The line curves around the buildings as the jubilant crowd in deep maroon, sapphire blue, golden yellow, and emerald green, the colors of their houses, bounced with excitement. Under the famous golden lettering atop blackened feathery wing-shaped designs, the doors opened for the impatiently waiting crowd. The lights dimmed, ending the excited chatter, illuminating the piles of trunks in the recreated King Cross Station, as the magic began.  

  After nearly twenty years of waiting, the “boy who lived” is being welcomed into the spotlight of JK Rowling’s new ingenious creation.

 “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” was released over two years ago in London. The play just opened in April on Broadway, causing tickets to be extremely hard to come by.     

   The play is shown in two parts, with the choice of seeing both parts on the same day or in a matter of two consecutive days.

  Audience members will unquestionably wish to see it the same, so enthralled with the story they will hate to wait twenty-four hours to see the end.

  Even the brilliance of “Hamilton” and “Dear Evan Hansen” does not compare to the magic created by the gifted cast.  The cast, after winning a record breaking amount of twenty-two awards, traveled from London to get the new Broadway chapter of the play up and running.

  From appearances to personalities, the actors themselves embodied the characters they were meant to portray, nearly outdoing the cast of the Harry Potter movie franchise through emotional relatability.

   JK Rowling reasserts her genius with her gift of astounding characterization as each character is explained with painstaking plot details.    

  The story itself picks up where the last Harry Potter book left off, but the playbills include summaries of all seven Harry Potter books for those who are not avid readers.

  When the first play is over, on the way out of the theatre, staff dressed as train conductors hand out pins saying #keep the secret. JK Rowling herself has asked audiences to ‘keep the secret’ of the plays as to allow other fans to be just as amazed in the mastery of both Rowling herself and the entire cast, particularly the set designers.

  The break between the two plays on the same day is just enough time to grab dinner at a local restaurant.   

  Left on such a cliffhanger, all anyone can discuss over dinner is what will happen next? Everyone hurries back to the theatre to find fear invoking sets depicted with drawings of snakes and skulls.  Sound familiar?

  The second act passes quickly as the audience sees the psychological effect of being an aging Harry Potter.  Where the first act highlighted the adventures of Harry’s lonely son who feels out of place with his family, the second act brings fans back to the books with Harry as the reluctant hero. The transition between protagonists was beautifully done and gave Harry his hero moment sorely lacking from part one of the play.  Harry is no longer a relatable teenager, but his son depicts the same ideals as Harry once represented in the Harry Potter books, such as how to cope with being a misfit.

  “Harry Potter And The Cursed Child” is an extravaganza, fun for old and new fans of the Harry Potter series.