On July 29th and 30th, I was lucky enough to see the final preview of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, parts one and two. Months later I still feel like I need more time to collect my thoughts so I'm writing this with the discretion of being able to write a more fully formed review in the future. I will really only hit on a few points that came to me almost immediately after the performance itself.

Firstly, the casting was phenomenal. Some stand-outs include Anthony Boyle, Sam Clemmett, Noma Dumezweni, Alex Price, and Paul Thornley. These are only a few among many stunning others who crafted this beautiful piece of theatre.

I loved that the show was in two parts. The anticipation of living in the reality of part one for a full twenty-four hours before continuing the story personally felt like it was mimicking the suspense of the times we waited in between book publishings, or even those times when you had to put the books down at the end of a chapter to go eat dinner. The ideas and possibilities poke at you and that wonderful feeling that runs right at the center of you reminds you of what you have to look forward to.

A very interesting translation aspect was that the books, while written in third person, stayed fairly close to Harry's point of view. This constraint allows us to side with Harry very often. We may not always agree with him, but his actions are justified to us. This is a luxury that is not afforded to the Cursed Child audience, and can leave some fans feeling a bit disconnected from not only the character that they have grown so very fond of, but also from any narrative-leading protagonist at all. It was gripping to see Harry how others saw him, especially since he is a character that so many of us feel like we understand intimately - and I found myself agreeing with other characters observations of him much more than I would have in the past.

While I could go on for hours about the amazing work the design team has done, and the beauty of the movement pieces to make the show truly "magical", the script and therefore the show were not without their faults. The plot had a few holes and what seemed like 'cop-outs', where we know J.K. Rowling would have weaved a more seamless web in the books. There was a bit of fan-pandering which some people have argued make the show seem like a played out fan fiction. I will say only this: the writers are appealing to their audience. This show really indulges those who have invested a lot of their emotion, time, and thought to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Some final jumbled thoughts: I don't think the script does this show justice AT ALL. It's an entirely different experience and so much storytelling is done in the action and the visuals. The actors do a wonderful job of nailing the characters without copying portrayals that have already been done. The magic, in all it's various forms, is beautiful, thoughtful, and creatively accomplished. It is whimsical until it transcends to darkness - just like the books.

So, despite not being as flawless as J.K. Rowlings series, it was great theatre, and I will gladly add this story to the Harry Potter canon. If you have a chance to see this live, I highly recommend it. If not, I would hold off total judgement.