The excitement is palpable among booksellers, muggles, wizards, witches and readers of all ages for Saturday's midnight release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. (Note to booksellers: We invite you to send photos and anecdotes from your Harry Potter events to news@shelf-awareness.com so we can share them with our readers next week.) Here's just a sampling of the magic HP party potions brewing out there:
Earlier this week, we featured Scholastic staff members and their kids literally dancing in the street in Manhattan as they gathered for a Broadway Muggle Mob. With booksellers and librarians making their final preparations to celebrate the return of Pottermania, Scholastic has compiled a directory of release parties.
---
Barnes & Noble said Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II is the company's most pre-ordered book since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007. Since its announcement in February, the book has been the #1 bestseller on BN.com's list and is expected to be the company's biggest book of the year. Stores across the country are currently preparing to host Countdown to Midnight Magic parties beginning July 30 at 8 p.m., leading up to the midnight release.
---
|
|
| The cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (photo by Manuel Harlan) | |
The stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two, which has been in previews since June 7, opens July 30 at London's Palace Theatre, but the review embargo was lifted yesterday. The Bookseller reported that "the verdict is in" for the play, with reviewers hailing it as "a dazzling duel of light and dark" (the Guardian), "a triumph" (the Telegraph), and "a magical experience tailor made for the stage, filled to the brim with fan service" (the Independent). The reviews also noted that the "eighth story" was "tailor made for the theatre" (the Independent), with "thrill a minute stage craft" (the Guardian). The Financial Times praised "many stunning effects and several hair-raising moments." The New York Times said lead Jamie Parker "does Potter pain beautifully," Paul Thornley's Ron Weasley is "delightful" and Noma Dumezweni's Hermione Granger is "perfect."
---
"Much like Hamilton in New York, the show has been generating more than its share of headlines," Playbill reported, adding that the New York Post had "published an unsourced report saying that producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender are seeking a theatre for a Broadway opening, 'possibly next season' after a North American premiere in Toronto. A Shubert Organization spokesperson said the company had no comment on the report."
---
Simon Heafield, head of marketing and brand development at Foyles in the U.K., told the Guardian: "There are few events in the book world as big as the launch of a new Harry Potter story, in fact it's thanks to the original series that we started midnight openings. The first generation of J.K. Rowling's fans has now grown up, but their love of the books hasn't changed. With reviews of the play published this morning, excitement levels are reaching fever pitch and the pre-orders are flooding in."
---
 |
|
| Readers Books in Sonoma, Calif., put up this display celebrating the birthdays this week of two Potters: Harry and Beatrix. | |
In Australia, Libby Armstrong, owner of Beachside Bookshop in Avalon, told the Age that the store's first pre-order was from a 10-year-old, and the next from someone decades older: "The buzz of the new book has created a new reading rites of passage, bringing in parents who grew up on Harry Potter to buy the first book to start their young kids on the series."
---
The script book will also go on sale at bookstores across India, where "Harry Potter fever is gripping the country," the Hindu reported. "From bookstores bedecked to mark the launch of the book, to fan events, parties and activities in bookstores and other popular hubs in each Indian metro, this is an experience like no other."