SPECTACULARLY CONFUSING

You don’t need me to tell you that J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has tapped into something deeply elemental for many people. Her stories about a young wizard and his education at Hogwarts, a school that teaches the magical arts while bearing a strong similarity to a traditional British public school, have ignited the imaginations and love of many a reader, as have the film adaptations based on those books.

The company of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Now, with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, we see the next generation. The focus of the show is Harry Potter’s son Albus (Adam Grant Morrison), a teenager resentful at being packed off to Hogwarts. Once there, however, Albus makes friends, including Rose (Naiya Vanessa McCalla), the daughter of Harry’s old friends Ron Weasley (Matt Harrington) and Hermione Granger (Rachel Leslie), who have married. But most disturbing to Harry (Nick Dillenburg) is that Albus has befriended Scorpius Malfoy (David Fine), son of Harry’s old nemesis, Draco Malfoy (Ryan Hallahan).

Nick Dillenberg and Adam Grant Morrison

There are a lot of capes, as in academic robes. They swoosh and swirl in the service of visually arresting choreography (movement director Steven Hoggett), but they also act as containers for apparent magic, as in one scene where three people drink a potion and then shiver and shake to be transformed into completely new characters.

The company of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

There are some scenes in which full-size living human beings are sucked into much smaller objects—a pay phone, a bookshelf—before our eyes. There is a fight with what appears to be real flames shooting across the stage.

The company of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

All of this is enough to make up for the very confusing storyline, which involves time travel that goes bad (of course) and requires additional time travel to repair the damage. But the characters in this show are almost beside the point, though true Harry Potter fans will likely be fascinated to see the beloved Harry struggling with the same problems that plague ordinary parents. The real appeal in this show lies in the spectacular stagecraft.

David Fine, Adam Grant Morrison, Abbi Hawk

There’s a hint as well that Albus and Scorpius are embarking on a romantic relationship, not just a friendship. Perhaps this is Rowling’s attempt to apologize or mollify the queer community for controversial statements regarding trans people that have alienated and disappointed many former fans.

David Fine and Adam Grant Morrison

In the end, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child delivers less as a drama than as a feat of theatrical engineering. Its emotional threads may tangle, but the production’s sheer inventiveness holds the evening together. For audiences willing to surrender to the enchantment of illusion, there is plenty here to marvel at; those hoping for deeper magic may find themselves wishing for a clearer story.

photos by Evan Zimmerman and Matthew Murphy

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
reviewed at Emerson Colonial Theater in Boston, MA
approximately 2 hours 50 minutes, one intermission
ends on December 20, 2025 in Boston
tour continues; for dates and cities, visit Harry Potter

for more shows, visit Theatre in Boston

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