Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

[imsounoriginal]

9781338099133_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg

Surprised not to see a thread for this so I figured I'd start one to discuss the new book/play. Hoping for the best here since Rowling reportedly was heavily involved in creating the story, but delegated the actual writing to others since she didn't feel confident about writing a play on her own.

Please keep spoilers tagged for those who haven't read it yet.

[Macgyver10]

Went to the midnight release last night, and am about to finish reading Act 3. I'm excited to hear what other people think of it so far.

[imsounoriginal]

Just started Act Two myself. So far so good.

[BB-8]

I'm a big Potter fan. Love the films and the books, but...

I have zero interest in reading a script for a play. I'll wait for either the actual novel or a film adaptation.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by BB-8

I'm a big Potter fan. Love the films and the books, but...

I have zero interest in reading a script for a play. I'll wait for either the actual novel or a film adaptation.

It's written in a book format already..

[imsounoriginal]

Finished reading it and I enjoyed it immensely. It's great fun to see these characters again after so long and see where they've all ended up, and the relationships are all written very well. The core characters themselves don't really seem to talk they way they used to in the novels, but this does certainly retain the feel and tone of the novels, and that's a huge plus.

[Show spoiler]I do think the Time-Turner device is a bit murky, though, especially regarding exactly how time can be so radically changed at one point but Albus and Scorpius still turn up in the Forbidden Forest exactly where they were and Albus and Harry can still carry on an entire conversation that's relevant to both timelines until it's revealed that something's askew. There's a lot of the Star Trek reboot and a TFA vibe in this, both with the time-travel but also with using the older, established characters to introduce new ones that we could possibly be seeing on future adventures (no doubt this will becoming a movie, it's SO cinematic to the point that I can't even imagine how half of this stuff is achievable in a stage production) while feeding off the nostalgia and letting us reintroduce old characters (at least one of whom can't come back in a movie, so he'll either have to be recast or written out and replaced with another character).

In any case, those who are hesitant should give this a shot, it's a fitting new chapter in the series. Dunno how I'd rank it among the books (if that's possible), but I definitely have a more positive reaction after reading this than I following Order of the Phoenix (book was a chore but became arguably the best movie).

[BB-8]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

It's written in a book format already..

It's a script.

[imsounoriginal]

There's not gonna be an actual novel. Movie I'm sure, but this being a play script shouldn't keep you from it. It reads just fine.

[Doctor Jack]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

Finished reading it and I enjoyed it immensely. It's great fun to see these characters again after so long and see where they've all ended up, and the relationships are all written very well. The core characters themselves don't really seem to talk they way they used to in the novels, but this does certainly retain the feel and tone of the novels, and that's a huge plus.

[Show spoiler]I do think the Time-Turner device is a bit murky, though, especially regarding exactly how time can be so radically changed at one point but Albus and Scorpius still turn up in the Forbidden Forest exactly where they were and Albus and Harry can still carry on an entire conversation that's relevant to both timelines until it's revealed that something's askew. There's a lot of the Star Trek reboot and a TFA vibe in this, both with the time-travel but also with using the older, established characters to introduce new ones that we could possibly be seeing on future adventures (no doubt this will becoming a movie, it's SO cinematic to the point that I can't even imagine how half of this stuff is achievable in a stage production) while feeding off the nostalgia and letting us reintroduce old characters (at least one of whom can't come back in a movie, so he'll either have to be recast or written out and replaced with another character).

In any case, those who are hesitant should give this a shot, it's a fitting new chapter in the series. Dunno how I'd rank it among the books (if that's possible), but I definitely have a more positive reaction after reading this than I following Order of the Phoenix (book was a chore but became arguably the best movie).

You mention this becoming a movie one day. Honestly, I hope that does not happen.

[Show spoiler]Unless it's the same actors, it will not be the same. If they do have the same actors, hopefully the deaging technology will be better than we have now. It's good but not great. The biggest problem is Alan Rickman being gone and Maggie Smith isn't getting any younger. Can't have it without those two. Sure it'll be made into a movie but hopefully they rework it and don't just recast.

[Macgyver10]

I just finished this a few hours ago, and overall really enjoyed it.

The main thing that bothered me was

[Show spoiler]the time turners. While being one of my favorite parts of the original series, I feel like the affects are not drastic enough in the "alternate presents". Also, how was the amount of time traveled controlled by the users?

Also, I had a really hard time picturing the stage directions being performed on stage, for example, the Trolley Witch on the top of the Hogwarts Express. Reviews have said that the effects are very well done, so I hope one day I'll see what it's like.

Scorpius definitely stole the show.

Even though I felt like I was reading fan fiction at a couple points, I still had a fun time getting a chance to return to the Wizarding World I remember from my childhood.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Doctor Jack

You mention this becoming a movie one day. Honestly, I hope that does not happen.

[Show spoiler]Unless it's the same actors, it will not be the same. If they do have the same actors, hopefully the deaging technology will be better than we have now. It's good but not great. The biggest problem is Alan Rickman being gone and Maggie Smith isn't getting any younger. Can't have it without those two. Sure it'll be made into a movie but hopefully they rework it and don't just recast.

Oh yeah it'll have to be soon, and WB has supposedly already registered the name so the wheels are in motion. I think it'd be relatively simple to age up the core actors and get back certain of the old-timers (not to put this indelicately) while they can still reprise their roles. As for the new characters, if they can get the stage actors for those, that should work just fine. It's a very cinematic story, almost as if in the back of her mind Rowling knew this would become a movie at some point. Better yet, it's already been split into two parts, which I'm sure makes the studio happy

[biglou114]

From what I hear is that the plays run for a total of 5 hours.
I'm not sure how they could make it into a film.

If they were to make it into a movie (and want to use the movie actors) They'll need to wait another ten years for the core trio to be the correct age. That and they will need to do a lot of de-aging, also replacements for Rickman and Griffiths (and whomever else may die in the meantime).

[Gamma_Winstead]

I just finished reading it. I quite enjoyed it for the most part.

[Show spoiler]I knew quite a bit about it before reading, and I enjoyed it still. People have flipped out over the spoilers, but I think the plot was fine. Scorpius stole the show for sure. Rose was a pretty awful character in my opinion though.

My biggest nit pick was Snape being in the alternate timeline. Even if Harry died there's literally no reason Snape should be alive. Voldemort killed him to try and get the elder wand. Cedric not dying wouldn't have changed that. So with Rickmans passing I hope they change the character.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Gamma_Winstead

I just finished reading it. I quite enjoyed it for the most part.

[Show spoiler]I knew quite a bit about it before reading, and I enjoyed it still. People have flipped out over the spoilers, but I think the plot was fine. Scorpius stole the show for sure. Rose was a pretty awful character in my opinion though.

My biggest nit pick was Snape being in the alternate timeline. Even if Harry died there's literally no reason Snape should be alive. Voldemort killed him to try and get the elder wand. Cedric not dying wouldn't have changed that. So with Rickmans passing I hope they change the character.

[Show spoiler]Snape can easily be changed to Hagrid or another Dumbledore sympathizer

with no effect on the plot.

On another note, found a nice little piece on how

[Show spoiler]time travel

works in this series, which helps explain (or excuse) some of the more head-scratching moments in Cursed Child.

EDIT: here's the actual link -- http://www.vulture.com/2016/08/wait-...ry-potter.html

[Gamma_Winstead]

Speaking of

[Show spoiler]where the heck WAS Hagrid? Is he dead? Did he leave Hogwarts?

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Gamma_Winstead

Speaking of

[Show spoiler]where the heck WAS Hagrid? Is he dead? Did he leave Hogwarts?

No idea,

[Show spoiler]I hope he's not dead. My guess would be he's simply not there for practical reasons, i.e. finding a huge person to play him on stage or there simply not being a need for him in the story. They could've at least mentioned him, though.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

No idea,

[Show spoiler]I hope he's not dead. My guess would be he's simply not there for practical reasons, i.e. finding a huge person to play him on stage or there simply not being a need for him in the story. They could've at least mentioned him, though.

[Show spoiler]Hagrid is still in the play though. He's in the past sequences. They have him find baby Harry. And he's in the dream sequence where he tells Harry he's a wizard. But no modern times mention of him. It's really disappointing.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Gamma_Winstead

[Show spoiler]Hagrid is still in the play though. He's in the past sequences. They have him find baby Harry. And he's in the dream sequence where he tells Harry he's a wizard. But no modern times mention of him. It's really disappointing.

Ah yeah, forgot about

[Show spoiler]that bit in the dream. Who knows, then. It's disappointing, wish they'd have at least mentioned him, but in all honesty it didn't dampen my enjoyment of the story at all.

EDIT: Another question I had --

[Show spoiler]since this is supposedly a "rehearsal edition script," does that mean there are scenes in here which won't make it into the actual production? There are some scenes that would probably be easy to cut out without affecting anything, like Harry and Malfoy's battle in the kitchen, among others.

[dgoswald]

I read this over the weekend.

I couldn't shake the feeling that I was reading fan fiction. Clearly, without Rowling's prose it's going to come across as slightly half-baked, but it just felt very pedestrian; really obvious.

[Dalekbuster523Bluray]

Originally Posted by BB-8

I'm a big Potter fan. Love the films and the books, but...

I have zero interest in reading a script for a play. I'll wait for either the actual novel or a film adaptation.

I doubt there will be a novel. This will probably always be the closest to a prose version.