By Shari Barrett
Sometimes I feel like the only person who has never read a Harry Potter book nor seen any of the series movies. So the subject matter, characters, and story history were unknown to me when I stepped inside the Hollywood Pantages Theatre to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a play by Jack Thorne based on an original story he wrote with J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany who directs the production. Thankfully my friend who attended the play with me knew about the characters and story elements, so I got a quick education on the way there and before the play began. Therefore, I had a basic idea of who were the good guys and who were not which helped a lot since Act 1 is packed with exposition and many characters who appear in short scenes and then disappear. Thankfully audience members reacted to each one, alerting me about their true nature.
Soon it was apparent the basic storyline revolved around time travelers who wind up changing history and their place in it when they go back in time, much like in Back to the Future and Outlander. And it’s apparent when time traveling was happening since the exquisite, digital set design by Christine Jones and video designed by Finn Rose and Ash J Woodward literally wobbles to denote the time shift. So even if I got confused or the story became impossible for me to follow, the extraordinary special effects, magic, flying characters, and evil floating demons made this production so much fun to watch that I didn’t really mind a bit.
The play opens with the adult Harry Potter (John Skelley) taking his teenage son Albus (Emmet Smith) to Charring Cross Station to board a train to Hogwarts where he plans to study and further develop his wizardry skills. Also at the train station is the now adult Hermione (Ebony Blake) who is seeing her daughter Rose (Naiya Vanessa McCalla) off to the same school. Once Albus arrives at Hogwarts, he meets Aidan Close as Scorpius Malfoy, who becomes his best friend and proceeds to go on many extraordinary time traveling adventures with him, along with Rose or Delphi Diggory (Julia Nightingale), while using their burgeoning wizardry skills to help them survive. Usually. But not always.
It was obvious most audience members were very familiar with every character who did their best to either disrupt or assist the young trio before departing. But the amazing thing is how they entered or left the stage, either by exiting through a door, flying away, popping out from a “lake” in the middle of the stage, or by transforming into a totally different character right before our eyes thanks to extraordinary illusions and magic designed by Jamie Harrison. Characters move in and out of a giant bookcase and shoot flames of fire at each other during spectacular aerial fighting! And I was mesmerized from start to finish.
Along with previously named actors, the cast features Matt Mueller as Ron Weasley, Trish Lindstrom as Ginny Potter, and Ben Thys as Draco Malfoy, with ensemble members Chadd Alexander, Julianna Austin, Markcus Blair, Casey Butler, Erin Chupinsky, Reese Sebastian Diaz, David Fine, Simon Gagnon, Alexis Gordon, Caleb Hafen, Lauryn Hayes, Nathan Hosner, Torsten Johnson, Katherine Leask, Markelle Leigh, Mackenzie Lesser-Roy, Evan Maltby, Zach Norton, Travis Patton, Maren Searle, Ayla Stackhouse, Jennifer Thiessen, Timmy Thompson, Rene Thornton Jr., Kristin Yancy, and Larry Yando, all of whom take on more roles and costumes than I could count! And each is dressed to character perfection by costumer Katrina Lindsay, magnificently lit by lighting designer Neil Austin scene-by-scene, with state-of-the-art video and mobile games from Portkey Games which allow players to believably experience the wizarding world scenes.
Director John Tiffany is to be commended for assembling such a strong ensemble and production team, also including sound designer Gareth Ray, composer and arranger Imogen Heap, and gravity-defining movement and stage choreography directed by Steven Hogget to music arrangements supervised by Martin Lowe.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child continues through June 22 at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles 90028 on Tuesday – Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Book tickets online at BroadwayInHollywood.com or Ticketmaster.com or In Person at the onsite box office. Run time is 2 hours and 50 minutes, including an intermission.
The show contains haze, CO2 Fog, flame and pyro effects and is recommended for ages 8 and up. Children under 5 not permitted. All persons entering the theatre, regardless of age, must have a ticket. To register for $40 tickets via The Golden Snitch Digital Lottery, download the app by visiting BroadwayInHollywood.com/App Winners are notified one day prior, with lottery winner tickets available beginning 2 hours prior to the posted curtain time at the box office with valid ID.
Winters keep getting worse in Evanston, IL where salt truck drivers Peter and Basil battle the ice and snow while passing the time with jokes and stories. But why do their conversations always turn dark, often revealing a deep depression lurking below the surface? And what’s with the creeping sense of dread about something lurking below the road that is out to destroy them? Is it because their boss Maiworm has noble visions of new green technology that would make their jobs obsolete? And why is Maiworm’s daughter too terrified to venture outside their house?
All these questions and more are part of the Southern California premiere of Evanston Salt Costs Climbing in which Pulitzer Prize finalist Will Arbery confronts humanity’s darkest fears with humor, warmth, and the fortitude of municipal public servants in this play about climate and change – and how much we really need to rely each other.
“I don’t think any play I’ve worked on in recent years has hit me on a personal level more than this one – which is a surprise,” admits the play’s director and Rouge Machine Artistic Director Guillermo Cienfuegos. “It’s so funny and absurd and unusual that a first reading doesn’t necessarily reveal how deeply the themes of the play go. Amidst the quirkiness and laughs there is an undercurrent of anxiety and existential dread that all the characters come in contact with and must ultimately face. And which I can personally relate to.” And given how upside down and terrifying our world seems at the present time, no doubt that sense of dread if all too familiar to everyone.
Featured in the cast are Hugo Armstrong as the emotionally shutdown Basil who is hiding a secret he dares not share, which distracts him to the point of not being able to finish his sentences when memories of a woman in a purple hat distract him. Lesley Fera is the warm-hearted office manager Maiworm who has secrets of her own about the future of the truck driving company and her personal life, both involving Basil. Kaia Gerber as Maiworm’s homebound and suicidal daughter Jane Jr., a role she takes on with great emotional insight. Rounding out the cast is Michael Redfield as the fearfully depressed Peter who blames himself for his wife’s death and seemingly wishes to join her, much to Basil’s alarm, especially when the unstable Peter is at the wheel. I was drawn in by their spot-on and highly emotional performances, really caring about what happens to them both on and off the road. And yes, they do have a truck to drive onstage, complete with lane markers scrolling by on the road below them.
Thankfully by the end, we are reminded that no matter how things keep falling apart, intimacy is a basic human need; to be able to share your innermost thoughts and fears with those who will always be there for you when times keep getting worse. Sort of like right now. So always reach out to those you can count on, no matter what.
Technical credits are solid, including Mark Mendelson (Scenic Design), Dan Weingarten (Lighting Design), Chris Moscatiello (Sound Design), Christine Cover Ferro (Costume Design), Jenine Mac Donald (Prop Design), Michelle Hanzelova-Bierbauer (Projection Design), Myrna Gawryn (Movement Director/Intimacy Coordinator), Victoria Hoffman (Casting), Rachel Ann Manheimer (Stage Manager), and Grant Gerrard (Technical Director).
Evanston Salt Costs Climbing by Rogue Machine at the Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles 90046 continues on Fri-Sat-Mon at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m. through March 9. Tickets are $60 on Fri/Sat for general seating; $45 Sun/Mon. Seniors: $35 Students with ID: $25. Reserve tix at https://www.roguemachinetheatre.org/ or call 855-585-5185. Run time: 95 minutes, no intermission. Note that at scheduled performances, Paige Simunovich performs as the alternate for Jane Jr.
