:::: One Part FANDOM RETROSPECTIVE, One Part ANALYSIS ::::
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play that premiered in London, 2016. It was met with praise by theatergoers and disdain, even hatred, by those who read the script. Today, there is a...
Not only did their initial concept sound nothing like the end product we have today (from all accounts, it's very much a big, non-simple, special effects-laden, spectacle-type, double-feature play), but somewhere in the mix of different voices and collaborators, and by signing on with a new writer, nearly everything about the initial concept got thrown in the rubbish bin.
*sigh*
The fans were, of course, unaware at the time. Because when JKR had been asked about collaborating on a theater production before the creative team was introduced, she praised the producers' original pitch. "Yes, that was a really interesting idea that Sonia Friedman came up with. I've been so resistant for a long time about theater productions. Quite a few people wanted to do a Harry Potter musical. I didn't really see Harry as a musical so we said no to all of that, but Sonia came along with a very thoughtful, very interesting idea. I'm quite excited about that."
Sonia confirmed this in a separate interview. "It was absolutely Colin's and my idea. We knew that many other producers had approached her and she had rejected their pitches. But that's because they were all ideas about musicals or arena spectacles. We went to her with the simple idea of a straight play."
Colin went on to say, "We went up to Edinburgh four years ago and sat in a boardroom and talked about fathers and parenting for a while. We said we felt she had created a fully dimensional world, and there were things about the characters she hadn't revealed. We didn't hear anything for a bit, then got the call to say, 'Let's go to the next stage.' She was clear from the beginning that she was not a playwright and wouldn't write it, and that she would only do it if we found a playwright she approved."
As you can see, their initial concept of a prequel that would explore Harry's life as an orphan was a long time coming. Frustratingly, their accounts were revised as the creative team was picked and someone had the bright idea of developing a new story (looking at you Jack Thorne) (looking with disdain, bordering on abhorrence). But that little detail has only been revealed in recent interviews. And we'll save some of that until the end.
In the meantime, they needed to tell the fans what was coming...and that included a bit of public relations magic.
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June 26th, 2015 marked the 18th anniversary of the franchise, and we were gifted with a reveal of the title - "HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD"! It would have its world premiere in mid-2016 at London's Palace Theatre.
Instantaneously, the minds of the fandom were wracked with speculation. Was Harry the cursed child? Must be, if this was a prequel about his time at the Dursleys! Wow, this is going to be such a sad play. I understand now. Poor young Harry, living with the lasting killing curse of Voldemort, without ever knowing the truth of where he had gotten that lightning bolt scar. Cursed to have part of that madman's soul lingering inside him. Cursed to live with the Dursleys. Cursed to be the last surviving Potter.
