The Broadway (formerly of the original West End production) cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child chatted with fans for an hour at New York Comic Con to answer questions and talk about how they got involved with such a surprising project in a first place.
In case you hadn’t guessed it already, this is one hell of a charming cast.
Curious about the cast Hogwarts House alignments? Some of them were amusingly predictable; Jamie Parker (Harry) and Poppy Miller (Ginny) were both Gryffindors, and Alex Price (Draco) and Anthony Boyle (Scorpius Malfoy) were proud Slytherins. But we had some fun outliers in the group; Noma Dumezweni (Hermione) and Paul Thornley (Ron) both said they were Ravenclaws, and Sam Clemmett (Albus Potter) was the only Hufflepuff on stage.
While the cast was still supposed to #KeeptheSecrets of the show, they did get a chance to answer a few fan questions. When asked where they wanted their characters to end up after another nineteen years, Parker and Miller wanted Harry and Ginny to retire and see the world together, to finally get a chance to have fun on their own and explore, free of being burdened by the world’s expectations. Dumezweni insisted that Hermione and Ron would be looking forward to spending time with grandchildren, and Boyle said that he simply wanted Scorpius to be safe. Clemmetts assumed that Albus would go on to have a family, finally having reached a good place with his own father and learned from him. Price cheekily insisted that Draco would end up “taking Harry’s job.”
The cast talked about the strangeness of a play experience, of having to wait each performance to feel the audience accept them in their roles. Thornley said they typically have a sort of twenty minute break-in period at the start before they can feel the audience “saying ‘Okay, we’ll go with you for bit.'” Their interactions with fandom have been largely very moving, particularly from kids, and Dumezweni said it’s been particularly gratifying to have women of color approach her and tell her how much it meant to them to see a version Hermione who they could relate to more closely.
The sweetest revelation, however, came from the fact that Parker hadn’t read the books before getting the part of Harry—but now, on his seventh read of the series, has taken to recording it aloud in twenty minute increments for his young son. (He apparently does this in the theatre’s bathroom.) He also has an incredible singing voice, which Dumezweni insisted that he demonstrate to the crowd, leading to a rendition of “My Time of Day” from Guys and Dolls that stopped the room cold.
So, you know. Harry’s got that second career figured out just fine.
