CRITIC'S PICK "It remains diamond-sharp in its staging and dazzling in its visual imagination, as magical as any spell or potion...Yet there are excisions, most of them so surgical you would never notice, though I did slightly miss the beloved Hogwarts groundskeeper Hagrid...This new version remains ravishingly entertaining, but is also, like the movie adaptations, a more obvious attempt to cash in on Pottermania."
Read more

"5/5 stars...Despite its shrinking, 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' has kept most of its charm. The spectacular set pieces of John Tiffany’s production remain...The plotting sometimes feels more rushed than before. But the changes have the salutary effect of focusing the story on its most interesting new creations: the resentful Albus Potter (James Romney) and the unpopular Scorpius Malfoy (Brady Dalton Richards), whose bond has been reconceived in a significant way."
Read more

"Some of the actors stumble over their lines as they race through the first half-hour. The sailing is much smoother after that, as the performers are allowed to settle into their characters and inhabit the magical world Tiffany has created with his team of designers...The leaner, meaner version onstage at the Lyric is actually a better play that has lost nothing in terms of production value."
Read more

"Every bit as rewarding as the original version. My lack of surprise derives from the theatrical expertise, on every level, evinced by the creators of the two-part version...Potterheads may notice where subplots have been trimmed or eliminated, but the many-tentacled narrative remains virtually the same...And the production retains virtually all of the original’s bedazzlements, from wand battles to levitating Dementors, to quicksilver character transformations."
Read more

"Five hours of performance pass in a wizardly wink of an eye...Everything that happens onstage seems as improbably fluid as, well, time itself. It helps that what happens includes some of the most eye-boggling illusions you’ll ever witness...The new gold standard for fantasy franchise entertainment on Broadway...This slyly manipulative production knows exactly how, and how hard, to push the tenderest spots of most people’s emotional makeups."
Read more

"A triumph of theatrical magic...Combines grand storytelling with stagecraft on a scale heretofore unimagined...It is often suspenseful and sometimes downright frightening. Yet amid the cinematic tumult and dazzle of the densely action-packed plot, Thorne and Tiffany carve out quiet scenes of intimacy and tenderness. Great care has gone into creating each moment of this state-of-the-art adventure. It leaves its audience awestruck, spellbound, and deeply satisfied."
Read more

"Jam-packed with breakneck plot twists, charming performances, mind-bending spectacle, and, perhaps more surprisingly, moments of theatrical whimsy that feel, amidst the high-tech sorcery, delightfully simple...It effectively weaves serious themes with bouncy adventure narrative, it’s heartfelt and sometimes a touch hokey...You’re pretty much willing to forgive its shortcomings as it sweeps you along in a rush of rip-roaring, good-natured imagination."
Read more

"The special effects are sensational, especially if you like theatrical 'black magic'...Plays like a musical—most of the show is underscored and all of the putative song cues are self-evident—and might have been slightly more fun had it been one...To those who have never read a Potter novel or seen a Potter film, 'The Cursed Child' will make no sense at all. Everyone else should find the plot trite, though there’s always something cool to see onstage, which helps a bit."
Read more