The Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tour is fascinating

There is magic in the air in Chicago and on the Nederlander Theater stage. The national tour of the new blockbuster play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is spectacular entertainment that will captivate you from the first moment and won’t let you go until you get back on your feet at the end.

It’s far too common on Broadway to adapt films into plays, giving us exactly what we loved about those films and little else. Often these shows add music or new jokes that are nowhere near good enough to match the source material. They assume that we’ll be happy to see a live re-enactment of what we already enjoyed in the film. If you saw this Back to the future Musical lately, you know exactly what I mean.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child avoids this trap very successfully. It shows us all the characters we know and love, as portrayed by JK Rowling for her hugely successful book series about the young Harry Potter, the friends he makes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and what it was like for him as a young wizard falls on his shoulders, created to save the world from the evil power of Lord Valdemort. But this play also offers us an entirely new story, set nineteen years after the end of Harry’s final adventure, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In it we meet the teenage children of the original cast, who bring entirely new and different problems and personalities to Hogwarts that are equally captivating.

Due to the scope of JK Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany’s story, this was originally a two-night event. To make this show all one evening, playwright Jack Thorne pulled off a magic trick of his own: He condensed the action in a way that never leaves us feeling cheated or feeling like anything was missing.

In this sequel, Harry (John Skelley) is now married and grown up with a wife, Ginny (Trish Lindstrom), and three children. One of their teenage children, Albus (Emmet Smith), is about to attend a wizarding school at Hogwarts like his father. But he bristles at the comparisons to his famous father and resents having to live up to Harry’s prestigious reputation. Because the story focuses on tensions between father and son, rebellion and acceptance…themes that everyone can relate to in their own family…it almost doesn’t matter whether you know any of the Harry Potter stories or not. You will be engrossed in young Albus’ struggle to find himself and older Harry’s struggle to be the father he never had.

Broadway In Chicago’s North American tour of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” with Aidan Close and Emmet Smith/Photo: Matthew Murphy

A big surprise is that Scorpius Malfoy (Aidan Close), the child of Harry’s old antagonist Draco Malfoy (Benjamin Thys), is as soft and cuddly as a puppy, but is he Draco’s son or is he actually the secret son? the evil Lord Valdemort? When Scorpius and Albus form an unexpected friendship, will things end well? These questions and everything else will keep you on your toes.

Harry’s old friends are here too. Smart Hermione Grainger (Ebony Blake) has married nerd Ron Beasely (Matt Mueller) and they now have a spirited daughter of their own, Rose (Naiya Vaness McCalla). The ghost of former Headmaster Dumbledore (Larry Yando) returns to Harry as a magical, talking painting. But the school is still run by its dedicated headmistress, Professor McConagall (Katherine Leask).

North American tour of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” on Broadway in Chicago/Photo: Matthew Murphy

Albus and Scorpius visit Amos Diggory (also Larry Yando), whose son Cedric died with Harry during the Tri-Wizard Games, leaving Harry alive. Together with Amos’ devoted niece Delphi Diggory (Julia Nightingale), they devise a plan to save Cedric by turning back time using a special device called the Time Turner, which they must steal from the Ministry of Magic.

Albus thinks he’s doing a good thing, but as anyone who’s seen a time travel movie knows, tinkering with the past to change one thing usually ends up changing something else that you won’t in the future want to change. When this happens, the two boys will have to find a way to undo what they’ve done or lose everything and everyone they loved in their world.

I don’t want to go into more detail about the story because I don’t want to spoil the fun. But if you’re a big Potter fan, you’ll enjoy the unexpected twists on your knowledge.

Touring productions often offer scaled-down versions of larger productions that would have been better seen on Broadway. This production delivers the full power of Potter magic in all its exquisite stagecraft. From the moment the students arriving at Hogwarts turn around and their street clothes magically transform into the flowing robes of Hogwarts, you know you’re in for a magical ride. Magic designer Jamie Harrison uses his magic to bring us talking books, flame-throwing wands, a magic fountain, the cloak of invisibility, floating furniture, translucent evil spirits called dementors, and an amazing effect that causes the air to distort and vibrate shines your eyes.

Without the compelling performances of each member of this outstanding acting ensemble, all the magic would be meaningless. John Skelly is a warm and charismatic adult Harry who struggles to find the right parental balance between love and authority. He plays beautifully with Emmett Smith as his son Albus, who is just stubborn enough to be rebellious but lovable enough to keep us on his side. Aidan Close gives a delightful performance as Scorpius, filled with so much heart and humor that we want to hug him as much as we want to hug Harry. Rose gets short shrift here, but Naiya Vanessa McCalla is a lively personality. Benjamin Thys, as Draco Malfoy, remains a worthy foil for Harry as they argue about parenting, but he wins us over with his love for his own son. Ebony Blake as Hermione and Matt Mueller as Ron are a great couple and occasionally provide comic relief. There’s also a delicious cameo from Moaning Myrtle, passionately brought to life by Mackenzie Lesser-Roy. We don’t see him for long, but Nathan Hosner is a very scary Voldemort.

Larry Yando, Broadway In Chicago’s North American tour of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”/Photo: Matthew Murphy

The Hogwarts teachers have been given unforgettable performances in the films by some of England’s greatest character actors, and this group does a wonderful job of evoking their memories. Katherine Leask as Professor McGonagall will bring you to tears as you hear her Scottish-tinged and emotionally powerful resemblance to the recently deceased Maggie Smith. Chicago’s Larry Yando, the brilliant character actor who was Scrooge at the Goodman Theater for many years, returns here in three roles. He’s not just Amos Diggory, but also the old Dumbledore (originally played by Richard Harris and then Michael Gambon) and the icy Severus Snape, with a nod to the late Alan Rickman’s dry manner. I wonder if Mr. Yando was hired for all three roles because the producers wanted to save money on old actors, or because he is so good in each of these roles that it was impossible to choose just one for him.

The evening goes wonderfully under the direction of John Tiffany. There is no dancing per se in this show, but movement director Steven Hoggett’s finely choreographed jumping and robes swinging help keep the show visually flowing. The rest of the technology fits seamlessly into the magic. The set design by Christine Jones is a beautiful combination of architectural elements reminiscent of Hogwarts, including two moving staircases that dance across the stage, with more abstract elements. In particular, there’s a stage full of suitcases that are cleverly fashioned into various things, from a Hogwarts train to gravestones in the cemetery. The subtle use of black art to camouflage cloaked actors, allowing much of the magic to happen unseen, is supported by Neil Austin’s delicate and atmospheric lighting design. The stirring music by composer and arranger Imogen Heap and the sound design by Gareth Fry are also excellent. Katrina Lindsay’s fine costumes and Carole Hancock’s superb wig and makeup work (including creepy prosthetics for the noseless Lord Valdemort) help bring the characters vividly to life.

I often repeat my mantra that the best reason to see theater in Chicago is to experience how much our showcase theaters can do with limited resources. However, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a visually and emotionally rich production where every penny is well spent and clearly visible on stage. It offers all the visceral pleasures of an amusement park ride combined with the emotional pleasures of a heartwarming story and great acting. This is Broadway theater magic at its finest. So be sure to experience the magic for yourself in the city this production is currently visiting.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Continues at the James M. Nederlander Theater, 20 East Randolph Street in Chicago, now through February 1, 2025. For ticket information, visit www.broadwayinchicago.com