventure – this time, joined by a brave new generation that has only just arrived at the legendary  Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When Harry Potter’s head-strong son Albus befriends the son of his fiercest rival, Draco  Malfoy, it sparks an unbelievable new journey for them all—with the power to change the past and future forever.  

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, the first Harry Potter story to be presented on stage and the eighth story in the Harry  Potter series, has sold over 10 million tickets worldwide since its world premiere in London in July 2016 and holds a record 60 major  honors, with nine Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Play and six Tony Awards including Best Play. The international  phenomenon has cast its spell worldwide with productions currently running in London, New York, Hamburg, and Tokyo, and has  completed runs in Melbourne, Toronto, and San Francisco. The original two-part production in London's West End recently  celebrated its 7th anniversary, while the reimagined Broadway production celebrated its 6th anniversary.  

The most successful non-musical play in Broadway history, HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD has the unique distinction of being  named by the Guinness World Records as the highest-grossing non-musical play in Broadway history with over $270 million total sales  and over 2.5 million tickets sold.  

Let's see what the critics have to say!

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune: This is a production built to move on tour, and that means some limitations of spectacle in a show originally conceived to be this huge; the Dementors, those nasties who chomp on human happiness, will not here pursue you all the way in the balcony. The show stays behind the proscenium and there are not as many secret traps to facilitate Jamie Harrison’s singular illusions, not that you will notice. And, in all honesty, I miss much of the text shorn from the original two-part version, as written by Jack Thorne, Rowling and Tiffany. That’s especially true at the beginning as Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Draco (Benjamin Thys) send their kids off to Hogwarts, a familiar bittersweet experience for those of us who’ve sent kids off to school or college. The even shorter tour version is a little frenetic in places but then again (as Tiffany has said), the tour makes the show more accessible to more people. Incontrovertibly true. Incontrovertibly a good thing.

Rachel Weinberg, BroadwayWorld: It wouldn’t be a HARRY POTTER play without magic...and CURSED CHILD really delivers. The three hours fly by because the show is so packed with stage wonders. Notably, director Tiffany and illusions and magic designer Jamie Harrison have preserved the key magical moments from the original, two-part Broadway production. While the magic elements no longer encompass the entire theater — as they do on Broadway — the action within the proscenium remains plenty magnificent. Among other tricks, I was especially dazzled by the Polyjuice Potion transformations, transfiguration, and, of course, Harry’s iconic invisibility cloak. Harrison’s illusions work beautifully with Christine Jones’s sprawling, gothic set, Katrina Lindsay’s costumes, and Steven Hoggett’s movement patterns. Finn Ross and Ash J. Woodward’s video designs also play a pivotal role in the show’s depiction of the Time-Turner’s powers. 

Alan Bresloff, Around The Town Chicago: If you have read the books and /or seen the films, you will catch on a lot faster than this old guy did, but with the creativity of the production and the solid performances, no matter what, you will have a great time and probably want to go back for more. As I said at the very start, I was very limited in my knowledge, and I was able to follow the story and see who each character was and how they related to the others. The story evolves easily and I am going back for sure!

Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun-Times: The spectacle on stage is nonstop, worthy of a world beyond the universe of muggles. Jamie Harrison’s illusions — which include, but are not limited to, wand battles, levitation, flying, telekinesis, shape-shifting and conjuring/throwing fire so intense you can feel the flames’ heat in the audience — are a stunning display of just how far theater technology has come. That falling chandelier that had everyone gobsmacked back when “The Phantom of the Opera” first landed here way back in 1990? It seems like a Home Depot can lamp by comparison.

Jay Pateakos, BroadwayWorld: But what the next nearly-three hour performance showed us, anything must be possible on stage because the audience were treated to one hell of a visual spectacle. With a dozen mind-boggling magical and mystical scenes pulled off during this incredible performance, just about everyone in the audience must have thought quietly to themselves, How did they pull THAT off? Yes, you'll be thinking it often...

Joe Siegel, Warwick Post: There are individual scenes which work well. I enjoyed Larry Yando, doing double duty as Harry’s beloved mentor and father figure, Dumbledore. Yando also amusingly channels the late Alan Rickman as Professor Snape. Snape’s sardonic demeanor and the way he interacts with Harry and Ron is delightful. Nick Dillenburg is charming and likeable as the adult Harry. There’s a sweet and funny scene with Harry and Albus at the train station. Overall, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” will be a must-see for hardcore Harry Potter fans. For others, I recommend sticking with the books.

Frank O'Donnell, What's Up Newp: The star of this show, however, is the special effects, and they are impressive. The wand fight between Draco (Ryan Hallahan) and Harry (Nick Dillenberg) is especially good, with both being tossed through the air.

Molly Farrar, Boston.com: Complete with gasp-inducing magic and a deep nostalgia for the Harry Potter universe, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is a spellbindingly fun and a plot-packed return to some iconic moments.

Dan Aucoin, Boston Globe: The astonishments start early, with a how-the-hell-did-they-do-that costume change into black academic cloaks near the top of Act One. Before long we witness astounding transformations from one person to another within a very confined space, complete with the crunching of bones. Later on, spectral wraiths billow high above the stage at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, so chilling they make Marley’s Ghost look like Santa Claus.

Average Rating: 78.9%