The Main Stem mounting of Jack Thorne’s “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is being revised down to a new version. The upcoming edition of “Harry Potter,” which will run under three hours including an intermission, will debut on Nov. 12 at the Lyric Theatre, the same day a new set of previously announced actors are scheduled to join the company.
The fresh version uses the same script as the one that debuted in September for the national tour’s launch at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre.
“From the very beginning, we and the creative team have challenged ourselves to find new and innovative ways to bring the extraordinary storytelling and stagecraft of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ to life,” said producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender in a statement. “This innovative process has continued since the original production first opened in London in 2016, with the show evolving creatively as it has expanded across the globe. We are thrilled that John Tiffany, Jack Thorne, and the entire original creative team were able to reunite over the last few months to revisit and explore the original material, creating this new version of the show. We were delighted by the ecstatic reception of this new version of our spectacular show when we premiered it in Chicago last month, and we can’t wait to see our extraordinary new cast bring it to life on stage in New York starting in November.”
This announcement marks the second time the Broadway mounting has been truncated. When the production opened on Broadway on April 22, 2018, the play was titled “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two,” which was presented over two performances. Part One and Part Two each played four performances per week until March 2020 when all Broadway productions were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For its post-pandemic reopening, “Harry Potter” was revised and offered in a shortened version, which began new previews on Nov. 12, 2021 and officially reopened on Dec. 7. The original two-part version continues on London’s West End, while the Tokyo and Hamburg productions have offered the one-part version since 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Featuring Tony Award-winning direction by John Tiffany, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” follows the characters of the J.K. Rowling book series as they enter parenthood. The play o was nominated for 10 Tony Awards in 2018, winning six, including Best Play. The production recouped its investment in 2022.
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions.
