On the Red Carpet at Opening Night of CURSED CHILD

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World. The West End's biggest hit, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, parts 1 and 2, has come to Broadway

And we're here on the opening day red carpet where we caught up with all the stars

We set out not to do the easy thing. You know, everyone wanted to make a Harry Potter musical and I kept saying no, no, no, no, no, no, no

I wanted to do something original. I wanted to, and I always felt if we were going to do another Potter story, it had to be something very different. It had to be new

and we ended up writing a play around the character who always interested me most in that epilogue

which was Albus, this poor boy who had to go off to wizarding school

carrying three legendary names, what a burden so I'm proud that we did it and I think we did Albus justice

so I'm really happy It was always going to be nerve-wracking because it's Potter

I don't mean this in a bad way but the stakes are kind of high

you're always aware that you might be accused of having trying to wring the very last bit of juice out of it

and I'd said no to everyone for a decade actually. I'd said I didn't want to adapt it for the stage

mainly because everyone kept asking me to do musicals. But then Sonia Friedman came to me with a proposal

I found very intriguing, to do an original piece of theatre, straight theatre, dramatic theatre

and make a new story and I was really intrigued. And working with John Tiffany and Jack Thorne

has been one of the gifts of my professional life. I loved the process from start to finish

So I can honestly say that even if we flop, which I obviously hope we don't, it will have been one of the most joyful experiences I've ever had

I love the robe. Look at this. Yeah, I've had this for a while because I love it

What a great day to wear it. Well, you know, I really had to struggle to decide to put it on

And then I thought, do I care what people think? Hell no. So here I am in my Harry Potter robe and my glasses and excited to see this

Really excited to see it. I was here yesterday. You're going to have the best day in this theater

I'm telling you, just an entire day in the theater is just, you know, you have to sort of prepare yourself

Some kind of prepare. When did you first fall in love with the books

My God, probably almost 20 years ago. Yeah. Do you remember the first day you got that first book and cracked the cover of it and began this journey

I was in London. I bought the book because it looked interesting. I loved the cover. And they said, oh, yeah, this just came in. And I was like, oh, this is great

And then, you know, we said, well, let's see if it's available. No

This is how it's done. I'm so impressed. Where did you get this

I've had this for a couple of years. And when they put..

One of my things from a college. You could have worn one of your Norma robes today, too, with some buttons, right

It's true. I know. How exciting is this for you to catch up

I mean, there's nothing like a Broadway opening. It doesn't happen anymore. We have been rolling for the last week or so together

I saw Whoopi's show in Indianapolis and then came back on the bus with her

It was un-picking my dog. And the dogs. It was great. That would be a show to watch, right

Well, it was a very good, very sedate, but real fun. Yeah, it was really fun

I was so impressed. Oh, my God, it takes such courage. We were just talking about the books

When she first fell in love with them in London, when did you first fall in love with Harry Potter and the books When my daughter started reading them because she wasn a reader and Harry Potter made her a reader I never seen her read so fast It is the thing that you know J Rowling this is the gift she gave to every parent whose kid doesn want to pick up a book

She created this series, and kids, all colors, all genders, fell in love

And nothing better than that. So, thanks, J.K. Not only to read, but to use their imagination

Yes, yes. Away from a screen. Yes. So probably when I was seven years old, I first got obsessed with Harry Potter

Listened to the audiobooks a million times, read the books a million times, saw all the films

have loved every single piece of content, am blessed to be involved in the world of Fantastic Beasts

and I'm just thrilled beyond possible measure or description to see this show today

I was here yesterday. All seven hours of it. I couldn't be more excited. You must be a Harry Potter fan

Uh, the real world of fan is fanatic, so that's kind of me

I mean, my wife wouldn't let me bring my wands, but I got to bring my pin wand, so I brought that

I've got my earrings on. I've got my tie. I've even got my socks on. I've got my see-through shoes so my Harry Potter socks can shout

So, yeah, I'm a big fan. I was here yesterday. Wait until you take this journey in here today

Listen, you don't understand. I wanted to see it in London. I wasn't able to. I'm so glad I got to see it here at home

I've already read it, but it's not the same as seeing it

So I am so juiced that everybody at Hamilton is really jealous of me right now. Because they have a matinee, and I'm out here

What was it about the books? That first day you cracked the book cover and you went on this journey, what was it

I think it was the fact that it was just such an immersive world. And it was just a fun, amazing journey to watch what this kid and his friends went through

I mean, to take certain things from that genre of mythology and what she did with it is just crazy

And also, there's always holes in stories. And she was able to close up all the holes and bring things back

It was always great. Yeah, and I loved it. So many of your favorite characters are back in this

You know this. Yes, I know. I know. I'm a huge Snape fan, Professor Snape

I'm a huge serious black fan. Basically, all the people I have wands of, I have seven of them at my house

and Lucius Malfoy, I'm so looking forward to seeing all of my favorites

Did you work with these books with your kids, like those cracking the book covers and reading them

I read four of them. Sasha tried to read one and couldn't get through it

But it's not because it's just a different style. They like different things

Kai's really into this sort of fantasy stuff and Sasha's much more of a kind of non-fiction guy

Are you excited about today? Am I excited? I've been waiting for this moment for years

Since I first picked up that book, I was like, when will I be in the same building as her

But yeah, I'm so excited. I'm excited to see the magic. I hear it's like breathtaking

So, yeah. So you cracked open that first book. Who is your favorite character that you followed through the story with

Dobby. Dobby. Yeah. Which is a sore subject right now. You know, it's hard

We're all grieving. Cedric was also a very big one. But I'm just a fan in general of the whole world of it

Like, how can somebody think up an entire world like that? It's incredible

It's really cool. How old were you when you started reading the books? I don't remember

I don't really remember not having Harry Potter in my life, like in my

immediate, like in my psyche. So it's pretty much a part of

part of, I mean, I named my dog Ollivander, you know, so I'm a pretty big fan

What I love about this JK got kids to read That what these books did But from the very first day they were huge books but everybody wanted to read them and live in this world Yeah I mean I still to this day get mad at people who haven read the books

Like the three people I've ever met that haven't read them. I'm like, wait, what? You no longer talk to them

No, I'm like, you have to figure out your life choices and get back to me. So what have you heard about this

I've heard that it's breathtaking. I've heard that it's just like, you're like, how did they do that? So I'm very excited to just be mesmerized and taken into that world

I'm excited. It's very cool. You know, I love anything that conjures up a feeling of magic and other dimensions and of, you know, people living amongst us and more than what it appears to be and all of that

And still, you know, good messaging of friendship and believing in yourself and things like that

How excited are you all to be here? Really excited. We're big. We're huge fans of Harry Potter. We're so excited

Yeah, I'm really excited. I'm a huge Eric Potter fan. Was it the books for you first, or was it the films

Books, because I read them, and then I watched the movies, but they're both great, because I just love the story

Yeah, same. What was it like for you having them, like, the best thing about these books is everybody picked up these books to read

It made kids read books. Yes, and multiple times. I don't think I read a book multiple times when I was a kid

Seven times. How many times? Seven times. Some books even more. Some books even more

So, to act out the characters, who are your favorites in the books

Well, it's actually really hard. I like Dumbledore. I can't really choose. Natalie loves Snape

Yeah, I really like Snape. I just found him a really interesting character. But I also love Dumbledore

Because he's so wise. The whole time when we were in London, we were obsessing over, we went to the making of Harry Potter

and we were all obsessed about everything Harry Potter. It was really fun

Because you got to go to the set So what is it like for you being here today

I was here yesterday I spent the whole day and evening here You're going to have the time of your life

I'm excited, yeah I'm really, really, really excited This is the biggest Broadway opening ever Correct

Yes, definitely You look stunning This is the way you dress up for an opening day, opening night

Of a spectacular Broadway show I have like a day to night ratio

And I feel like I played more towards the night But like whatever How excited are you to be here

I am probably the most excited I've ever been about anything that I've gone to

This Harry Potter, the whole Harry Potter world has been in my life since I was in the 5th grade

I read the first book when I was in the 5th grade And then the year after that is when the movie came out

I turned 11 when Harry turned 11 in the movies The movies always came out around my birthday because I'm a Thanksgiving baby

So I grew up with them and I feel like these books shape me into the person that I am today

So for this, I'm so enthralled and thrilled to not just be here

but my dad's in it and it just kind of comes full circle because when I was a kid I read them, but my brother was too young

so my dad would read it out loud to my brother and I would be there for him reading it

and because he's an actor, he would do voices for everybody. So it's amazing that it's come full circle, that he's actually in the show on Broadway

I'm here and it's like I'm ten years old again listening to him

I'm thrilled to be here representing the production. A dream I had a few years ago and here we are and it coming to life We done it in London it was a beautiful experience there It still is But Broadway for a Brit coming to Broadway

it's so romantic. The history, the connotations of being a producer in New York

Being producers in New York, there's nowhere like it in the world. We're treated so well, so beautifully by the community

Broadway and the industry have welcomed us so much. And I'm just like crossing my fingers that that's all I have right now

I've got nothing left. But crossing my fingers and hoping that audiences, fans, critics, press, the media

they appreciate the love and the beauty and the craftsmanship and the artistry that has gone into this piece of storytelling

the starting point for the story for me and everybody connects it at different points the

starting point for the story was a complicated relationship with a dad and i had a complicated

relationship with my dad so when i when we first embarked on the development of it it was about the

father son the father complicated relationship bringing up children and my mum died not long

ago my mum died just a few weeks ago and so now the play for me is is less about abandonment

which is what it originally was for me and it's now about deep grief and loss and love and legacy

and inheritance and what your parents hand down to you it's been a dream come true hasn't it you

know you you often imagine these kind of collaborations that you might have to that you

might have to kind of you know go through in your life but you never think that they'd be

they'd be as joyful as this do you yeah i mean we were working the greatest greatest one of the

greatest literary minds of all time and she was prepared to take our phone calls do you know i

mean like you know it's amazing and text messages exactly i have created this incredible world

what were those like collaboration conversations between the three of you to structure this

beautiful story. What were they like? Well, I remember the first time

I'd met Joe a couple of times before that, but when I first took Jack up to

meet Joe in a house in Edinburgh, and we were sat around

for a whole day kind of dreaming and talking and imagining, and you know

we had to pinch ourselves on the way back to London because we were like, did J.K. Rowling

really just ask us, what do you think Hermione would be doing? And she did, didn't she

I hope He recorded those days, like sitting around talking about him

He's a writer and I'm a director. They're well-recorded. If you could sum up the best part of the experience

I mean, you're this monster hit in London. You've won nine Olivier's

It is opening day, opening night on this glorious day here. What are you enjoying the most, gentlemen

The best moment for me was the first moment Joe saw the show in its full form

And we were behind the iron on the stage. and she was just emotional

and it was like the idea that she felt like we might have done her justice

was just the greatest feeling in the world and also the fans

a lot of whom are here today and as we were signing text, play scripts and etc for them

them saying that they're really really proud of the show and they love it

and they feel like it honours their love for the franchise for the canon