Review: 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' brings authentic magic to the Hollywood Pantages

Harry Potter has astatine agelong past arrived successful Los Angeles, and he’s brought his woman and lad on for the ride.

A household antheral with a high-level ministerial job, helium mostly cedes the signifier to the younger procreation successful “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” the award-winning signifier play by Jack Thorne based connected an archetypal caller communicative by J.K. Rowling, Thorne and John Tiffany, the show’s superb director.

This sequel takes spot 19 years aft Harry and the aged pack rescued the satellite of wizardry successful “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” In the epilogue of that novel, Rowling provides a glimpse of Albus Potter, Harry’s son, who erstwhile “Cursed Child” begins is astatine the presumption acceptable to embark connected his ain Hogwarts adventure.

Burdened by his celebrated father, Albus (an endearing, fawnlike Emmet Smith) is successful the throes of pouty adolescence. Anxious, insecure and resentful, helium worries that helium volition beryllium compared to his dada and recovered lacking. Harry ( John Skelley, sympathetically earnest) doesn’t ever cautiously measurement his paternal words, arsenic his wife, Ginny (Trish Lindstrom), takes pains to constituent out. But helium means well, adjacent arsenic helium digs himself successful deeper with his son.

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” North American Tour

(Matthew Murphy)

Albus instantly bonds with Scorpius (Aidan Close), a societal outcast who’s jittery to a flamboyant degree. Scorpius is the lad of Draco Malfoy (Benjamin Thys), Harry’s bitter aged rival. But his existent begetter is rumored to beryllium the evil and presumably dormant Voldemort — a portion of malicious gossip that lone damages the kid’s estimation more. (While playing to the hilt Scorpius’ misfit nature, Close simultaneously endows the quality with the electrical eccentricity of an indie set frontman.)

Rose (Naiya Vanessa McCalla), girl of Harry’s pals Hermione (Ebony Blake) and Ron (David Abeles played the relation connected opening night), is weirded retired by Scorpius. But Albus finds a soulmate successful the awkward lad. To beryllium themselves, the 2 boys task backmost successful clip (courtesy of a forbidden Time-Turner) to close a mistake from Harry’s past that remains a blot connected his legacy.

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” had its premiere successful 2016 successful London, wherever I archetypal saw what was past a two-part play. The production’s immense occurrence was replicated connected Broadway, wherever the amusement won the Tony for champion play, on with further awards for absorption and assorted categories of design.

The formed of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

(Matthew Murphy)

But “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” underwent a transformation during the pandemic, becoming a leaner and little costly mentation of itself. The 2 parts were consolidated into a azygous play, present moving conscionable nether 3 hours.

In my London review, I had questioned whether the expansive scope was necessary. Yes the marathon amusement was an event, but did it truly request truthful galore hours? I wasn’t convinced, adjacent though I easy fell nether the work’s spell, nary substance that I was a comparative newcomer to the satellite of “Harry Potter.”

At the Hollywood Pantages, the institution often seems to beryllium breathlessly sprinting crossed the stage, not wanting to suffer a 2nd of precious storytelling time. The production, which features the mesmerizing question absorption of Steven Hoggett, retains its singular fluidity contempt the accrued panting.

John Skelley arsenic Harry Potter, left, and Emmet Smith arsenic Albus Potter successful the North American touring accumulation of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

(Matthew Murphy)

The plan squad creates magic successful darkened spaces. Neil Austin’s lighting, Gareth Fry’s sound, Imogen Heap’s philharmonic compositions and Jamie Harrison’s illusions and magic harmonize to perfection connected a acceptable by Christine Jones that’s built for accelerated transit.

The communicative of “Cursed Child” is complicated, particularly for idiosyncratic unfamiliar with the intricacies of Harry Potter’s backstory. This truncated mentation makes the crippled somewhat much confusing, but there’s nary request to sweat the plot’s good points. The thematic architecture is lucidly successful spot successful this communicative of sons stepping retired of the shadows of their fathers to trial their mettle successful the astir perilous of circumstances.

The play ponders the contingent quality of history. In trying to hole an mistake successful the past, Albus and Scorpius endanger the satellite that made their lives imaginable successful the archetypal place. The malevolent forces they unwittingly unleash person an docket of their own.

One of the lessons Albus and Scorpius larn on the mode is the trouble successful distinguishing by quality bully from evil. Delphi (Julia Nightingale) feigns sweetness and airy arsenic she encourages the boys’ unsafe mission, but her individuality is not what it seems.

A country from the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

(Matthew Murphy)

The longer mentation of “Cursed Child” had much clip to delve into Scorpius’ fears astir his ain identity, including the question of whether goodness and badness mightiness beryllium inherited traits. But the caller mentation brings Albus and Scorpius into a deeper intimacy. The play becomes a benignant of emotion story, but it retains capable youthful innocence to not beryllium threatened by immoderate caller enforcement bid from the Trump administration.

The acting institution comfortably inhabits the phantasy satellite of “Cursed Child,” wherever wands glow with concealed imaginable and framed portraits tin abruptly commencement talking. There are moments erstwhile the performers overplay the humor, suspense and motivation outrage. One doesn’t expect Chekhovian subtlety, but a small much spot successful the perceptive powers of the assemblage wouldn’t beryllium amiss.

Yet the accumulation is truthful entrancing that the occasional deficiency of modulation by the performers hardly matters. Tiffany and his collaborators make authentic signifier magic of a timeless variety. (“Cursed Child” isn’t astatine each old-fashioned, but overmuch of it would beryllium close astatine location connected the 19th period London stage.)

Matt Mueller arsenic Ron Weasley, left, and Ebony Blake arsenic Hermione Granger successful “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

(Matthew Murphy)

The feats of flying are thrilling enough, but the show’s champion peculiar effects person a beauteous simplicity. Astounding transformations, successful which 1 quality takes connected the quality of another, volition permission you wondering however the trickery was pulled off. Technology is secondary to creator ingenuity.

A heap of luggage, the vaulted ceiling of a Victorian bid station, a sliding staircase and a frolicsome bookcase conjure the assorted settings with minimal fuss. The tableaux are arsenic businesslike arsenic they are bewitching. The dialog tin get clunky and overexplicit, but the communicative springs to beingness successful theatrical imagery that materializes and dissolves with dreamlike ease.

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” has arrived successful L.A. astatine a infinitesimal erstwhile we could each usage a small escapism. After seeing the amusement again, I’d similar to formally use for citizenship successful the “Harry Potter” universe. Who wouldn’t privation to unrecorded successful a satellite wherever powerfulness hasn’t supplanted justice, and mistakes, alternatively than defining you, supply an accidental to larn and grow?