Potted Potter, the parody of the seven Harry Potter books now on Broadway, was tailor-made for kids.
It’s only 70-minutes long, is super high energy, and even features a quidditch match with audience participation.
No wonder I liked it so much.
Brits Dan Clarkson and Jeff Turner, who also wrote the show, bring all the characters to life with minimal props, costumes and staging. The humor is decidedly British as well, but Potter lovers — and the family and friends who they drag along — will find it easy to translate.
Obviously some plot points are skipped in such a short synopsis, but the ones that made the cut are treated with high hilarity. Favorites include Lord Voldemort, the dragons from book four, and the bigger-than-life quidditch snitch.
Dan and Jeff cracked up a few times during the show, but the reason was pretty obvious –
They are as wild about Harry as the audience.
That rascally rabbit
I am amused when Broadway audiences applaud the set at the start of a show…as if the couch needs a boost in self-esteem.
About 20 minutes into the performance last night — as the home of Elwood P. Dowd transforms into the dread psychiatric hospital — a loud clunk was heard. The set shuddered. All action grinded to a halt.
And poor Jim Parsons, who was faux reading a book in the library, scurried away as they dropped the curtain.
The curtain dropped a lot last night; a cable snapped in the set mechanism that couldn’t be quickly repaired. So every time the set changed, the curtain dropped and the lights came up.
Harvey lasted almost three hours.
I intended to review the play today, but it wouldn’t be fair. While I found Jim Parsons’ Dowd utterly charming, the show itself didn’t get a fair shake because of the constant interruptions and expansive running time.
I was literally nodding off at the end. Bnd that wasn’t really Harvey’s fault…or was it?
Darn pooka.
→ 1 Comment
Posted in Animals, Broadway, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Life
Tagged animals, Broadway, Broadway audience, Broadway preview, Broadway review, Broadway set, celebrities, comedy, commentary, Elwood P Dowd, entertainment, Harvey, Harvey the invisible rabbit, Humor, Jim Parsons, life, Manhattan, New York City, pooka, psychiatric hospital, self-esteem, Television, TV