"A marvel, a shape-shifting play that effortlessly incorporates music and choreographed movement, classic storytelling and fresh perspectives...This tale of whatever happened to The Boy Who Lived feels bracingly, piercingly new...Melding intricate, spellbinding storytelling with stagecraft that brings classic illusions into line with the demands of audiences used to all sorts of convincing special effects...The play adeptly weaves together storylines and the familiar Potter characters."
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"There are more magic wands than you can shake a stick at in the wildly theatrical and thrilling Broadway spectacle...Eye-popping enchantment regularly flies off the stage...How'd-they-do-that marveling begins instantly as students go from street clothes to capes in a twirl...As with any story, it's all in the telling. What's so wondrous is how low-tech stagecraft brings such high-definition delight as the action unfolds...The show gleams like a bolt of lightning."
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"The theater has brought its own brand of wizardry to the material. Visually and aurally, the show presents a panorama of dazzling effects that draw audible gasps from the audience...The story is a brand-new one, but there are plenty of familiar pleasures...But for all its inventive stagecraft devices, the show has a plot that really works as an extension of the Potter saga...We love seeing theater that shows us the true magic of great storytelling."
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"Anyone still ready to dismiss 'The Cursed Child' as a cynical brand extension...clearly hasn't experienced the thrilling theatricality, the pulse-pounding storytelling vitality, and the unexpected emotional richness of this unmissable two-part production...It's not hyperbole to call the show sheer magic...Witnessing elevated stagecraft applied to a time-traveling fantasy story of this nature conjures a sense of wonder and excitement that evokes vintage Saturday-matinee serials."
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"This elaborate two-part, 5½ -hour stage sequel to J.K Rowling’s canonical series is like a witchy worship service for the countless consumers of every magical segue and subplot of the seven books and eight 'Harry Potter' movies...A dynamic pair of evenings replete with ahhhh-inspiring tricks and illusions...The rambling narrative is so filled with barely elucidated references to creatures and past events from the novels that you really do need, in a sense, to have been there."
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"It is, at once, a feast of epic theatricality in celebration of the imagination; an immersive coda to the most powerful literary brand of a generation; and a must-see, totally enveloping, thoroughly thrilling chance to experience the global power of shared storytelling at its most robust...Tiffany, Hoggett, and Jones carved out a theatrical playing space for the storytelling, something that interacts with what you have in your head and does not compete with the images of the movies."
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"Broadway’s never seen anything quite like it...'Cursed Child' is very much a play, and a captivating one at that...It best succeeds as a drama about a father and son trying so hard to communicate but not hearing each other...The clunky dialogue could have used some transfiguration, because Tennessee Williams, this isn’t...But nobody turns to 'Harry Potter' for Oscar Wildean wit. If you’re after escape, laughter, and a good cry, 'Cursed Child' delivers. It also boasts some strong performers."
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"A theatrical marvel...A technical achievement that redefines the possibilities of theatre. Strong performances and touching themes make it a worthy play, but magical showstoppers transfigure it into something else entirely...Of the many remarkable aspects...one of the strongest is the show’s disarming ability to evoke a previously untapped level of emotionality for fans...It’s an experience as singular, extraordinary, and unforgettable as seeing a boy with a lightning-shaped scar."
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