My Experience with Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

*spoiler alert*

I’m a HUGE Harry Potter fan, and I was super excited when we got tickets as our Christmas present to go see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child!

I have loved Harry Potter since I was in kindergarten. When I found out that there would be another story about Harry, Hermione, and Ron, I was really excited!

When I read the screenplay the day it came out, I felt a little bit disappointed. It didn’t seem quite as magical as the series had been.

Still, I wanted to watch the play.

What I Thought

We went to go watch Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and I have got to say that I was amazed. Everything was so magical! There were so many cool stage tricks. Harry flicks his wand and the papers on his desk organize, there’s WATER under the stage, people are flying, and there are dementors! I have seen Hamilton and thought that was pretty amazing what they were doing. This is a whole new level of what you can do in live theater.

I also really loved how relatable the characters were, especially Albus, Scorpius, and Rose. I am the same age as them (and actually my parents are the same age as the Golden Trio, which is really cool). I think that when I first read the play, I was maybe not quite old enough to understand what was happening. The relationships between the different characters were very realistic and complex, and even though the characters weren’t perfect (as we all have flaws) they were very likable and understandable.

The actors were really talented, and everything that was happening was suddenly real – they were somehow, magically making my dreams of Hogwarts and the whole world become real. It was really amazing, and it seemed more real than any other movie or live show I had ever seen.

I have never seen such awesome set changes before – they were perfectly choreographed and even though it might seem small, it just made everything so much more magical. Also, the set was really amazing. And I still can’t figure out how they did all of the things like Harry’s papers organizing, and the dementors were lifting people up, there was Polyjuice potion, spells, time travel, and secret messages on the walls! It just seemed like real life magic.

Tips for Watching the Show

Be aware – the show is two parts, and each are a little over two hours. You can choose to watch both parts in the same day, or in two different days. We watched it all in one day, and we had about two hours between the shows.

We hung out in a hotel room and ate food while we were waiting to go back to the theater. This is a good choice – especially if you have younger kids with you.

You should also eat food before each of the shows – the food they are selling is very expensive and is mostly sweets (and probably not much is gluten free, although I didn’t check).

You also might want to think twice before buying souvenirs. Everything is pricey, and things like wands you can buy online. However, if you want a Cursed Child shirt or sweatshirt, you have to get it during the first show – they do not sell them during the second show.

The theater also only has one bathroom with multiple stalls. The line is very long, but it moves pretty fast.

If you love Harry Potter, or even if you don’t (but you better love Harry Potter or else), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is definitely worth it.

Thank you so much to the entire cast and crew of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in San Francisco! My entire day was very magical, and I’ll never forget it. 🙂