Back in October, I wrote an article entitled “The Day I Stopped Caring About Harry Potter“. While I recommend reading the article in its entirety, I’ll sum it up before I continue: I was upset that the story was going to continue after the “All was well” finality that Deathly Hallows brought us. Moreover, I was upset that I wouldn’t be able to see it, because it’s certainly not cheap to fly to and stay in London. I know. I’ve done it before. In fact, I saw Spamalot (from the cheaper balcony seats) in the Palace Theatre in 2007, the same theatre where Cursed Child is being produced this year. Here’s a picture I took on March 1st, 2007, and next to it, a picture of the current entrance to the Palace Theatre, which was revealed two days ago:

But then Pottermore announced that a Cursed Child script would be published, and I felt better, because I knew that I wouldn’t have to travel to London to find out what happens “19 years later”.

That publication announcement came after the casting news, which excited me even more. Hermione’s race was never explicitly stated in the books. She is simply described as having bushy hair and big teeth. Some might argue that casting Hermione as a person of color will confuse people who are so wedded to the Emma Watson image spoon-fed to them while watching the movies, but for those of us who’ve read and re-read the books, our imaginations see things differently.

See Pottermore to read more about this trio cast announcement, as well as the full cast announcement.

Recently, J.K. Rowling visited a Cursed Child rehearsal, and the “Pottermore Correspondent” sent a camera with her:

J.K. Rowling has some incredibly thoughtful things to say about the Harry Potter fandom in this clip:

One of the things that I have valued most about the Potter fandom is that, as a community, they have really looked after each other. People have each other’s backs. It’s a special thing. And it’s for that reason, more than any other, I would like us, if we can, to manage to keep our secrets. This will be such an incredible theatrical experience, that I’d love us to be able to surprise people and move people in the natural way that a story should surprise and move people.

I still don’t think that Jo is totally infallible as I once did, but I have put one notion behind me: Jo is not greedy. She is not simply writing more stories to take more money from her fans. She’s doing it, because she genuinely loves to write, because she needs that creative outlet, because she can’t stop the stories from continuing in her head, and because she knows that the fans will always want to know more. The best things in life, however, are not free, and Jo simply has a knack for creating, in my opinion, the best things in life. High demand creates scarcity, which creates higher prices. I would guess that when Cursed Child opens to the public, the tickets won’t be cheap. But I won’t worry about that; I’ll be reading my copy of the published script on July 31st, while celebrating Harry’s birthday, from the comfort of my GeekyCon hotel room.

What are your Cursed Child plans? Are you going to see it in London? Or are you going to read it at GeekyCon with me? Share in the comments!