WHS Chosen as First High School in CT Allowed to Perform “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”

The following article includes information from a press release from Broadway Licensing Global.

Wilton High School Theater officials announced that the school was selected by Broadway Licensing Global to be the first official high school in Connecticut to perform Harry Potter & The Cursed Child.

Broadway Licensing Global chose 29 schools to become the first in their U.S. state or territory to perform the new high school edition of the hit Broadway play. Only one school from each state or territory was chosen.

Wilton High School will stage the show as part of its 2024 production lineup. Winning schools will be able to perform the work later this year, between Oct. 15 and Nov. 10. 

Broadway Licensing Global ran a contest called “Wands at the Ready,” and asked schools to describe why their school or community is the most “magical” place to produce the Olivier- and Tony-winning play. 

Wilton High School submitted a video entry to the contest.

The high school version of the hit play has been developed by the work’s original creative team, including playwright Jack Thorne, director John Tiffany, producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender, and with sign-off by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. The adaptation shortens the piece’s runtime, along with creating solutions that make the professional production’s high-tech wizardry possible regardless of budget size.

The productions will be considered the play’s first official stagings, though they will follow developmental pilot productions.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is based on an original story by Rowling, Thorne, and Tiffany. The play takes place 19 years after the source material book series, and follows Harry Potter’s son Albus and his friendship with Scorpius, the son of rival Draco Malfoy, in their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

The original West End production premiered in 2016, receiving 11 Olivier Award nominations and winning nine, including Best New Play. The Broadway transfer opened at The Lyric Theatre in 2018, then received 10 Tony Award nominations and won six, including Best Play.

The Theater Department thanked the students who helped to make the application video, including Nicole Allers, Will DeBernardis, Kate Rusin, Finn Ryder and Nick Somma.

The WHS Theatre lineup for 2024 just got more exciting! With The Addams Family in May and Harry Potter in November! Lookout Wilton, WHS Theatre is on fire!