“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” Takes Over Times Square

by , · September 6, 2019

The show wasn’t over for the Broadway cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child after they took their bows on Thursday night. Dolores Umbridge herself told the audience to join the cast in proceeding from the Lyric Theatre to Times Square for a special announcement introduced by none other than Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and the City fame. Parker is no stranger to wand-waving, having starred as a witch in Halloween classic Hocus Pocus. Once she brandished her wand, yellow flooded the screens all around the square as a Time-Turner counted down to the largest Times Square takeover in history.

Curious passersby stopped in their tracks, unaware of what was going on but realizing that something magical was about to take place. Harry Potter himself appeared on-screen, and a bolt of lightning shot from his wand and struck all the screens. Black overtook yellow, and the Voldemort Day image of a snake and skull appeared, accompanied by Dementors. Along with the new tagline, “Sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places,” the video revealed the new branding of the play, “J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” in that familiar font from the films and Mary GrandPré’s book covers.

Producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender emphasized the significance of strengthening the connection between the play and the wider wizarding world:

We are very proud that J.K. Rowling chose to tell her eighth story on stage. Just as she created a generation of lifelong readers with the Harry Potter book series, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is now doing the same for theatre, with over half of our audiences worldwide being first time theatre-goers of all ages.

Although not connected to the wizarding world in any official capacity, Sarah Jessica Parker expressed her passion for the series that brought her to this event:

Harry Potter has such a special place in my heart, and seeing the characters from the stories come to life on stage was true magic for me. From the astounding stagecraft to the magic and illusions, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child brings true storytelling to life that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Being part of the whole experience tonight was one that I’ll never forget.

 

Source: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images

 

Cast members of Cursed Child attended the event to celebrate this monumental occasion, including James Snyder (Harry Potter), Bubba Weiler (Scorpius Malfoy), Nicholas Podany (Albus Potter), and Nadia Brown (Rose Granger-Weasley). Snyder appeared emotional, yet having the time of his life, running around recording fan reactions despite finishing up the two-and-a-half-hour performance just 45 minutes before.

MuggleNet had the opportunity to speak with Snyder last night and asked about the best and most difficult parts of playing the title character:

His heart. I cry about it every time I think about it because he just wants the world to be a better place. The hardest part is that he’s suffered a lot of trauma, and sometimes digging into that is tough, especially with him now as a grown-up.

We also chatted with Podany and Weiler, who shared their excitement for the show’s continued expansion across the globe and also discussed portraying the iconic best friend duo onstage eight times a week, especially as they’ve become best friends themselves.

Check out our coverage from last night’s event below.

 

 

 

Full Transcript with James Snyder, Thursday, September 5, 2019

Transcribed by Marissa Osman

Laurie Beckoff: Why don't you tell our readers a little bit about who you are and what you do in the show?

James Snyder: I'm James Snyder, I play Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I and II here on Broadway.

Laurie: A man who needs no introduction.

James: Let's hope not.

Laurie: [laughs] So why don't you tell us a little bit about what it's been like so far, being part of the process and what it might look like going forward with what we're seeing now.

James: I think what we're doing here is really letting everyone know we're here that we're here, and we're here to stay, and we're here worldwide. We're celebrating welcome back to Hogwarts day, what a phenomenon that this show is, and this is our, "Hey, world, we're coming for you," thing where we're in Melbourne, we're in London, we're here. Now San Francisco, Toronto, Hamburg, Germany. So we're celebrating Harry Potter and the story that continues within the Cursed Child.

Laurie: What is the best thing about playing Harry Potter and what's the most difficult thing?

James: The best thing about Harry Potter is his heart; I could cry about it every time I think about it because he's a guy who just wants the world to be a better place and does everything he can to do it even though he doesn't always know how. And the hardest part is he's suffered a lot of trauma. He's had a really hard childhood. Sometimes digging into that is tough because he's a grownup now who has his own kid, and he never had a dad. For me - as a father and as a person - it's sometimes hard to look at the [unintelligible] of it and not care. I'm going to cry. [laughs] I just came from a show so I'm super emotional. It just happens. It's great though. There's nothing like it. The story's just a beautiful story about fathers and sons and wacky people we love and we hate, and I think it all ends in a really beautiful way. I'm just really lucky to be able to play Harry Potter.

Laurie: So you told us what it's like onstage- You've also been really active on social media about behind the scenes. What do you want to share what it's like working behind the scenes?

James: Yeah. Well, first off this cast is unbelievable. It's mostly Hufflepuff, so - oh my gosh - it's so lovey-dovey. [laughs] I'm a Gryffindor but I get the Hufflepuffness. I appreciate it. So everyone got really close really fast. Also one of the things was if you leave they give you a pin that says #KeepTheSecrets, and I think now that we've been around and we've won some Tony's, or some Olivier's, you can be like, "Okay, we've kept the secrets." You can only keep the secrets for so long. So it was a chance with our cast to open up the doors a little bit and share the magic, if you will. It's just great to share the stage with some of the best people I've ever worked with and - like I said - a lot of Hufflepuffs, so there's a lot of heart out there.

Laurie: Yeah. That's lovely to hear. Thank you so much!

James: Thank you!

 

 

Full Transcript with Nadia Brown, Thursday, September 5, 2019

Transcribed by Marissa Osman

Nadia Brown: It's very nice to meet you guys.

Laurie Beckoff: I'm Laurie from MuggleNet.com

Nadia: Laurie! Very nice to meet you.

Laurie: So can you tell our readers a little about who you are and what you do in the show?

Nadia: Yes. My name is Nadia Brown and I play Rose Granger-Weasley. It's very exciting.

Lizzie Sudlow: Yeah you do!

Nadia: Hermione and Ron's daughter.

Laurie: What is it like to embrace a role that is basically a combination of the two most iconic characters in the entire series?

Nadia: Honestly, it's incredible because I feel like Rose is a mixture of both of them in the best way. She's ambition, she's smart like Hermione, but she's sometimes funny like Ron.

Laurie: It's kind of the combination everyone wants to be.

Nadia: Truly! It's so fun. And the people who play my parents are amazing. I love my mother, Hermione and I love my father, Ron. It's so cool. We're a real family. [laughs]

Laurie: Can you tell us a little bit about what went on here tonight and what we can expect going forward?

Nadia: Absolutely. It was the best event I've ever seen in my life. We took over every single screen in Times Square and just played a certain little something about J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It was so fun. It was so cool. I loved it.

Laurie: So clearly you have some Hufflepuff pride. Not the same as your character in the show.

Nadia: Yes ma'am! I know I play a Gryffindor, but I'm a true Hufflepuff down to the core and I'm dressed head-to-toe in Hufflepuff gear.

Lizzie: Who's your favorite Puff?

Nadia: Cedric. I love Cedric.

Lizzie: That's a good one.

Laurie: So anything you can tell us about excitement for the show going forward? Now that we've seen some new branding coming out, some changes in the way things are being portrayed...

Nadia: Yes, I can. I think we should be expecting some new Playbills, which is cool when you come see the show. Just a ton of excitement. Relived excitement. I'm super excited.

Laurie: So if I come to the show again I'm getting a different Playbill!

Nadia: Fully. Come back! Please.

Laurie: What's the most exciting thing about performing this show every night? Live theater, it's never quite the same, what's dynamic about it for you?

Nadia: Everything. I think the best thing about doing theater is that it's new every night. Because there's a new audience that comes in, we feel different every single night when we do the show, it feels alive every time we step onstage. It's so cool. I'm so happy. [laughs]

Laurie: I saw you dancing a little bit earlier; you were getting really into the music. Can you tell us a little bit about the dance in the show? There's the choreography, some wand magic, part of what makes the show so distinctive onstage as opposed to the page or the screen.

Nadia: Totally, yeah. There's a ton of dance and it's super physical. All of our acting is really physical. We have a physical language about the show. And we do a ton of dancing with wands and whatnot, and swishing of cloaks! We do a ton of that and I love it. Truly it's my favorite part about being onstage. It brings the magic to life.

Laurie: Thank you so much.

Nadia: Yeah, of course!

Laurie: Congrats on the show.

Nadia: Thank you!

 

 

 

Full Transcript with Nicholas Podany and Bubba Weiler, Thursday, September 5, 2019

Transcribed by Marissa Osman

Laurie Beckoff: Tell our viewers who you are and what you do in the show?

Bubba Weiler: Yeah. I like to do it this way. This is Nicholas Podany and he plays Albus.

Nicholas Podany: And this is Bubba Weiler and he plays Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. I love your middle name; it's so cool.

Bubba: Thank you.

Laurie: You guys clearly have some pretty great chemistry. Why don't you tell us something about the chemistry onstage, what it's like to portray these characters and their friendships.

Nicholas: It sucks.

[Everyone laughs]

Nicholas: No.

Bubba: It's kind of the best. We're very good friends in real life which really helps because we do this play a lot of times so it helps that Nick and I are friends, and we're up there playing with each other every day.

Nicholas: Yeah. We're also in all elements together. We're underwater together, we are in the air together, we are going underground together, we are around fire together... I know, the four elements! It's super cool. You come close no matter what under those circumstances but it was just really nice that first day of rehearsal it was just like oh, [snaps] we're cool, we're going to be fine. That was really nice.

Laurie: So what's relatable about this friendship that other people might see in their own friendships, and what's distinctive?

Nicholas: I think the lovely thing about Albus and Scorpius is that they poke fun at each other - no, actually, you watch during the show the friendship get tested, and I think in any friendship it's not only defined by how you get along but mostly how you cope with those spikes that are going to happen. And we go through a pretty serious one and it's so compelling to watch and also so amazing to act with Bubba throughout all these. And I think that - the tension in the friendship and the beauty of the resolved... not that maybe it happens, I don't know.

Bubba: They just take care of each other in such huge, significant ways. It's really amazing to see in a story.

Laurie: Tell us a little about what's going on tonight around us, and how this might impact the show going forward.

Nicholas: Yeah. It's a celebration of the fact that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child started off in London, and now it's this huge thing that we're all a part of. I mean, cast, crew, audience members, the fan, the world!

Bubba: The world! It's in three cities right now, by next year it'll be in six.

Nicholas: I'm pretty sure we're getting to the place where we're going to be performing at all times, across all time zones. We're almost there.

Bubba: During the day, yeah. [laughs]

Nicholas: So that's just insane. I think this is about celebrating that and letting people know that this is the next story, and it's onstage, and if you want to see magic really happen it's at the Lyric Theater. And all over the place.

Bubba: And it's in Melbourne! And San Francisco.

Bubba and Nicholas: And Toronto, and Hamburg, and London! [laughs]

Nicholas: There we go. People are still applauding. I love it, I love it.

Laurie: Thank you so much.