:::: 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...
April of 2016 swept us back into a frenzy over the new play. It began with a few offhanded tweets about JKR dropping in on rehearsals and led to a detailed drawing of the wand designs they were using in CURSED CHILD.
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This led fans to speculate that the play would focus heavily on these five characters (which, yay, Ginny getting a wand means we're gonna see her using it). And Malfoy's was described as a 'Saber'. Interesting... More importantly, it provided a detail that fans had been curious about for months. Draco Malfoy would clearly have a higher level of involvement in the play than fans first envisioned.
Blood was pumping, anticipation was building, and so the production team decided to ratchet things up a bit on social media with some behind-the-scenes images of set design, costume design, and props.
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'Felt wizard's hat: hand-made, two weeks start to finish'- Liz Crossman, milliner #HarryPotterPlay #CursedChild
Equally interesting were the random tweets of everyday people passing by London's Palace Theater who took note of the work that was being done. Commenting on the outdoor installation, one individual asked, "Is this visible to Muggles?" HAHA!
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Fans wondered exactly what we'd be seeing when the tarps dropped. We got our answer at the end of the month when the enormous marquee was revealed. It was stunning.
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With very little to go on, to say that Potterheads were impressed with the front of house display would be an understatement. It felt that, at least in regards to the design department, this new extension of the wizarding world was in good hands. Which was a fantastic relief, with all the back and forth we had been experiencing for months. And just to settle us further, JKR took to Twitter in May to reminded her 7.5 million followers that she not only had everything under control, but to expect something particularly soulful from the play.
When asked, "Will the Cursed Child make me cry?" she responded, "If it doesn't, we'll be checking your vital signs."
And when fans started blubbering in anticipation of so many feels, asking "why are you like this" she added, "I'm a writer. If you're not feeling, I'm not doing it right."
Never was a statement so accurate...
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