Julie's Journal : Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

I was in college when I first discovered Harry Potter, or rather when my dad handed me the first two books and told me to read them.  I, like most of the rest of the world, was immediately hooked.  Over the next few years I read each new book on the day it was released, watched the movies, and introduced my friends to Harry Potter.  When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released it marked the end of a marvelous adventure.

However, in the last year or so, Harry Potter fans were excited to learn that a play, set in the world of Harry Potter, was going to be produced in London.  On July 31st, Harry's birthday, the script was released to the public.  Reviews of the script were mixed, and because of that I began reading it with a little trepidation.

Harry Potter is now middle-aged and struggling with the demands of parenthood and a career in the Ministry of Magic as the Head of Magical Law Enforcement.  The play begins with Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Draco seeing their kids off on the Hogwart's Express for the beginning of another school year.  Harry's middle son, Albus Severus, is nervous about which house he will be sorted into.  We get to see Albus sorted, (I'm not going to tell you which house he ends up in!) and then we quickly skip ahead to the beginning of his fourth year.  

Albus overhears Amos Diggory begging Harry to use a recently confiscated time-turner to return to the Tri-Wizard tournament and save Cedric.  (See Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for the story of the Tri-Wizard tournament.)  Harry refuses the request, of course, but Albus, eavesdropping on the conversation, decides to try and right this wrong.  Albus and his friend Scorpious set off on a series of adventures, and in the process very nearly doom the entire wizarding world.

I thoroughly enjoyed Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  The script formatting took some getting used to, but made for a quick read.  I enjoyed seeing Harry as an adult, just trying to live a normal life.  Due to the limitations of the play format, Albus and Scorpious are the only kids whose characters were fully developed.  I would love to see the personalities of Harry and Ginny and Hermione and Ron's other children in the future.  I hope J.K. Rowling is not done with the Harry Potter world just yet.

Should Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ever come to a stage near here, I would love to see it!