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"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" - Post-Viewing Thoughts and Reflections
I was going to make this post right after I got out of Part 2, but I ended up being exhausted/super busy/sick this weekend (which I'll detail in another post) so I didn't get the chance to at the time.
You can read my pre-viewing speculation here, and the long and short of it is I absolutely loved it and kind of want to spend the money to see it again in a few months. Yeah, that's how much I liked it.
So going into this, the thing that I had already suspected but is now very apparent is that about 65% of the story is dependent on the acting and special effects. I think people went into the script expecting something on the same level as the books, but it was written to be seen as a performance and not read as a story. There are actually long sequences where little to no dialog is spoken, which I suspect caused pacing problems and tonal inconsistency for people only reading the script.
I have to say, the special effects in this were excellent. Some of it is pretty standard fare theater staging (Snape's Patronous is a glowing deer head held up by a crew member) but a lot of it was fairly realistic and convincing. The sequences where people got sucked into the phone booth to enter the Ministry of Magic was so well done to the point that I have no idea how they managed to do it. The staging itself was also well done and it never felt like it was unclear what was happening on stage.
I feel like the acting really elevated some writing and characters as well. Ginny in particular came across really strongly to me which I don't think is something that would be integrated into the script alone. Characters were also frequently on stage when they didn't have any dialog but managed to convey a performance through mannerisms and the way they embodied the character. Scorpius in particular was very different from the impression I got from fans who only read the script, having a much more manic feel that was jarring at first but really helped sell the character. (The argument between Scorpius and Albus also nearly brought me to tears so there's that). I also think sillier concepts like the Delphini stuff worked better in execution than on the page. When the OG cast was searching her room and found the scribbles on the walls, the entire theater lit up with glowing writing on all the walls which was very dramatically satisfying. Scenes that also probably didn't come across well in script form like when Albus distracts Hermione while disguised as Ron absolutely killed it in the theater. Really all the Ron/Hermione stuff that might have been abrasive really landed because Paul Thornley and Noma Dumezweni are that charismatic.
That said, I do have a couple of criticisms. I was highly invested in all the Albus and Scorpius material, and the vast majority of the modern day material with Harry and the other adults. However, whenever the play indulged in re-staging scenes from the original books, it didn't quite work because I'd seen them done better and I wanted to get back to the current story. I don't think they really added anything to the narrative and I kind of wish they'd been cut. Also, I think the show got to indulgent with those types of callbacks in Part 2. In Part 1 it was very clearly Albus and Scorpius's story, but in the second act of Part 2 they almost faded into the background of some scenes which I hated. And while I get where they were going for with having the characters stay to observe when Voldemort entered the Potter house, it seemed like just a bit too much and didn't really land. Also, I wish that they had been brave enough to make Albus and Scorpius a couple at the end. They can certainly be read that way, especially with the thorough-line of Scorpius's jealousy of Delphini, and the Scorpius/Rose pairing seemed kind of forced as Rose showed virtually no interest in even being near him.
Also, I do think overall, Part 1 was much better than Part 2. It felt more cohesive both narratively and character-wise, whereas Part 2 felt like it had a lot of plot points it needed to hit. As a whole the play was still amazing, and I'm kind of bummed I was too much of a coward/in a rush to stick around and get the special commemorative program I spent $20 signed after the show.
Verdict: If you have the opportunity to go see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, do it! It was expensive but it was honestly worth every penny.
You can read my pre-viewing speculation here, and the long and short of it is I absolutely loved it and kind of want to spend the money to see it again in a few months. Yeah, that's how much I liked it.
So going into this, the thing that I had already suspected but is now very apparent is that about 65% of the story is dependent on the acting and special effects. I think people went into the script expecting something on the same level as the books, but it was written to be seen as a performance and not read as a story. There are actually long sequences where little to no dialog is spoken, which I suspect caused pacing problems and tonal inconsistency for people only reading the script.
I have to say, the special effects in this were excellent. Some of it is pretty standard fare theater staging (Snape's Patronous is a glowing deer head held up by a crew member) but a lot of it was fairly realistic and convincing. The sequences where people got sucked into the phone booth to enter the Ministry of Magic was so well done to the point that I have no idea how they managed to do it. The staging itself was also well done and it never felt like it was unclear what was happening on stage.
I feel like the acting really elevated some writing and characters as well. Ginny in particular came across really strongly to me which I don't think is something that would be integrated into the script alone. Characters were also frequently on stage when they didn't have any dialog but managed to convey a performance through mannerisms and the way they embodied the character. Scorpius in particular was very different from the impression I got from fans who only read the script, having a much more manic feel that was jarring at first but really helped sell the character. (The argument between Scorpius and Albus also nearly brought me to tears so there's that). I also think sillier concepts like the Delphini stuff worked better in execution than on the page. When the OG cast was searching her room and found the scribbles on the walls, the entire theater lit up with glowing writing on all the walls which was very dramatically satisfying. Scenes that also probably didn't come across well in script form like when Albus distracts Hermione while disguised as Ron absolutely killed it in the theater. Really all the Ron/Hermione stuff that might have been abrasive really landed because Paul Thornley and Noma Dumezweni are that charismatic.
That said, I do have a couple of criticisms. I was highly invested in all the Albus and Scorpius material, and the vast majority of the modern day material with Harry and the other adults. However, whenever the play indulged in re-staging scenes from the original books, it didn't quite work because I'd seen them done better and I wanted to get back to the current story. I don't think they really added anything to the narrative and I kind of wish they'd been cut. Also, I think the show got to indulgent with those types of callbacks in Part 2. In Part 1 it was very clearly Albus and Scorpius's story, but in the second act of Part 2 they almost faded into the background of some scenes which I hated. And while I get where they were going for with having the characters stay to observe when Voldemort entered the Potter house, it seemed like just a bit too much and didn't really land. Also, I wish that they had been brave enough to make Albus and Scorpius a couple at the end. They can certainly be read that way, especially with the thorough-line of Scorpius's jealousy of Delphini, and the Scorpius/Rose pairing seemed kind of forced as Rose showed virtually no interest in even being near him.
Also, I do think overall, Part 1 was much better than Part 2. It felt more cohesive both narratively and character-wise, whereas Part 2 felt like it had a lot of plot points it needed to hit. As a whole the play was still amazing, and I'm kind of bummed I was too much of a coward/in a rush to stick around and get the special commemorative program I spent $20 signed after the show.
Verdict: If you have the opportunity to go see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, do it! It was expensive but it was honestly worth every penny.