Ten months ago tickets were released for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; the smash hit from London was finally coming to Broadway!  Ten months ago I bought inordinately expensive tickets to see this spectacular.  For ten months I waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Until the day finally arrived.  I finally got to see the next installment in the Harry Potter series!

I put on my new Vintage Shirt Dress (made by me!) and headed into the city. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to get some pictures outside the theater to mark the occasion.  It usually takes me about thirty minutes to get from my apartment to Times Square, but I wanted to leave plenty of time for error.  This was Harry Potter after all!  I was not going to miss it!

The Lyric Theater renovations were gorgeous, from the marquee to the lobby to the theater itself. The marquee featured the logo (obviously) but also touches of each house here and there with posters representing each one. It also has the “boy in a nest” statue that calls back to the storyline.

After making sure that we had taken enough pictures to prove we were there, we headed to the end of an extremely long line and headed into the theater.  Everything inside had touches of Potter.  There was even a Patronus room.

Everything inside had touches of Potter magic. There was even a Patronus room.

Other details included “H’s” in the wallpaper and on the rug.

After sufficiently exploring all the lobby and concession stands, we headed into the theater. We got the best seats we possibly could when the tickets went on sale and that definitely paid off. Thankfully no super tall people sat in front of me. However, there was a surprise fellow audience member: Billy Crystal! (Every picture I had of him where you can see his face was blurry.)

The show began…

Everything, from the performances to the special effects were brilliant.  It’s actually difficult to discuss all of it because to tell you everything would be to spoil the experience of seeing it for yourself (which you really must do)… plus the hashtag for the show is #keepthesecrets which I assume has more to do with the magical elements than it does with the plotline.

The first part (for the play is actually sort of two plays, two separate shows that you see separately), revolves around Albus Potter and his deteriorating relationship with his father (Harry) as he struggles to live in his shadow.  He meets and quickly befriends Scorpius Malfoy and the two concoct a plan to go back in time.  However, they learn that going back in time and changing history comes with consequences and much of the play deals with the alternate realities they create, and the ways they must travel back and fix their mistakes.

The second part continues on this theme, but adds an extra, villainous element.  For those of you who have read the script version, you know what this element is.  For those of you who have not, I’m not going to be the one to spoil it.  Based on the shocked and awestruck gasps from the audience, you’re better going into it blind rather than knowing what to expect.  Even knowing the storyline, I was awed and amazed by the way they did certain things.

I imagine the actors were under tons of pressure.  They needed to recreate not only beloved characters from novels, but beloved characters who had already been portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Ron Weasley.  Because of this, I think it was very smart not to make the entire story revolve around Harry, Ron and Hermione but rather around Albus and Scorpius.  That being said, the big trio is still very integral and central to the storyline.

The story of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is not the Harry Potter you are used to, but any devoted fan doesn’t really care.  We just want more time with our favorite characters.  More time, more stories, more to see, more, more, more.  And Harry Potter and the Cursed Child delivered that in every way possible.  I think there can only be one word to describe it: magical.