Interview: John Skelley on the Magic Behind HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD

Theater-loving Muggles who haven’t yet seen Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood (or those who have and who are itching for a second round) may want to summon up those tickets ASAP, because the show is soon to pull a disappearing act.

To the next city, that is.

The production wraps its four-month Hollywood residency on June 22, after opening February 15.

Featuring a dazzling array of illusions and mesmerizing on-stage wizardry that’ll leave you asking, “How’d they do that?”  the show debuted on Broadway in 2018 and won six Tony Awards, including Best Play and Best Direction of a Play.

Cursed Child picks up where the original series’ epilogue left off, following Harry’s son, Albus, as he grapples with the weight of his family legacy and embarks on a risky time-travel mission that threatens the wizarding world.

So what’s it like to be the show’s namesake? How do they do all those tricks (hint: they won’t tell)? And how did they turn the original two-part production into a single, magic-packed show? BroadwayWorld sat down with Minnesota native John Skelley, who plays the adult Harry Potter in the show, to find out: 

You've been doing this role since 2018? Tell me what that’s been like. 

Yeah, it's been quite a while now. I understudied the first year on Broadway in 2018, and then I started playing the role outright for the first time in 2019 in San Francisco. That was when it was two parts. And then it moved to Broadway in 2018 as a two-parter. 

And then, of course, everything got shut down with Covid. When they brought it back, they decided to do it in the one-part version.

What do you think about that change? Because I remember initially hearing “two parts” and thinking, gosh, theater tickets are so expensive as it is, and they're going to make people buy tickets for two shows? 

It is tricky. I think one of the major reasons that they decided to make the show as one evening is to make it more accessible for people and families who want to come see it. Because you're right. It's buying two tickets; it's expensive.  

Do you have a preference? Did you like it being two parts? Did you feel like the story was more complete?

There are times when I'm like, ‘I wish I had that line.’ Or, ‘I loved that little bit. But really, it is the same story. It's just kind of condensed. There were bits that I loved about doing a two-parter, and then there are other bits that I love about being able to experience the journey in one big evening

Was that a hard switch? Because I would think it would be hard not to slip back into that muscle memory of doing it the way it was. 

There are definitely little parts—especially on some of the quicker scenes and during rehearsals early on—where I thought, ‘Wait, do I have this line?’

What was the rehearsal process like for the new show? 

We had John Tiffany, the original director, with us for the entire process. So we had so much of the original creative team that was there helping to create this new version. It really felt like we were creating it from the ground up . . . It was a really great creative process that we all got to be a part of. 

How is it to be playing the same role for so long? Is it hard to bring the same enthusiasm night after night? 

Well. It's been interesting. One of the nice things is that because I’ve done so many different versions, it does seem like a new play every time. Also, because it's live theater, it's always a little bit different every night. The audiences are so different. And the audiences, especially here in LA and Chicago, have been so excited to see it. And so you get that feedback, which sort of amps you up. The lights go down. You hear everyone start to cheer. They're just so excited. When that first magic trick happens, it's like, you hear the gasps and you pause and you go, ‘OK, yeah. I'm on the journey. And let's go.’ Right? 

Yes, and let me just say, the magic and illusions in the show are AMAZING. I mean, obviously, I've got to ask you about that. What is the hardest trick to do?  

It's interesting to talk about magic, because I’m thinking, ‘OK, what can I tell you?’ There's so much magic in the show and it's seamlessly integrated into the story—which is one of the things that I really love about it. It's not like we're doing a play, and then we hold for a magic trick. It's like, no, the magic is a part of the storytelling.

The magic really does feel pretty seamlessly woven into the story.  

I remember the first time I saw it when I was understudying the show. And these magic tricks would happen, and then I would have a moment when I wanted to go, ‘Wait. I want to see that again! How did they do that?’ And then the story would continue, and it's like there's no time to even dwell on it because you're onto the next, and before you know it, somebody is flying or there's somebody disappearing through a phone booth or appearing in bed.  

How hard are those tricks to pull off? 

It takes a whole team of people to make sure that everything happens in just the right way because it's not like I'm just doing a coin trick or something in front of you. There are so many technical elements that have to come together to make everything feel seamless. 

How do you stay in character when so much of your brain power has to go toward the technicality of the tricks? 

That's one of the major challenges of play. But also one of the joys of it for me. The only thing I can compare it to in terms of what I've done in my career, in terms of this part, it feels like a Hamlet kind of role, because it’s got comedy, it's got drama, it's got ghosts, it’s got duels. It's got everything that is fun about being a theatrical stage actor. 

How often do the tricks fail? 

There are definitely moments when things go wrong and things happen. We always try to keep going and try to make sure that the story is being told, and that's the most important thing. There have been nights when we've had to say, ‘Hang on a second. We're going to be right back.’ Thankfully, that doesn't happen very often. 

Aidan, who plays Scorpius in the show—he said this yesterday—he says there are nights when it’s like Peeves, the poltergeist from the books, is hanging out at our show. Because there are certain shows where things just start happening and it's like, ‘Oh, this is one of those shows; things are going to get weird.’ You just kind of have to hold on and try to get through it and hope that nothing too major happens. 

That sounds like a lot of pressure. 

There's some pressure. But we did something like our 280th performance last night, so because we've been doing this now for a while, everyone's really good at their jobs: We've had understudies, people who have been sick or injured and somebody else has to step up. And that always can be nerve-wracking, but honestly, this company of actors and technicians and stage managers—it's like everybody really comes together to make it work.  

How do you prepare for the show every night?  

Before the show every night, we do a mandatory group warm-up. Ninety minutes before curtain, we all get together and we do a workout, a warm up, some sort of group activity. That brings us together as a company. It’s that sort of group breath. It feels like we're one organism.

The cast must be so close now; you’ve been doing it for so long together. 

Yeah, it is like a family.  I think part of it, too, is because we're on the road. All of us are away from home. It's a really amazing group of people, and I'm really lucky to be a part of it. 

Tell me a secret—some small thing that might otherwise go unnoticed—that we can look for when we see the show. 

OK. So obviously, Harry has his very famous scar on his forehead, the lightning bolt. But in the fifth book, Harry meets Professor Dolores Umbridge, who makes him go to detention and makes him write with an enchanted quill. That scars the back of his hand with the phrase, ‘I must not tell lies.’ And if you look closely on my hand, you can see the scar. 

Is that a sticker you put on your hand? A removable tattoo?

We do it every night in my makeup room. It's one of those things where I don't know if anybody sees it, but I see it. And I love it for that. 

Any cool audience interactions that have stood out?  

We have some really super fans of the play that come back and see it again and again, which is always really cool to see. People who just love this story, who love this version of the world. And that's always really delightful. 

The other thing that I love to see is when kids come to see the play. Because a lot of the time, it's parents who grew up reading the books who love the stories. And maybe they're reading the books to their kids for the first time, and you see these kids—and it's perhaps their first time seeing live theater—and the looks on their faces! Just the energy of that is so infectious. I feel so proud to hopefully be a really magical first theatrical experience for a lot of kids.

Did you have a similar “magical first theater” experience when you were a kid? 

It's interesting, I didn't go to a lot of theater as a kid. I grew up in Minnesota. In Eden Prairie. And in Minneapolis, they have some great theaters.  I remember seeing a production—I think of The Invisible Man—there was a guy, and then he unwraps the gauze around his face, and there was nothing there. It was that moment of real magic. 

Do you have to sign something that says you're not going to tell anyone how any of the tricks are done? Even your closest friends? Your spouse? 

Yeah, you just try to keep it as secret as possible. Thankfully for me. My spouse is actually in the show. Her name is Maren Searle; she plays the Trolley Witch. 

How hard is it to keep all that magic secret? 

One of the things the illusions team tells us in rehearsals—they say you're going to have people ask you, ‘How did you do that?’ And basically what they said is that people think they want to know, but ultimately, when you find out how things are done, that little spark of joy kind of gets extinguished. Part of the joy of it is not knowing. 

You're in Hollywood. Have you guys gone on a cast field trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios? 

A few of us actually went on Monday. We were doing some social media stuff, and so we got to experience some of the rides and do the wand experience, which is really cool. I'm hoping that we're all going to get to go as a group. 

Any other fun LA spots you’ve checked out? 

We went to the Magic Castle on Monday. So that was really cool. A few of us went and did the Warner Bros. Studio tour on Tuesday. So yeah, we're getting to experience some of the cool places and experiences that are very Los Angeles, very Hollywood, and also very Harry Potter.

Harry Potter plays at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood through June 22. Tickets are available at www.broadwayinhollywood.com. 

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