(l to r) Noma Dumezweni, Jamie Parker and Paul Thornley in ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.’ (Photo: Manuel Harlan)
Expecto Patronum! Harry Potter and the Cursed Child returns to the stage in three phases and one performance rather than two.
Performances of this world premiere theatrical event begin at Broadway’s Lyric Theatre in New York on November 16, 2021, and at the Curran in San Francisco on January 11, 2022. The Canadian premiere in Toronto will begin performances in May 2022 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child originally cast a spell over the world as an epic two-part event. The show has been restaged as one singular performance by the award-winning creative team for its return to North America. With just one ticket in hand, audiences will experience all the adventure the continuation of Harry’s story entails in one afternoon or evening.
Jon Steiger (L), Julian Rozzell, Jr. (R) and the San Francisco cast of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.’ (Photo: Matthew Murphy)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the first Harry Potter story to be presented on stage, has been seen by over 4.5 million people worldwide and holds a record 60 major honors, with nine Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Play and six Tony Awards including Best New Play. Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play by Jack Thorne, directed by John Tiffany.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions.
“We are delighted to announce that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which since its triumphant opening in New York and San Francisco has seen record-breaking numbers of people spellbound by the wizardry on stage, will be returning in North America in a new, re-imagined version that audiences can see in one afternoon or evening,” said producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender
‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.’ (Photo: Manuel Harlan)
“This is an unprecedented moment in theatre history,” Friedman and Callender continued. “After being closed for more than 15 months, almost all of Broadway and theatre across North America will return before the end of the year. Given the challenges of remounting and running a two-part show in the U.S. on the scale of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the commercial challenges faced by the theatre and tourism industries emerging from the global shutdowns, we are excited to be able to move forward with a new version of the play that allows audiences to enjoy the complete Cursed Child adventure in one sitting eight times a week.”
“Though the global shutdowns were awful and devastating on so many levels, they afforded us, as theatre-makers, the rare opportunity to reunite with our award-winning creative team, which fully embraced the challenge of creating a new single part version of the play that would be a compelling theatrical experience in its own right and stand shoulder to shoulder with the original two-part version,” said the producers. “It’s been the most wonderful process of rediscovery to bring this new spectacle to life while still delivering all the amazing magic, illusions, stagecraft, and storytelling set around the same powerful narrative that has enthralled audiences and critics alike.”
“Collaborating on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been one of the great joys of my professional life. While no one would wish for what has happened over the last year, it has given Jack, John and the first-class creatives who first breathed life into the production the opportunity to revisit the play and to find a new way to frame our story—with amazing illusions and some exquisite new staging—all the while keeping our original story intact,” said Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling. “ I’m so proud to be associated with this new, reimagined version and to be able to welcome back audiences to the Lyric, Curran and Ed Mirvish theatres.”
Harry Potter super fans can still see the two-part version. Productions of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in Melbourne, Australia (now playing), London’s West End (currently scheduled for October 14, 2021) and Hamburg, Germany (returning for previews on December 1, 2021) will continue in the original format.
Broadway tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, July 12, 2021. San Francisco tickets go on sale Wednesday, July 21. For more information and to sign up for pre-sale access, visit HarryPotterOnStage.com. On-sale dates for the Canadian premiere are to be announced.
