Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in San Francisco

I bought a ticket for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child the day they became available online and it seems like I have been waiting forever to see it!  This was actually the reason for my trip to San Francisco and seeing it yesterday was absolutely magical!  It is nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts and Harry Potter (John Skelley) now works for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and his wife Ginny (Angela Reed) writes for The Daily Prophet.  Hermione Granger (Yanna McIntosh) is now the Minister of Magic and her husband Ron Weasley (David Abeles) manages Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.  Their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley (Folami Williams) and Harry's son Albus Potter (Benjamin Papac) are on their way to Hogwarts when Part One begins.  Albus soon forms an unlikely friendship with Scorpius Malfoy (Jon Steiger), the son of Harry's nemesis Draco (Lucas Hall).  Both boys are unpopular and bullied.  Albus is bothered by his father's notoriety and feels that he is a disappointment while Scorpius is plagued by unfounded rumors that he is really Lord Voldemort's son.  Feeling that they have something to prove, the boys decide to steal a time-turner from the Ministry of Magic and they go back in time to save Cedric Diggory (William Bednar-Carter) from his fate.  This act changes the future so now Lord Voldemort rules and Dolores Umbridge (Katherine Leask) is Headmistress of Hogwarts.  Darkness has descended as Part Two opens and Scorpius must enlist Hermione, Ron, and Severus Snape (Andrew Long) to help him go back in time to change the future.  However, the mysterious Auguery (Emily Juliette Murphy), who hopes to fulfill a prophecy that will bring back Lord Voldemort, forces Albus and Scorpius to use the time-turner once again to restore the alternate timeline leading to an epic confrontation in Godric's Hollow.  I loved this show so much!  I loved the continuation of Harry's story and the exploration of father-son relationships.  I loved all of the choreography, especially the Wand Dance where the new students at Hogwarts learn how to use their wands.  I absolutely loved the staging of the magic, especially running into Platform 9 3/4, traveling by flue powder, Harry and Draco dueling, using the polyjuice potion, and the Dementors flying through the audience (which was amazing).  I loved the set, especially all of the House Banners, the Forbidden Forrest, and the moving staircase.  I loved the music, which was composed by Imogen Heap, especially "Unbroken Friendship" which plays when Harry forbids Albus to see Scorpius again (it is so haunting).  Finally, I loved all of the performances but my favorite was Steiger as Scorpius because he is hilarious!  This was such a fun and immersive theatre experience because all of the ushers wore vests denoting their House affiliation during Part One and then wore vests with the Dark Mark for Part Two (all of the banners in the lobby changed from the Houses to the Dark Mark, as well).  Many in the audience also showed their House affiliation (I proudly supported my House, Ravenclaw).  I am so glad I got to see this show and I highly recommend it to fans of the Harry Potter series.

Note:  In between Part One and Part Two I went to dinner at a fabulous restaurant and most of the people sitting around me had also just come from the show.  We all talked to each other about how much we were enjoying it.  It was a lot of fun!