If money is no object, or you have passed your apparating test, the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is scheduled to open in London this July.
The script, based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, and written by Rowling and Thorne, concerns the tensions within the Potter household as a middle-aged Harry struggles to balance his work life at the Ministry of Magic with his home life as a husband, and a father to three children. Meanwhile, the youngest Potter child, Albus, has his own problems as he bears the brunt of the burden of the Potter family legacy. This script, in keeping with Rowling's sprawling story-telling, is a two-part play, meant to be seen either on consecutive evenings, or a matinee followed by an evening performance.
If your credit card or your broom can't make it to London and you don't want to wait for it to arrive in the U.S., the two-parter will be published in one print book, available after the play's opening night, on Rowling's traditional publication date, July 31, which is Harry Potter's birthday.
Ironically, considering bigotry is one of the central themes in the Harry Potter series, the casting of black actress Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger caused a furor among some fans, but not for J.K. Rowling, who tweeted her response to the complaints. “Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione.”
