Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Broadway) — My Review (NYC vs Tokyo)

When & Where

• Date: 19 October 2025
• Theatre: Lyric Theatre (about 1,622 seats)
• Seat / Price: Orchestra, Row X, Seat 9 — $109
• My runtime that day: 1:00pm–4:00pm (about 3 hours)

This review compares the New York staging with the Tokyo production I saw in August. (The show currently plays in New York, London, Hamburg and Tokyo.)

Good Points — A Straight Comparison

1) Theatre world-building (NYC edges it)

Exterior: Tokyo’s Akasaka ACT has open glass and light; New York’s Lyric feels sealed and show-ready from the street.
Interior: NYC wins on immersion — from the hush of the lobby soundscape to warm wood textures and the ornate auditorium. The venue itself lifts the “entering a magical world” feeling before the show begins. (Lyric was redesigned in 2018 specifically for this play.)

2) Stagecraft: the “floating bag” and ensemble precision (Tokyo wins)

From my seat, Tokyo sold the weightlessness of the bag more cleanly, and the ensemble’s synchronicity felt tighter. NYC was strong, but Japan’s micro-precision in pantomime and group timing read crisper to me.

3) Acting temperature (NYC wins overall)

Role by role, I could name Japanese performances that match — or beat — NYC. But in the aggregate, New York read hotter on urgency and psychological distance between characters. That edge in stakes made scenes crackle more consistently.

4) Character fidelity: Professor McGonagall (Tokyo wins)

As a fan, I loved how screen-accurate Tokyo’s McGonagall felt — yet still fully theatrical. To be clear: stage acting isn’t a look-alike contest; fresh interpretation can be just as valid. But for this character, Tokyo’s blend of faithfulness and function in the scene really landed.

Takeaway

There’s no huge quality gap. Differences cluster around:

• Venue & atmosphere: NYC’s Lyric heightens immersion.
• Micro-craft: Tokyo often wins on tight timing and illusion detail.
• Acting energy: NYC reads riskier and more urgent overall.

As I keep watching across cities, the map of Japanese strengths, overseas strengths, and the bridge between them gets clearer. That’s fuel for my own work.

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