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Reducio!
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the theatrical sequel to J.K. Rowling’s sensationally successful books about a teenage wizard, will be back on Broadway starting November 16, 2021—but in a significantly different form. As though casting a Shrinking Charm on itself, playwright Jack Thorne's formerly two-part epic—based on a story by Thorne, Rowling and director John Tiffany—will now be restaged and presented as a single show.
Like all Broadway shows, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was shuttered by the COVID-19 pandemic in March, 2020. But it has been among the last to announce its plans to return to the Street, leading to speculation that it might be hanging up its Sorting Hat. Instead, the event will be slimming down, which may solve some of the challenges that have vexed this excellent production since it opened in 2018. Cursed Child was a thrilling theatrical spectacle: "Great care has gone into creating each moment of this state-of-the-art adventure," we wrote in our review. "It leaves its audience awestruck, spellbound and deeply satisfied." But its bipartite structure made it a heavy lift for its target family audiences, both financially and in terms of scheduling.
It is not yet clear how the change will be effected, or what the show's new running time will be. Along with the Broadway incarnation, the play's productions in San Francisco (starting January 2021) and Toronto (starting May 2021) will also be presented as single events. Versions of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in London, Melbourne and Hamburg will retain the original two-part form.
Tickets for the Broadway production will go on sale to the general public on Monday, July 12, 2021. San Francisco tickets follow on Wednesday, July 21. (Sale dates for the Canadian production have not yet been announced.) To sign up for pre-sale access, visit the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child website.