REVIEW: Potted Potter – The Unauthorized Harry Experience

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The arrival of Potted Potter: The Unauthroized Harry Experience in Minnesota is just the thing you need to spice up your life after two weeks of Polar Vortices, blizzards, and black ice. If you’ve been cooped up with the kids home from school too many times for one month, let alone a year, it’s time to step out and enjoy a good laugh. The authorized parody production is a zany, nonstop comedy show centered around the premise of summarizing all seven Harry Potter books in 70 minutes. With more than 300 characters in the novel universe alone, there’s no way that is remotely possible, so they go for a more madcap approach.

Let’s just say that the writers really nailed it because my daughter who is five years old and knows next to nothing about Harry Potter had a brilliant time laughing at the actors goofy antics. I, on the other hand, have been a fan of the books since they first came out, and I too thought the show was witty and funny. Don’t expect a deep dive into the nitty gritty of how horcruxes work or philosophical debates about the banality of evil represented by the most fearsome villain in the series (Prof. Umbridge); it’s not that kind of show. Rather, it is a fast-moving crash course that still manages to please everyone. I don’t know how long it took the writers and performers to thread that needle, but I am definitely impressed with the results!
Potted Potter is at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis through March 10, 2019. Tickets start at $39.
DEAL ALERT: student/educator discount tickets are available and limited discount tickets are available via Goldstar