Opening Night For ‘Cursed Child’ On Broadway!

Mar 17, 2018

Posted by: Emma Pocock

Broadway, Christine Jones, Fans, Gareth Fry, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany, News, Round-Up, Sonia Friedman, Theater, Theater Round-Up, West End

Last night the first Broadway preview of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child staged at the Lyric Theatre, accompanied by a few exciting announcements! Part Two will be staged at 8pm tonight (March 17th), so let us know if you’ll be there!

The Lyric Theatre recently underwent rennovations in preparation for Cursed Child, and it looks absolutely incredible! The stage (reminiscent of the high ceilings and brickwork of King’s Cross) is enough to bring tears to any Potter fan’s eyes:

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As you can see above, tiny Cursed Child momentos are hidden around the theatre, so let us know what you find – it’s all part of the Cursed Child experience!

First attendees were excited to

Take a look at the stage effects – is that another design by Peter Strain of Harry’s patronus (like the one from Pottemore)?

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UPDATE (17th March):

Twitter user @twirlynao provided photos of more patronus pieces inside the theatre – they’re beautiful!

More tickets are being released for later dates of the show, so it’s worth signing up for updates and visiting the Box Office if possible:

In partnership with the team behind the show, one hundred New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents had the opportunity to attend the first two public preview performances of the show for free, in an effort to increase accessibility to the theatre for low-income families.  This is in addition to the 1200 reduced price ($20) tickets released on March 10th, which saw crowds outside the Lyric Theatre greeted by Cursed Child cast members:

Cursed Child in London also had an exciting announcement to make this week, as the Year Three cast was announced, along with a new block of tickets! This came after a cancellation of the show due to a power cut across Soho. Customers were advised to either apply for a refund or exchange, an theatre goers reportedly praised staff for handling the situation excellently:

In other theatre news, an exciting addition to Cursed Child scriptwriter Jack Thorne’s latest project has just been announced! Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda has reportedly been added to the cast of Thorne’s BBC adaptation of His Dark Materials, a fantasy series written by Phillip Pullman, and enjoyed by many a Harry Potter fan. The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper and Logan break-out Dafne Keen have also been added to the project, with Keen reportedly set to portray the fiery lead, Lyra Belacqua.

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Thorne recently told a Twitter user that the first series (The Northern Lights / Golden Compass, based on Pullman’s first book in the series) will be split into eight hour-long episodes:

BBC will produce the series with Bad Wolf, and Apple and Netflix are reportedly looking to buy worldwide distribution rights. Read more here.

Gareth Fry Speaks Out on Fringe Exploitation

Cursed Child‘s Olivier and Tony award-winning sound designer Gareth Fry has spoken out on the issue of exploitation in the theatre industry, saying “gatekeepers” in the industry (professoionals) should help newcomers gain experience and credits rather than leaving them to rely on low or unpaid “fringe” work:

He also spoke more to The Stage about the issue, which he says should be dealt with on an individual level, and that there are “lots of ways the fringe can be improved”. Read his comments here, and his full Twitter thread here.

Christine Jones Joins The Cher Show

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Finally, Cursed Child‘s Set Designer Christine Jones has joined Broadway’s The Cher Show, which brings together team members from Hamilton, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Glass Menagerie, Avenue Q, Jersey Boys and more. The show will be based on singer/actress Cher’s life and career, and will be staged at the Neil Simon Theatre in fall 2018, with a pre-Broadway world premiere in Chicago’s Oriental Theatre running from June 12th to July 15th. Christine Jones has previously worked on The Ghostlight Project, aiming to encourage diversity in the theatre industry, and gave us her exclusive comments on the issue and its relation to Cursed Child here. Read more about her work on The Cher Show here.

Let us know if you’ll be at Part 2 of the first Cursed Child Broadway previews!

*UPDATE Tuesday 27th March 2018*

According to Variety, Cursed Child managed to climb all the way to number 6 on the sales chart in its first six previews on Broadway, bringing in a huge $1,541,957 in its opening week. Read more here.





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