With four showings of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the St. Clair Theater kept the magic alive and put audiences under their spell with a series of well-rounded performances from its cast and crew. It was a production that took months of preparation to get ready for the stage as rehearsals started shortly after school began in September, but all that hard work and dedication seemed to pay off in a big way for both the thespians and the eager audience.
While watching the final performance of Cursed Child on Saturday, November 23, the St. Clair theater looked up to the challenge for a play that featured scene and set changes frequently throughout the production and the recent sound and light upgrades were put to the test as a soundtrack from the Broadway production invoked a sense of nostalgia as the classic Hogwarts music filled the stage. Several lighting effects and rigs were used throughout the production to symbolize time passing (or time travel), create the classic atmosphere of Hogwarts with floating chandeliers, even some short bursts of flame after casting a certain incendiary spell received some oohs and awes from the audience. It was impressive to see the St. Clair theater implements the technical aspects of the performance with hardly any hiccups.
The performance of Cursed Child highlighted some stunning performances by both seasoned veterans of the Theater program and seniors with very little experience in theater. In just his second production with St. Clair Theater Lincoln Froehlich starred as the lead role of Albus Severus Potter, son of Harry Potter. Despite the lack of stage experience, he did well throughout the production depicting a character struggling to live up to his father’s legacy. It isn’t easy to follow in the shadow of the Boy Who Lived and the tension between Albus and his father Harry, played by Henry Topp, was palpable as the two were at odds for much of the play. One scene near the end of Act I highlighted this father-son conflict after Harry bestowed his childhood blanket to Albus, only for the boy to refuse the gift, and the ensuing argument ended with both characters distancing themselves from each other.
Another standout performance was by Vincent Bowes who played Scorpius Malfoy, son of Draco. A similar character to Albus, Scorpius also struggles with living under his father’s particular dark past, but the two sons hit it off on their first day at Hogwarts and soon become close friends. Several scenes throughout Act I featured the day-to-day curriculum at Hogwarts as the students attempted to make love potions, tried to call their brooms to their hand, and even a brief magic show with two women magically appearing out of a wooden box. One of the highlights of Act I was a sudden dance number that had students and professors of Hogwarts performing a dance with their wands; it seemed a bit out of place at first, but the number illustrated the differing levels of control the first year students had over their wands. The professors and older students moved with their wands while Albus and Scorpius appeared to be dragged by their wands.
Shortly after the dance number, the true conflict of the play reared its head when Harry Potter was confronted by Amo Diggory, played by Sam Johnson. Diggory was accompanied by his niece Delphi Diggory, played by Olivia McGowan, and addressed his frustrations regarding his son Cedric’s tragic death at the hands of Voldemort during the Tri-Wizard Tournament over 20 years prior. Potter understood Diggory’s fury over the incident, but it made little difference to the grieving father as he begged him to use a Time Turner to travel back in time to save his son; however, Potter was adamant that all of the Time Turners had “been destroyed.” Albus and Delphi sat closeby during the conversation between the two men, and the two kids seemed determined to set things right any way they could.
After informing Scorpius of the situation, the trio ventured to the Ministry of Magic to follow up on a rumor that a Time Turner existed and was hidden away in Hermione Granger’s office. Some hilarity ensued as the three drank the body-morphing Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Granger; Scorpius would assume the identity of Potter, Albus turned into Weasley, and Delphi became Granger. While trying to enter Granger’s office, the real Hermione Granger, played by Maria Miller, appeared and “Weasley” who was played by Ben Terry attempted to…woo his “wife.” Terry and Miller were a dynamic duo in the scene as the initial surprise of seeing the real Granger caused Weasley to let out a shriek; Terry showed some comedic talent as he used every trick in his repertoire…including some brief hip gyration and a kissy face…only to be shut down by an annoyed Miller. Once the coast was clear, the trio were able to enter Granger’s office and after examining the bookcase, Miller (Delphi) let out a bloodcurdling scream as she was yanked off-stage with Terry (Albus) and Topp (Scorpius) would get pulled into the bookcase as well. Despite the Polyjuice potion wearing off, the three accomplished their goal and located the Time Turner…and ventured into the past to try and save Cedric Diggory from perishing during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Oh, but the boys soon learned that time travel…comes with a price.
Scorpius and Albus travel back in time to prevent Diggory’s death during the tournament and their first attempt was to disarm him with the Expelliarmus spell while he battled a fire-breathing dragon. Maybe not the best time to disarm someone, but the act preserved the young Diggory’s life…but at a cost. Upon returning to the present, the two boys realize their meddling affected the relationship between Weasley and Granger which caused their child Rose Granger-Weasley to never be born. Understanding their mistake, Albus and Scorpius travel back in time to embarrass Diggory during the tournament’s second task and with some help from a surprising cameo by Moaning Myrtle, played by Julianna Rasmussen, the two successfully alter the events of the past once again…this time, for much much worse.
Scorpius returns to Hogwarts, but things are not as they seem as the vile Dolores Umbridge, played by Zoe Johnson, appears as the HeadMistress of Hogwarts which has now been taken over by the Dark Lord Voldemort himself. In this timeline, Diggory’s embarrassment led him to become a Death Eater and kills Neville Longbottom during the Battle of Hogwarts. Without Longbottom, Potter was unable to defeat Voldemort and would perish in the battle…which led to Voldemort seizing complete control of the wizarding world. It seemed bleak for Scorpius as he was all alone with Albus, and Bowes did well to showcase his regret and sadness over losing his best friend and dooming his reality to serving the Dark Lord. However, an ally was soon to be found in Severus Snape, played by Kasen Kliner, and he was convinced to help make things right and save Harry Potter.
With some familiar allies banding together, Scorpius is able to return to his timeline and bring Albus back… only for them to receive a proper tongue-lashing by HeadMistress McGonagall, played by Grace Freitag. At first, she admired the bravery of the two boys, but quickly shifted to frustration as “stupidity does not make up for bravery” as she pulled the two away by their ears. Despite their struggles with time travel, Scorpius and Albus still seem determined to save Cedric Diggory from his death, but a sudden twist occurs when Delphi reveals herself to be the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange and captures the two wizards. McGowan seemed to revel in her villainy as she used the Cruciatus curse on Scorpius before taking the Time Turner for her own selfish needs. Things looked grim for the two heroes until the boy’s fathers appeared and the group worked together to learn about Diggory’s plan which consisted of going back in time to stop Voldemort from trying to kill Harry Potter as an infant. Unable to determine when Diggory would arrive, Harry disguises himself as Lord Voldemort himself in an attempt to dissuade the witch from executing her plan, but before she can retaliate against them, the wizards overpower the villain and thwart her scheme. Sadly, the group could not stop the real Voldemort’s attack on the Potter family and history played out as it was destined to happen. As the play wound to a close, the once distant father and son took a walk together and observed Cedric’s tombstone at a nearby cemetery. Harry shared some of his fears with Albus, and the two made a promise to work toward being better toward each other.
Soon after the curtain call, the cast performed the wand dance once more and were met with a showering of applause by the audience. Director Michael Gottberg thanked all for attending and offered his complete gratitude toward the students for “exceeding my expectations for each and every production we do” and “being the future of this program.” He thanked his Co-Directors Aaron Stuve and Emma Winkelman for “keeping me grounded” during rehearsals. Additionally, Gottberg noted that many of the set pieces and designs for the production were created by Froehlich, Freitag, and Ana Ordaz; he also awarded Miller, Rasmussen, McGowan, and Adeline Lotton the “Most Valuable Thespian” award for doing “more than just being on stage and acting…they were so vital to maintaining morale and keeping people motivated.”
With the show over, I spoke with three actors who caught my eye…the first being Lotton. It was her first ever show with the St. Clair Theater and while her role as Trolley Witch was over during the production’s first few scenes, she welcomed the experience, “It’s my senior year, and I wanted to try out new things. My friends are in theater and the community with the theater program was incredibly welcoming.” Despite it being his second show with St.Clair theater, Froehlich was confident heading into rehearsals as the lead character as he was already familiar with the work, “I have been obsessed with Harry Potter since I was little and I had already read Cursed Child when it was published…I think that helped me land the lead role and everyone was really nice during rehearsals.” I enjoy a good villain and McGowan certainly captivated audiences with her sudden heel turn…something the theater veteran enjoyed herself, “I really liked being a villain for the first time, and deep down, I was ready to become a dark wizard.”
Stuve also shared his thoughts about the production, “The kids did really great and there was a lot of growth with our production in the last week of rehearsals…there were a lot of transitions and a lot of moving pieces throughout the play, and these kids were a well-oiled machine. I couldn’t be more proud of the upperclassmen knowing what to do and these younger students absorbed as much as they could.”
