:::: 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...
It was July 30th 2016. The official premiere of the play was kicking off in London. And for the first time in nearly a decade, we were having a midnight release party for a J.K. Rowling book. We had made it. No more waiting. The dense fog of Harry Potter hype rolled steadily across the earth, healing the magic-deprived with euphoria.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Lines formed, costumes were donned, and we connected with old and new fans alike while the countdown to midnight began at our local bookstore. Some of them hosted games and giveaways, impromptu performances, sorting ceremonies, and mock duels. Personally, I wanted to dress up like an obliviated Gilderoy Lockhart, but I chickened out.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I heard some rumblings in the crowd that it was confirmed there would be no novelization of the play script and that the publishers released a statement that JKR wasn't planning to do a book signing, but I honestly couldn't care less about any of that. I got my reserved time and waited for my copy with the rest of the Potterheads.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Here's where I went: the Barnes and Noble in Los Angeles. It's at a place called The Grove, which is this famous farmer's market that has now grown into an outdoor entertainment complex with a huge musical fountain that could have easily been the Fountain of Magical Brethren from the Atrium of the Ministry. The Grove was feeling especially magical that warm night, with the double decker trolley coasting noiselessly over the cobblestones like the Night Bus on Polyjuice.
