The newly abridged, one-night version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened on Broadway on November 12, 2021. During the coronavirus lockdown, the creators of the show condensed the original two plays, which total 5 hours and 15 minutes, into a single two-act play, totaling 3 hours 30 minutes. I had the privilege of watching the Broadway performance on November 23, 2021.
To the best of my recollection, here are some of the changes I noted from the original, longer script.
Yes, it’s gayer
This version ships Albus/Scorpius, although it stops just short of saying “gay.” There’s just enough room for a (weak) argument from someone who is really invested in reading these boys as not romantically involved. But the burden of proof will be on them.
When Delphi controls Albus by torturing Scorpius, in the original script, she notes that Albus’s weakness is “friendship.” In this version, she says “love,” and she points to Scorpius as she says it.
In the final scene at Cedric’s grave, there’s a new conversation in which Albus tells Harry that Scorpius is the most important person in his life and might always be. Harry says he is glad of that and likes Scorpius. In manner and mood, the actors played it completely as a teen and parent gay-acceptance scene.
Most tellingly, this version has removed any reference to Scorpius or Albus possibly being attracted to any girl or woman. When Scorpius talks to Rose at the end, he doesn’t ask her out; he asks her to be friends. He tells Albus that Rose’s pity will be the foundation of their new “palace of harmony.” In the original script, he called it a “palace of love,” unconvincingly. Albus is not portrayed as attracted to Delphi. She refers to Scorpius as Albus’s [significant pause] “…friend.”
We don’t see Harry’s flashbacks to childhood with the Dursleys
We see Harry having a nightmare. But the new script has cut out all the depictions of Harry’s flashbacks to childhood with the Dursleys, therefore losing that explanation of why Harry has begun to feel pain in his scar again.
Ron is no longer a trickster clown
The original version had quite an emphasis on Ron’s joking nature and inappropriateness. This version tones that down a bit, with the effect of making it easier to understand why this character is a good romantic partner for the Minister for Magic.
It is our choices, not abilities
In the original script, in the last scene, Harry describes Dumbledore and Snape to Albus as “great men, with huge flaws.” In the new version, he says, “who made huge mistakes,” changing the emphasis.
Minor characters and references are omitted
There is no mention of Astoria’s blood malediction, removing that connection between Cursed Child and Nagini’s storyline in Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald. No mention of Ottaline Gambol, Euphemia Rowle, Draco’s Quidditch ambitions, Snape coming to believe in the cause of his own volition. Hagrid and Harry’s daughter Lily are omitted. The Hogwarts classmates of Scorpius and Albus are downplayed.
Many highlights remain
Popular elements that remain in the script: Moaning Myrtle, the Scottish train station attendant, the boys meeting the real Cedric Diggory, Flipendo, the farmers’ market, “Mr. Dragon,” and everyone’s favorite: the epic staircase ballet of gay pining.
Overall, it was an effective adaptation. It was exciting to see this show as a living story, with the creators responding to and incorporating five years of success and feedback. It was a bold and exciting experiment to mount this as a two-play spectacle with unprecedented expense and special effects, but it feels appropriate, in pandemic times, to make the play more accessible with a shorter runtime and lower ticket prices.
Note: After I bought the ticket to this show, I made donations totalling the same amount, divided between Trans Lifeline and a Black trans neighbor’s medical recovery fund.