WE’RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARDS (AGAIN)
The line between fan fiction and canon can be a blurry one. In a world where Twilight fan fiction inspired the best-selling book of the last decade and a Wizard of Oz flip became one of last year’s most prolific movies, it’s clear that capitalizing on existing IP and their fandoms can push new stories to great heights.
The Harry Potter series became one of the most fan-fiction-fodder franchises in history. From a YouTube series of Potter puppet shows to a parody musical to a rock band, the wizarding world has seen its fair share of fan-generated content. After the conclusion of the film series in 2011, and with the lukewarmly-received Fantastic Beasts franchise following, Potterheads were left wondering when they’d get to step back into the halls of Hogwarts.
Enter Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in 2016, an original play written by Jack Thorne and based on a short story by Thorne, Harry Potter-creator J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany. The script hit the shelves at the same time it hit stages in order to satiate Potterheads, and both were wildly successful, taking home six Tonys in 2018.
Julia Nightingale (Delphi Diggory), Aidan Close (Scorpius Malfoy) Emmet Smith (Albus Potter)
Originally over five hours long with each performance split into two showings, Cursed Child has since been shortened to around three hours. Nine years later on a national tour, this abbreviated version has landed in LA at the Hollywood Pantages, where it will run through June 22nd.
As someone well-versed in the Potterverse since childhood, I entered into the experience weighing my fandom with my skepticism — will this be just another piece of fan-servicing fan fiction, or will it transcend its source material and bring something new to the table? Well, as it turns out, a bit of both.
Cursed Child picks up 19 years after where the final Harry Potter left off: Harry is now a father, and his eldest son Albus is entering his first year at Hogwarts. Both wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps and escape his shadow, Albus is — to everyone’s surprise and dismay — sorted into Slytherin and befriends Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Harry’s nemesis Draco.
Ebony Blake as Hermione Granger, Naiya Vanessa McCalla as Rose Granger-Weasley,
Matt Mueller as Ron Weasley, Caleb Hafen as James Potter Jr., John Skelley as Harry Potter,
Trish Lindstrom as Ginny Potter, Emmet Smith as Albus Potter
After meeting the edgy Delphini Diggory, who introduces herself as the niece of the original series’ Amos, the three devise a plan to use a stolen Time Turner to travel back in time and save Amos’s son Cedric who was killed in the original series’ fourth book. Amos hopes this will help him escape the weight of his father’s legacy, but quickly learns that toying with time can have dangerous consequences.
Cursed Child unfolded at a delightfully fast pace, wasting no time with swift exposition and a quick dive into action and magical fun. An early choice to anthropomorphize the iconic Sorting Hat teetered into self-parody, but thankfully this moment ended up being a tonal outlier against the rest of the show. The time-jumping aspect even allowed the play to revisit scenes from the original series in spurts, stopping short of tiresome rehashing.
What stood out most about Cursed Child was undoubtedly its special effects, orchestrated by Jamie Harrison. Replicating the magic of the wizarding world in a live production was an opportunity as much as it was a challenge, and one that the show did not squander. In one scene where the three kids use a Polyjuice Potion to transform into adult Harry, Ron and Hermione, actors disappeared into what seemed like thin air and were replaced seamlessly, leaving me to contemplate the mechanics of the illusion with my jaw agape. The play is rife with mind-blowing moments such as this, and worth seeing for its effects alone.
Aidan Close as Scorpius Malfoy and Emmet Smith as Albus Potter
Stage design by Christine Jones shone similarly, with foundational elements being employed creatively to suit multiple locations. When characters entered the Forbidden Forest, pillars that had previously represented the architecture of Hogwarts and Kings Cross station slid into new positions, transforming into trees with simple rearrangement. But that isn’t to say that the design was minimalist — intricate set pieces and props were in constant rotation, bringing the grandeur of the original series to the stage.
The original score by alt-pop songstress Imogen Heap, which incorporated elements of her own music, also settled into the world of Cursed Child gracefully, soundtracking its scene transitions with twinkling arrangements that enhanced its charm.
Matt Mueller as Ron Weasley, Ebony Blake as Hermione Granger, John Skelley as Harry Potter
Aidan Close executed the role of Scorpius with a particularly comedic flair, and John Skelly, Nathan Hosner and Ebony Blake — despite being given the tough challenge of playing the original series’s beloved trio all grown up — each delivered a textured imagination of these familiar characters. It’s perhaps due to the same challenge that Katherine Leask’s portrayal of Professor McGonagall felt like a bit of an overanimated caricature, although she wore the role of Professor Umbridge with more finesse.
Thematically, Cursed Child explored interesting angles of the central father-son relationship, also tackling Harry’s relationship to his own former glory in insightful ways. The biggest thematic head-scratcher was the homoromantic undertones of Albus and Scorpius’s relationship which were hinted at quite heavily, but never fully admitted to.
By flirting with queerness while neither committing to its incorporation or standing down from it, Cursed Child watered down some of its later emotional beats. During a heartfelt conversation between Albus and Harry near the play’s conclusion, Albus says “Scorpius is the most important person in my life. He may always be the most important.” This made a knowing wink to the audience and bordered on a coming-out scene, ending with Harry’s acceptance of Albus. What could have been cathartic felt like a cop-out — tiptoeing for palatability was a safe and withheld choice.
John Skelley as Harry Potter and Emmet Smith as Albus Potter
This issue is especially irritating in light of Rowling’s fervent opposition to transgender people, which have rightfully sidelined her as a cultural presence and sullied her name among even many Potterheads. It feels unfair to inject a story with gay undertones without honoring them, especially when one of its creators has such a reputation for queer vitriol.
That being said, while “separating the art from the artist” isn’t always easy, Rowling built a world that doesn’t feel like it needs her to live on anymore. Cursed Child shines in spite of her.
Ultimately, Cursed Child is in many ways a whopping plateful of fan service — but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Harry Potter franchise has managed to hold onto its iconic status and fanbase for over two decades, and this is an unignorable part of its identity. Thankfully, the play doesn’t lean too hard on this, balancing its nostalgic material with fresh ideas that expand its world and deepen its characters. After all these years, Harry Potter is still finding new spells to cast.
Ebony Blake as Hermione Granger, Naiya Vanessa McCalla as Rose Granger-Weasley,
Matt Mueller as Ron Weasley, Caleb Hafen as James Potter Jr., John Skelley as Harry Potter,
Trish Lindstrom as Ginny Potter, Emmet Smith as Albus Potter
photos by Matthew Murphy
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
national tour
for tickets, visit Broadway in Hollywood
reviewed at The Hollywood Pantages; ends on June 22, 2025
tour continues; for dates and cities, visit Harry Potter
for more shows, visit Theatre in LA
