Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has canceled its November 19 performance at Broadway’s Lyric Theatre. The production, in a Tweet published less than an hour before the intended curtain time, said the last-minute decision was due to a principal actor being unable to perform, and that it is not a COVID-related matter.
The new version of the Tony-winning play, condensed from its original two parts, began November 12 following the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The one-part version will officially open December 7. As understudies typically do not rehearse until once a show is frozen, the production determined it would be unsafe for one to go on with such short notice, citing the “technically complex nature” of the show. Performances are expected to resume November 20.
The Broadway staging currently stars James Snyder as Harry Potter and Diane Davis as Ginny Potter alongside James Romney as their son Albus Potter; David Abeles as Ron Weasley, Jenny Jules as Hermione Granger, and Nadia Brown as their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley; and Aaron Bartz as Draco Malfoy and Brady Dalton Richards as his son Scorpius Malfoy.
Rounding out the company are Oge Agulué, Kevin Angulo, Chelsey Arce, Quinn Blades, Michela Cannon, Will Carlyon, Lauren Nicole Cipoletti, Judith Lightfoot Clarke, Ted Deasy, Kira Fath, Stephanie Gomérez, Steve Haggard, Ben Horner, Edward James Hyland, Jax Jackson, Jack Koenig, Spencer LaRue, Rachel Leslie, Sarita Amani Nash, Alexandra Peter, Dan Piering, Kevin Matthew Reyes, William Rhem, Antoinette Robinson, Stephen Spinella, Tom Stephens, Maya Thomas, and Karen Janes Woditsch.
The play, penned by Jack Thorne, director John Tiffany, and original series author J.K. Rowling, takes place 19 years after the events of Deathly Hallows as the title wizard’s youngest son begins his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
