At one point, it was a massive two-part production with a total duration of five and a half hours. Many viewers would dedicate the entire day to watch Part 1 in the afternoon and then return for Part 2 in the evening. “Harry Potter” earned six Tony Awards, including Best Play.
In March 2020, theaters nationwide closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. When Broadway and other theaters reopened in the fall of 2021, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” had been condensed into a single part, running three and a half hours.
A new version of this one-part production premiered on Broadway last November. The touring production arriving in Boston is based on that updated version, with a runtime of 2 hours and 50 minutes.
Adapted from the script by Jack Thorne and a story by J.K. Rowling, Thorne, and director John Tiffany, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is based on the final book in Rowling’s series, set 20 years after the events of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
The former boy wizard is now a father, married to Ginny Weasley, and employed at the Ministry of Magic. Their rebellious teenage son, Albus Severus Potter, attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and befriends Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Harry’s former rival, Draco Malfoy, and his wife, Astoria.
To stop the murder of Hogwarts student Cedric Diggory, Albus and Scorpius embark on a time-traveling adventure using a “Time Turner.” This journey raises concerns about the potential consequences of their actions—the “butterfly effect”—on history and on the fight against Voldemort.
Tickets for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” will go on sale at noon on February 28th, while the show continues its run at the Lyric Theatre on Broadway.
For further inquiries, Don Aucoin can be reached at donald.aucoin@globe.com and followed on Twitter @globeaucoin.
