As a distinguished scholar and critic of books since a young age, I have enjoyed the Harry Potter series for many years. From watching all the movies to buying a cloak and wand at Universal Studios, I’d say that I’m pretty well versed in the Harry Potter world.
When the play script sequel of the series came out in 2016, I made sure to get a copy. Although I remember reading the book, it was way less memorable than the original series, as I can barely remember any feelings I had after finishing it.
This summer, as a mandatory activity for a summer program in New York, we went to a Broadway version of the sequel, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
Making my way into the theater, I was pleasantly surprised by the color scheme of the entire lobby. Deep reds and warm ambient lighting flooded the room of people. The carpeted spiral staircases and well-dressed staffers also added a luxurious touch to the theater’s ambiance. However, this pleasant feeling shortly subsided after seeing the outrageous prices of drinks and snacks — most of which were basic theater food in fancy packaging and a few Harry Potter-themed drinks. Even so, I still ended up buying a small popcorn for a steep $12.
The first issue was the play’s length: 4 hours. After taking one nap before intermission and barely staying awake during the second half, I eagerly got up to be at the front of our group when leaving.
Still, it wasn’t all bad. The major highlight of the play was easily the special effects. The wand fighting effects were extraordinary, the “magically” moving pieces on the set were believable and the elegant use of trap doors almost made the magic seem real.
Unfortunately, that was about the only good thing there is to say about the play. The plot was not only underwhelming, but outright unaligned with the original series. In the play, Harry — played by Steve Haggard, Hermione — played by Cara Ricketts, and Ron — played by Daniel Fredrick — are extremely dumb shells of their younger selves.
The Harry Potter in the original series of the play is shy, brave, selfless and beloved by everyone that read the books. In the play, Harry Potter — now 37 years old — is portrayed as a dumb and incapable father, even at one point telling his son that he wishes. After losing track of his own son — who accidentally gets himself in the middle of Voldemort’s daughter’s evil plan while trying to get out of Harry’s shadow — Harry gets mad and lashes out at former teachers, something the old Harry would certainly never have done.
Additionally, you would think that with all the close scrapes that Harry, Ron and Hermione went through in the original series, they would teach their kids to think longer before making reckless decisions, such as trying to save Cedric Diggory from the dead with a Time Turner.
While Rowling allegedly took part in the creation of the play, many fans online doubt the factuality of that claim and believe the play was written entirely by Jack Thorne and John Tiffany — largely due to the massive changes in the characters.
Aside from saving Diggory, the main villain in the play — Voldemort’s daughter Delphini — just seems like a far stretch and forced effort to maintain a connection to the original series. Given Voldemort’s determination for immortality and cold-blooded nature, it is completely out of his character to have a child, especially with one of his followers.
More importantly, it was ridiculous to me that Hermione, Ron and Harry are so oblivious to what’s happening throughout the play. Hermione couldn’t even tell when the kids were using a simple potion that she has used countless times, while Ron is portrayed as a useless jokester and just really in the background of the play.
Going back to the problems with Harry, it’s absolutely crazy that he’s portrayed as such a weak wizard. He gets into a pitifully long duel with Draco Malfoy and also seems like an ordinary wizard in almost every scene. It just seems absurd that the most famous and powerful wizard in the world is now portrayed as weak, even if he’s not at his prime.
Overall, having to watch the entire plot unfold over the course of four hours was a tragic blow to the Harry Potter universe in my mind. Although this joke of a sequel will be imprinted in my mind for years to come, my high regard for the Harry Potter series remains. If you’re a Harry Potter fan yet to watch the play, I suggest you save your money and stick to your fond memories of the original series instead.