Over the weekend my sister Kristine and I went on a quick road trip to Los Angeles to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Pantages Theatre and we had so much fun! I saw this show several years ago in San Francisco when it was performed in two parts so I was really intrigued to see the new production and my sister, who is a huge Harry Potter fan, was even more excited to see it for the first time. We both loved it because it is 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, his wife Ginny Potter (Trish Lindstrom) writes for The Daily Prophet, Hermione Granger (Ebony Blake) is the Minister of Magic, and her husband Ron Weasley (Matt Mueller) manages Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Their children Albus Potter (Emmet Smith) and Rose Granger-Weasley (Naiya Vanessa McCalla) are on their way to Hogwarts when the story begins. Albus soon forms an unlikely friendship with Scorpius Malfoy (Aidan Close), the son of Harry's nemesis Draco (Benjamin Thys). They are drawn together because they are both 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 the son of Lord Voldemort. They feel that they have something to prove so, with the help of Delphi Diggory (Julia Nightingale), they steal a time-turner from the Ministry of Magic in order to go back in time to save Cedric Diggory (Caleb Hafen) from his fate. This has unintended consequences and now Scorpius must enlist Hermione, Ron, and Severus Snape (Larry Yando) to help him go back in time to change the future back. However, Delphi has her own reasons for wanting Cedric to return and compels Scorpius and Albus to use the time-turner once again to restore the alternate timeline which leads to an epic confrontation in Godric's Hollow. Even though this new version is close to three hours long, there are obviously some elements that have been removed from the earlier one but I honestly didn't miss anything. The biggest changes I noticed were that the Dementors appear on stage rather than fly through the audience (I was a bit disappointed but my sister still thought they were really cool) and the relationship between Albus and Scorpius is more romantic than I remember. I really loved the touching story about father-son relationships, the fun performances (my favorite was Close and my sister's was Mackenzie Lesser-Roy as Moaning Myrtle), and the iconic costumes and sets (fans of Harry Potter will immediately recognize the Gothic architecture, the House Banners, and the moving staircases at Hogwarts) but the way the magic is staged is what makes this show so amazing! Seeing the students run through Platform 9 3/4, use their wands, travel by flue powder, and drink polyjuice potion caused the audience to gasp out loud but the duel between Harry and Draco and the transfiguration scene received spontaneous applause! The staging of other scenes is also very clever, particularly when Albus and Scorpius jump off the Hogwarts Express, when they emerge from the lake, and when they are separated by the moving staircases. Even the choreography used by the ensemble to move set pieces on and off stage is incredibly dynamic! The show is absolutely spellbinding (pun intended) and I am so glad that I had the chance to see it again, especially with my sister! It will be on tour in various cities through 2026 (I hope it eventually comes to SLC) and I highly recommend getting a ticket if you have the opportunity.
Note: I had to drive through a severe snow storm and my sister had to drive in Los Angeles traffic. I'm not sure which was worse (although we still had the best time on this trip).
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