While New York-bound theater-goers have spent the last year lamenting the impossible task of gettingHamiltontickets, those headed to London’s West End overseas have been struggling to get in the door forHarry Potter and the Cursed Child. Well, lucky New Yorkers, you’re about to havetwointernationally famous shows you can’t get tickets to!
Pottermorehas released an announcement that the West End hit is in final talks to take a Newt Scamander-style trip across the sea for a Broadway run at the Lyric Theater in New York.Sonia FriedmanandColin Callenderare on board to produce with a planned debut in the spring of 2018. ButCursed Childwon’t just be taking over the Lyric Theater, it will be pulling off quite the feat of transfiguration with a completely remodeled version of the venue, made over from front of house to the stage itself to ensure the magical experience begins the moment you walk in the door.
Cursed Child, which has been playing at the Palace Theatre since June 7th, is in final negotiations with Abassador Theatre Group for a multi-million dollar transformation of the Lyric Theater that will scale the 1,900 seat venue into a “more intimate 1,500 seat auditorium to accommodate the dramatic look and feel ofCursed Child.”
‘When the redesigned Lyric was presented to us as an idea and what the possibilities could be, we re-thought the whole thing and totally fell in love with the notion of a theatre being created especially for theCursed Child, overseen by designer Christine and our director John Tiffany,’ said Frieman in the announcement.
She continued, ‘We are still subject to planning, but assuming we get the go ahead, we will have the theatre of our dreams that will be intimate enough for a drama, yet big enough for us to follow in the footsteps of the London production and continue to provide low priced tickets throughout the auditorium.'
Set Designer Christine Jones, who also created the look ofCursed Childat the Palace Theatre‘, plans to create an entirely new aesthetic for the New York performances. “The hope is that this theatre will have its own soul and its own identity,” she said, “very much a New York theatre from the period and not just a recreation of what was made in London.’
If there was ever any doubt (and I’m pretty sure if you ask Universal Studios, there never was)Cursed ChildandFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’s recent successes have proven that Harry Potter is still very, very good business. While theFantastic Beastssaga is slated to run for four more films, Rowling has stated thatCursed Childis the end of Harry’s story and now those of us stateside (well those of us who can afford a trip to New York and Broadway tickets) will finally get to see that magical tale come to it’s proper end.
Here’s the official synopsis forHarry Potter and the Cursed Child:
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 04, 2025.
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
