When "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" premiered on London's West End in 2016, being the first "Harry Potter" story presented onstage was not its only mark of distinction. Nor were the nine Olivier Awards it won, or the six Tonys that came after its transfer to Broadway.
The play was also a rarity, especially for a theatrical offering pitched specifically to families, because it was performed in two parts, requiring two tickets, with a total running time of more than five hours. Audiences could watch it all in one day — with an hourslong dinner break between shows — or split the story up over consecutive nights. In other words, a major commitment of money and time for parents who brought their kids.
"The production is undeniably long," wrote L.A. Times critic Charles McNulty in 2016, "and there were moments when I wondered if its tremendous scale wasn't more of a marketing strategy intent on manufacturing a theatrical event than a narrative necessity."
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