Review: HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD at Providence Performing Arts Center

The usher simply whispered “Enjoy the magic,” as we walked into the "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" production at the Providence Performing Arts Center this past Wednesday. The wife (Harry Potter Lover-read all the books 2-3 times) smiled while I (never read the books but saw a movie or two) pondered the statement and moment.

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...

Premiering in London on the West End in 2016, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," the 8th story in the Harry Potter series, takes place 19 years after the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The story follows Harry Potter's son Albus Severus Potter, massively struggling with the heavy burden of having a famous father and the difficult journey to carve his own path in life with a legacy in the air. Paired up with Scorpius Malfoy (son of Draco, adversary of Harry Potter) decide to go back in time to change a tragic event to come but enounters their own struggles in a race against time (which is where most of the magic takes place!).

Now, we knew the original Harry Potter series was about witches and wizards who attend a magical school, Hogwarts, and their journey to defeat the dark wizard Voldemort. But to see this universe on stage was something hard to describe to you now. It was pure theatrical magic with the masterful special effects and production efforts unlike anything I’ve ever seen on any stage. 

The play employs traditional stagecraft and modern illusion techniques to tell the story, which means magic duels, wand magic, moving bookcases, wizards vanishing and reappearing, haunting Dementors, and the visual distortion of time travel. (The play brings back the invisibility cloak and Marauder’s map, the time-turner, and even a Patronus.) 

The dynamic set transports you to another world, into the halls of Hogwarts, the offices of the Ministry of Magic, the shadows of Forbidden Forest and high-up towers of the Owlery, among other magical scenes. 

But, of course, at the heart of Harry Potter stories is storytelling, and the performance certainly delivers that and more. In addition to the plot of Albus Severus Potter struggling to live in the shadow of his father, "The Boy Who Lived," and the friendshio between Albus and Scorpius, it also focuses on the father-son relationship between Harry and Albus, and reckoning with intergenerational drama for the ages. 

The performance is a love letter to Harry Potter fans, bringing back many of the series' most beloved characters including Hermoine Granger, Ron Weasley, and Draco Malfoy who return as adults with their own young wizard families. 

There are several incredible performances starting with an hysterical Scorpius, played by David Fine, a master of physical comedy and comedic timing who incites a lot of the audience’s strongest laughs and Adam Grant Morrison as Albus Potter.

The actors who play Hermoine, Ron, and Harry — Ebony Blake, Matt Harrington and Nick Dillenburg — also showcase their comedic chops when their children transfigure into them after taking the Polyjuice Potion. So like movies like 13 Going on 30, the adult actors act like their kids, who are up to the usual shenanigans, and the audience is left in awe by the stage magic and the performances of the talented actors. One particular scene, a magic duel between Harry and arch nemesis Draco Malfoy, played by Ryan Hallahan, where both actors fly around pointing their dueling wands at each other; I've just never seen anything more stunning on stage!

The fast-paced show mirrors the hard-to-put-down pacing of the books and fans will enjoy the witty dialogue the books are known for, and the fast-moving adventure that keeps you on the edge of your seats. 

Whether you're a Harry Potter fanatic (see the wife) or not, you won't help but be caught up in the incredible magic, captivating stunts, superior writing and wonderful acting of this performance that you may never forget.