In just six days, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" will hit the stage of the Palace Theater in London. June 7th marks the date of the first public preview of the long anticipated play. Harry Potter fans are chomping at the bit to finally see what is in store for Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," is based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany. J.K. Rowling announced on twitter, "Due to the epic nature of the story we've been working on, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" will be in two parts!"
Jack Thorne stated in an interview with Pottermore, "Obviously I loved it when we decided to tell the story in two parts, because I got to spend more time with the characters and what an honor that has been." Allowing for a two part play increased the excitement surrounding the play, because it will give fans more time to see the story unfold before their eyes.
In December, the actors portraying the beloved characters of Harry (Jamie Parker), Ron (Paul Thornley), and Hermione (Noma Dumezweni) were released, along with 42 other cast members.
Much speculation rose when it was announced that Hermione would be played by an African-American actress. However, J.K. Rowling put that to rest as she noted that her description of Hermione in the novels never mentioned anything about race, and encouraged audiences to look past the color of skin and at the actress's ability to bring Hermione to life. In February, the strong cast of 42 began rehearsals for the epic 8th installment of Harry Potter.
Multiple websites are releasing photographs of the stage, props, and set designs. Christina Jones, Set Designer, said, "We are on such an exciting journey creating this play for you."
Costume designer, Katrina Lindsay released on the "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" Facebook page "early sketches for the new Hogwarts black robes." Lindsay stated, "I was looking for a natural visual progression with this new story plus any ways to add individuality within the uniform."
Jones announced that outside the Palace Theater you can see some of the hand carved sconces for each of the houses.
Even the small details in the wizards' wands are being perfected by the set designers, as displayed in the image below.
It is apparent that the staff has poured all their hearts into making this 8th installment of Harry Potter a dream come true. It is clear that the latter half of 2016 is going to be Harry Potter filled as fans also await the arrival of the movie "Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them," arriving in theaters in November. Personally I am thrilled to already have a ticket to the play and the play pre-ordered to add to my collection of Harry Potter books.
So stay tuned Potter fans, as we come into the final week before opening day!
