Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is a show that combines artistry with popular appeal, a piece that brings parents and children closer together, and a work that can draw old Harry Potter fans back into their memories and send them down new narrative paths, all in service of life’s great Dumbledorian truths, that “to suffer is as human as to breathe,” but that good friends and family always help and that love is the best weapon against whatever Voldemort stalks your life."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Finally, “Cursed Child” benefits from Chicago’s Larry Yando, the veteran stage actor who is usually two blocks west this time of year rehearsing as Scrooge at the Goodman Theatre. He’s triple-cast here as the seemingly malevolent Severus Snape, the god/ghost-like Albus Dumbledore, and Cedric’s father, the bereaved, broken Amos Diggory. He transforms with actorly alchemy so effective it feels — like much of the production itself — enchanted."
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...The magic that happens during "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," the superbly staged, boffo Broadway show that launched its national tour Thursday at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, goes beyond the everyday theatrical magic that typically unfolds on suburban and Chicago stages."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...This play by Jack Thorne, based on a new story by Rowling, Thorne, and John Tiffany (the latter also directs), has had quite a journey of its own. It opened on the West End in 2016, transitioned to Broadway in 2018, and has played various theaters around the world since then. It used to be a two-night affair to make the original five-hour-plus runtime more palatable. Now it's just shy of three hours with intermission. Although that may sound intimidating to some, it may perhaps be the most invigorating playgoing of your life."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...The actors, including the talented new generation, deliver outstanding performances in this exceptionally well-written and directed play by John Tiffany. Every aspect of the production, from the costume design to the lighting and sound, illusions and magic, video effects, and hair, wig, and makeup, is executed to perfection, contributing to the overall magnificence of the show. However, the special effects elevate this play to a "Must-See" status."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...I must tell you that the direction (John Tiffany) is magnificent and the magical effects and illusions are creative and masterful. We see people flying about, disappearing into the air and floor, shooting out of the wall and furniture flying about- wow!!!"
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Just like with HAMILTON, after a long, worthwhile wait HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD has finally arrived in Chicago. It’s a glorious production, although a bit shorter than the original, but just as thrilling. The cast is impeccable, the special effects are exciting, the sound and movement are fast and furious. This is one of those theatrical experiences families will enjoy together and always remember. To see Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Snape, Dumbledore and Voldemort live on stage is such a thrill for fans of the books and movies. When the spells start flying, and you can feel the heat of the fire; and when those giant, ghostly flying Dementors start wailing and wafting above the stage, suddenly all the magic, illusions and wizardry come together in a spellbinding production that should not be missed!"
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...But this show was made to be enjoyed and appreciated by all-the hardcore fans and those of us who just enjoy a good story, good theater, and a really great production."
The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended
"...I thank Dumbledore for another chance to leave this muggle world to hobnob with magical folk. HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD is the perfect transfiguring incantation. Fans, run towards Platform 9 3/4 to board this thriller express!"
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...Sorting hats! Quidditch brooms! Wand duels! Dementors! We're in the midst of the spooky season and over at the Nederlander Theatre they are brewing up the perfect potion: the launch of the North American national tour of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. A winner of a pair of Best Play awards (an Olivier and a Tony), this new installment of the Potter saga casts the very best kind of theatrical magic."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, firmly ensconced at the Nederlander Theatre until at least Feb 1, is a thoroughly entertaining and utterly wonderful show. The heavy editing that playwright Jack Thorne had to do to take a show that played as two three-hour evenings on Broadway and cut it in half is barely noticeable even if, like me, you saw that original version. If you didn’t, you’ll likely leave the theatre not even believing that much could have been eliminated."
PicksInSix - Highly Recommended
"...Broadway in Chicago’s Nederlander Theatre is the first stop for the national tour of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” that had an epic premiere on Thursday, primed and ready for a long sit-down for the holiday season in Chicago that will no doubt fill every corner of Randolph and Dearborn with junior-level sorcerers with maroon and gold striped scarves and wands."
Chicago Culture Authority - Highly Recommended
"...The crackerjack cast, led by Emmet Smith as Albus, Aidan Close as Scorpius and John Skelley as Harry, imbues this fantastical tale with the sheen of reality and the highest of emotional stakes. Larry Yando, the longtime Scrooge of the Goodman's A Christmas Carol, plays multiple characters, most memorably a Severus Snape that builds on the late Alan Rickman's film performances with an affecting mixture of sharp humor, menace and nobility. Other standouts include Ebony Blake as a girlboss Hermione Granger and Julia Nightingale as the mysterious Delphi Diggory."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...Whether you don't know the difference between Dumbledore and Voldemort, the special effects will mesmerize you throughout the show, wondering "how'd they do that?""
BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended
"...HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD is three hours of nostalgia-fueled, utterly captivating theater...with heaps of stage magic. The Chicago engagement marks the national tour debut of the eighth installment in J.K. Rowling's HARRY POTTER series. For the tour, director John Tiffany cut down the material from the show's original two-part, five-hour theatrical epic (with story devised by Tiffany and Rowling and script written by Jack Thorne). This shortened tour version still offers ample time to deliver CURSED CHILD'S storyline, and most importantly, bring to life many of the series' iconic characters and magic spells."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...In the case of Wednesday night's opening of the national tour of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," the idea was to follow in the longtime Broadway in Chicago template of taking a blockbuster show and having it settle in for an extended run. And the brand of anything Harry Potter is such that the show has a five-month run, likely with options to extend or return."