“Cursed Child” Participates in Broadway Bridges Program, Actors James Romney and Brady Dalton Richards Discuss One-Part Play
Few things are as magical as attending a show on Broadway. Escaping reality for a while is more essential to our well-being than ever before, and thanks to the Broadway League’s Broadway Bridges program, public school students will have the opportunity to experience the magic of theater this year.
The Broadway Bridges program’s goal is to provide every New York City public school student with the opportunity to attend a Broadway show before they graduate. The program was launched in 2017, and luckily, the pandemic hasn’t put a permanent stop to it.
Every year, several shows participate in the program, and Potterheads will be delighted to hear that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is one of the shows taking part in the 2022 program, along with many other amazing shows like Wicked, The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, and plenty more.
Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin says that they are thrilled to be able to provide students with access to live theater once again.
With the support from the Department of Education, the United Federation of Teachers and the New York City Council led by current Speaker Adrienne Adams and former Speaker Corey Johnson, Broadway Bridges continues furthering our goal of bringing all public high school students in the city to a Broadway show before graduation.
New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks is equally excited.
The arts are an essential part of the education of our children. We are excited about our ongoing partnership with Broadway Bridges, as it provides our young academics and artists with the incredible opportunity to experience live theatre that is as diverse and powerful as they are. All New Yorkers deserve access to the incredible art our city has to offer, and I am pleased that our 10th grade students will have this chance.
United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew says that the program will greatly benefit students.
Our students need the arts now more than ever. They need the inspiration that music and drama provide. It is a pleasure to work with our partners at the Broadway League, the city’s Department of Education and the New York City Council to offer more students the opportunity to be part of the magic of Broadway.
Speaking of the magic of theater, BroadwayWorld recently interviewed the actors who play Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy in the Broadway production of Cursed Child, asking them what it’s been like to be back after the pandemic shut down all shows.
As most fans already know, Cursed Child is no longer a two-part play on Broadway. James Romney, who plays Albus Potter, said that he found the whole process of turning the two-part play into a one-part play a fascinating process.
Having done the two-part version, I was so fascinated by the logistics of what it would be like to take this five[-]and[-]a[-]half-hour show and make it into a one-pert [sic] version.
He also admitted that it wasn’t an easy process. Even after cutting some scenes, they found that the show was still too long, and the actors had to adapt quickly to constant changes.
There was a period during previews where every single day we were getting line changes, scene cuts… that was both overwhelming and what it’s like to perform at the highest level of this industry! To get to do that was so much fun.
Brady Dalton Richards, who plays Scorpius Malfoy, added that there were some unexpected changes when the show started back up again.
We got the first edition of what would become the new version of the show when we got our contracts back. There was shock to find entire scenes cut, arcs trimmed, lines revised… but more so for the relationship of our two characters, there was a specificity added to clarify a deeper and possibly more romantic vibe between [Scorpius and Albus].
Have you seen the one-part play yet? What did you think about the changes and the focus on the relationship between Albus and Scorpius? Tell us in the comments.
