Original Read September 2016:
2.5 stars, but only 2 as the rating since I know so many people will give it a 5 no matter what, just because it is Harry Potter.

I honestly could have done without this book. Overall it was not bad, but it was no where near the level of the books I had grown up with and will cherish forever. Maybe if it had come out years ago, closer to the 7th book, I would have enjoyed it more. It just feels like I am reading a fanfiction. And I have read Harry Potter fanfictions that I liked more than this.

The writing bothered me, especially when it came to Harry, Hermione, and Ron. I felt like they were fake, fanfiction versions of themselves. And poorly written fanfiction versions at that. Albus was okay, I guess. He could have been better. The only one I really liked was Draco. I am not 100% sure why, but I feel like his life with having his wife die was a nice tragic addition to his life and helped him grow even more as a person- in additon to the growth he experienced at the end of the 7th book (pre-epilogue).

I feel like I might change my opinion if I get the chance to see this as a play (of if they make a filmed version of it), but until then... It just feels fake and pointless.

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Live Play NYC December 2023 Review:

We decided as a family to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as our one Broadway show while in NYC for Christmas in 2022. Partly because it is Harry Potter (duh) and partly because it is not touring and who knows when/if it ever will tour. It was such a WONDERFUL decision. This might have been the highlight of the trip for me. It was absolutely AMAZING. I remember hating the screenplay when it first came out, so I was a bit nervous about what to expect. But it was SO GOOD. It could not have been better.

I am so glad that I was able to see this on Broadway because it will definitely be better in NYC than I suspect it will be on tour if it ever tours. And the front row of the balcony was perfect place to see it from. It would have been even better if I was able to see it while it was still a two part show (it technically still is in London… so maybe one day!)... but it was so perfect, I can’t even be too upset about the fact that we saw the shortened version.

It probably helped that it had been so long since I read the screenplay that I had forgotten the story completely. I did not remember it to know what was being shortened/left out. The only thing I remembered going in was that

Albus was a Slytherin

. So it was like hearing the story for the first time.

This play was unlike any other show I have seen because they did such amazing unique things to create the “magic”.

Let’s start by talking about the casting… I think they did a really good job. I love who they picked for Scorpius and Albus. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were good as well. Really everyone was great. If anything, Snape was my least favorite, but really, it's hard to replicate the Snape that Alan Rickman created.

The set in general was a great, somewhat simple design that was able to be perfectly changed for the various scenes throughout the play. I think the lighting is what made it look so perfect- it was beautiful. Constantly picture perfect. Of course they had moving staircases which they utilized wonderfully as not only staircases, but also as a bookshelf, etc.

My favorite set was maybe at the end when they were in the owlery… They were sitting at the top of the staircase dangling their feet off the cliff side, and there were all of these owl cages suspended. It was really beautiful. I sound like a broken record calling everything perfect and beautiful, but everything truly was, haha

They also utilized a round rotating floor (like Hamilton) at different points. And they had Moaning Myrtle who moved sort of stripper like (for lack of a better way of putting it) hanging above her bathroom sink.

As for the magic… they had fire/flares coming out of wands, which I was expecting, of course, but they did some other even more amazing stuff.

They had several polyjuice potion transformations where they managed to swap out the actors within the clothing without them leaving the stage. It was through the help of a trapdoor, I’m sure, but they did it so flawlessly, it was amazing.

There was a lot of time turning in the play, and everytime that time would change, they would do this thing with the sound and with the lighting that made it sound like a massive sonic boom like thing was shaking the stage in a not-too-loud, just really cool way.  I can’t even describe it properly.

There were several scenes that took place in the Black Lake. They actually had a POOL on stage- part of the stage slid away and there was a literal pool that the actors literally got in and out off, dripping water everywhere. For the one scene that they needed to show them underwater, they put the actors on ropes, altered the lighting perfectly, and had the stage framed with this eye shaped window thing so it looked like you were watching them underwater through a boat porthole.

There was a fighting scene between Harry and Draco where they were flinging one another into the air in various ways. I do not think the actors were connected to ropes- I think somehow they were being grabbed from the darkness behind and moved like a puppet. Like if a REALLY strong invisible person had grabbed them from the waist and was rotating them throug the air. I have no idea how they did it.

AND THE DEMENTORS! Omg they were beautifully haunting and absolutely perfect in every way. They were suspended by ropes, of course, but what really made it incredible is the fact that they were not just over the stage, and not just over the front orchestra… BUT THEY CAME UP JUST FEET AWAY FROM ME AT THE FRONT ROW OF THE BALCONY!

I could have died of joy right then and there. It was like walking into the room with the giant model of Hogwarts at the studio tour. I was in tears from the perfection of it.

And the theatre itself! We got there fairly early so we were almost at the front of the line to get in… the first thing I did when I got into the theatre was to run around and take photos/look at everything before people started getting in the way. The theatre is decorated perfectly for the Harry Potter vibe. They even had a Harry Potter themed Christmas tree!! My mom got some sort of apple drink in a commemorative cup (which we kept… plus two other cups that we grabbed on the way out that people had left behind… what we are going to do with them, I have no idea). Chris got a butterbeer in a glass bottle which we of course also kept. It was very carefully washed (taking great care to not get the label wet) and is now sitting proudly on my bookshelf. This butterbeer was better than what we had gotten at Universal, but it was still overly sweet and incredibly overly carbonated.

CAST (in alphabetical order):
DAVID ABELES - Ron Weasley
CHAD ALEXANDER- V World General
KEVIN RICO ANGULO- Sorting Hat, Bane
CHELSEY ARCE- Trolley Witch
AARON BARTZ- Draco Malfoy
EBONY BLAKE- Madam Hooch
DARBY BREEDLOVE- Moaning Myrtle, Polly Chapman, Lily Potter Sr
TED DEASY- Station Master
IRVING DYSON JR.- Craig Bowker Jr
STEVE HAGGARD- Harry Potter
LOGAN JAMES HALL- Professor Mazoni
ABBI HAWK- Ginny Potter
EDWARD JAMES HYLAND- Amos Diggory, Albus Dumbledore
JAX JACKSON- Yann Fredericks
CHRIS JARMAN- Voice of Phone Box
JACK KOENIG- Ministry Official
SPENCER LARUE- Cedric Diggory, James Potter Jr, James Potter Sr
RACHEL LESLIE- Hermione Granger
JOEL MEYERS- Albus Potter
ERIK C. PETERSON- Scorpius Malfoy
DAN PIERING- Karl Jenkins, Viktor Krum
KIAYA SCOTT- Rose Granger-Weasley, Young Hermione
STEPHEN SPINELLA- Severus Snape, Lord Voldemort
PAUL THORNLEY- Voice of Ludo Bagman
KAREN JANES WODITSCH- Professor McGonagall, Dolores Umbridge

Other roles played by…
KIAYA SCOTT, STEPHEN SPINELLA, TOM STEPHENS, MAYA THOMAS, KAREN JANES WODITSCH, BRITTANY ZEINSTRA
SAMARIA NIXON-FLEMING, ERIK EVAN OLSON, ALEXANDRA PETER, DAN PIERING, MANI JADE POWERS, WILLIAM RHEM JR.,
ABBI HAWK, CHANCE MARSHAUN HILL, EDWARD JAMES HYLAND, NICK HYLAND, JAX JACKSON, JACK KOENIG, SPENCER LARUE,
TED DEASY, JAMYL DOBSON, IRVING DYSON JR., KIRA FATH, GARY-KAYI FLETCHER, ELEASHA GAMBLE, LOGAN JAMES HALL,
CHADD ALEXANDER, KEVIN RICO ANGULO, CHELSEY ARCE, QUINN BLADES, EBONY BLAKE, DARBY BREEDLOVE

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Reread July 2023:

I’ve been meaning to reread the original script since seeing the play in December but other books just kept getting in the way (I’m a slave to the Bookish First Book Bingo Boards). Luckily it finally fit into this month’s board AND I had some extra motivation thanks to a friend who just saw the two part version of the play in London which of course made me so jealous haha. But, with that said, I don’t think we missed out on much by seeing the one part American production. There are a few scenes that I’ve noticed that were shortened in the version I saw, but for the most part I can’t really tell the difference. The main thing I noticed that was cut is Harry’s dreams. I think for the most part they were cut.  If they were in it, they were so few and short and inconsequential that I do not remember them. I think there might have been one? This is why I should have don’t my reread right away after!! Regardless, the fact that I read the full script and didn’t see anything that stood out to me as missing from the version I saw means they did a really good job rewriting it for the reduced duration. I do not feel like I missed out on anything. And I absolutely loved the cast I saw. But I do still really want to see the two part production in London if I ever get the chance!

I honestly don’t know how I didn’t like this the first time I read it. Honestly I was getting chills yet again from just reading it and remembering it. It was such an amazing play. The most amazing stage production that I have ever seen. 

I only have a single flaw with it. And it’s about a specific scene/conversation…

on page 281 Albus suggests that they make polyjuice potion to transform one of themselves into Voldemort- Bathilda Bagshot would have all the ingredients. Someone points out that that wouldn’t work because they would need a piece of the person they are transforming into. But no one mentions that it takes like a month to make and they had maybe hours if that. I feel like that flaw should have been caught/mentioned.