The Magical, Fantastical Epic Production From J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” Soars into the National Theatre DC and You Don’t Want to Miss This!
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
National Theatre DC
Jordan Wright
July 18, 2025
Special to The Zebra
Cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (North American Tour) at the National Theatre DC. (Photo/Matthew Murphy)
For all you Potter fans out there, and there are legions of you who have read all the novels, (some of you have pored over them multiple times in search of clues) this masterful, come-to-life production is for you. Do not miss it. I say this up front because once the word gets out, you’ll be mightily crushed if fellow Potterheads tell you how amazing it is, and you neglected to hop on board and hit that “order tickets now” button. So, brush up on your British accents and go!
The good news is the production is not a matinee plus an add-on return for the evening show as it was in its two-part Broadway incarnation. It has been condensed into two and half hours, which makes it fly by along with the dialogue that’s at racehorse pace and so are the set changes, but you’ll easily follow it if you’ve boned up on the plot in advance.
John Skelley (Harry Potter) and Emmet Smith (Albus Potter). (Photo/Matthew Murphy)
John Skelly plays the lead. He’s Harry Potter all grown up and the father of young, Albus Severus Potter (Emmet Smith), who is off to Hogwarts to make his mark into Slytherin and create new friendships which, as you may have experienced, is tricky at best in any new school. Soon he meets and bro-befriends Scorpious Malfoy (Aidan Close), who may or may not be the son of Voldemort, the Dark Lord. Although their parents strive to keep them apart, this oddest of friendships becomes their strongest connection as arm-in-arm the boys fight the dark forces. Through thick and thin, the boys stick together through countless dangerously fraught adventures as they try desperately to solve the riddle.
Julia Nightingale (Delphi Diggory), Aidan Close (Scorpius Malfoy), and Emmet Smith (Albus Potter). (Photo/Matthew Murphy)
All the notable characters are here in this massive cast as the years toggle back and forth – Severus Snape, Hagrid, Dumbledore, Lord Voldemort, Hermione Granger, Rose Granger-Weasley, Ron Weasley, Ginny Potter, Draco Malfoy, James Potter Sr., Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, Amos Diggory, Delphi Diggory, Cedric Diggory, Polly Chapman, Madam Hooch and more.
Battles have the characters airborne, capes swirling, chairs flying and wands clashing. The wizardry is spectacularly unimaginable. Every pyrotechnic trick is employed, plus aerial components, a revolving stage, magical fireplaces, bookcases that talk, a spinning sink for Moaning Myrtle, flying suitcases, Dumbledore morphing into a talking portrait, countless illusions, rotating stairways, a disembodied narrator and terrifyingly ghostlike spirits that float from on high. Whenever there is a time warp (bear in mind the twenty-year gap), the backdrop shimmers and there is a powerful bass drone that literally rattles your seat.
Matt Mueller (Ron Weasley), Ebony Blake (Hermione Granger), and the Company of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. (Photo/Matthew Murphy)
Christine Jones’ design of the Wizarding World is miraculously clever as we are led through a myriad of intriguing settings – Hogwarts’ library, a cavernous Romanesque structure with flying buttresses and massive arches, to include a hazy underwater scene as Harry and Scorpious dive into a lake and swim to the bottom, and that’s just in the first act!
All will be revealed in this monumental interpretation of J. K. Rowling’s classic novel which Rowling notably said would “explore the previously untold story of Harry’s early years as an orphan and outcast” and which unsurprisingly won “Best Play” at the Tony Awards.
Wear your capes and bring your wands. Highly recommended!!!
Cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child North American Tour. (Photo/Matthew Murphy)
Kaleb Alexander as Sorting Hat; Julianna Austin as Polly Chapman; Aidan Close as Scorpius Malfoy; David Fine as Yann Fredericks; Simon Gagnon/Travis Patton as Teacher; Alexis Gordon as Madam Hooch; Ebony Blake as Hermione Granger; Caleb Hafen as Cedric Diggory, James Potter Jr., James Potter Sr.; Matt Harrington as Ron Weasley; Nathan Hosner as Voldemort; Chris Jarman as Voice of the Phonebooth/Voice of the Bookcase; Torsten Johnson as Professor Mazoni; Katherine Leask as Professor McGonagall, Professor Umbridge; Mackenzie Lesser-Roy as Moaning Myrtle, Lily Potter Sr.; Trish Lindstrom as Ginny Potter; Naiya Vanessa McCalla as Rose Granger-Weasley, Young Hermione; Julia Nightingale as Delphi Diggory; Zach Norton as Karl Jenkins, Viktor Krum; Maren Searle as Trolley Witch; Timmy Thompson as Craig Bowker; Paul Thornley as Voice of Ludo Bagman; René Thornton, Jr. as Station Master; Benjamin Thys as Draco Malfoy; and Larry Yando as Albus Dumbledore, Amos Diggory, Severus Snape.
Based on an original new story by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne & John Tiffany. Directed by John Tiffany; Movement Director, Steven Hoggett; Costume Designer, Katrina Lindsay; Composer & Arranger, Imogen Heap; Lighting Design by Neil Austin; Sound Design by Gareth Fry; Illusions and Magic by Jamie Harrison.
Through September 7th at Broadway at the National, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. For tickets and information call the box office at 202.628.6161 or visit www.TicketMaster.com.