I know I’m a little late to the party, but I just finished "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child." I went to the midnight release party with some friends, but unlike them I knew I would not be devouring the book the second I got home, mainly because I had other books on my incredibly long “To Read” list that had to come first. But the truth is, while everyone else was showing their excitement for the book by shouting out random facts or sharing favorite moments from the series, I just sat there quietly. I read the books in middle school, and I’ve seen most of the movies, but I wouldn’t really call myself a Potterhead. I’ve taken the all important quiz that deemed me a Ravenclaw, but once I got to that point I kind of got bored with Pottermore, because it felt like I was rereading the books without really rereading them. So that was my experience with the world of Harry Potter until the play came out and my future in-laws went to see it in England and just raved about it. Their excitement ultimately peaked my interest, and so I tagged along on premiere night.
Two weeks later, I opened up to the first page, the title “Act One” staring up at me, and I took the plunge back into the world J. K. Rowling had created. Except it didn’t quite feel the same as what I remembered. I read that some people felt like the play read as a sort of fan fiction, that it didn’t feel like it came from the author herself. And at first, I had that impression too. She wrote it with other people, people who could help with the screen writing part of it. After all, it was going to be a play.
The play format left some things lacking for me. Rowling couldn’t do her thing completely. One of the things I admire most about Rowling is her ability to create wonderful realistic worlds through her words. Without the ability to describe what was happening and having to rely heavily on dialogue due to the play format, it seemed as though Rowling lost some of her magic, no pun intended. Gone were her beautiful descriptions of the magical world, and with it some of the emotion her stories are known to bring out. My favorite scene from the entire series comes from the first book when Harry gets on the Hogwarts Express for the first time and gets to try out all those amazing wizard treats. My mouth was watering as I read that scene, and I wanted to try those sweets. Rowling’s strong asset is her ability to describe things to the readers in so much detail that they feel like they’re in the books, not so much in her dialogue. And that’s why I think the play was lacking, at least when it is read. My fiancé’s family assures me that the action is incredible on stage, that often enough the audience is left wondering “How did the pull that off on stage?” But I surely did not get the same experience reading the play as they did watching it. But the play just didn’t illuminate anything for me. Maybe it’s an excuse to reread the series.
