Saturday, November 30, 2013
'Potted Potter' puts madcap spin on J.K. Rowling saga
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: It's by lovely coincidence that the term "potted" can refer to a simplified version of literature, as well as slang for "drunken."
After a madcap 70 minutes of puppets, Silly String, disco, googly eyes and many, many hats, "Potted Potter" was both, and more, at the Byham Theater Wednesday night.
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9 comments:
I had seen a lot about this production earlier in the summer, and I was interested in seeing what it was about. I had friends come visit me and when they saw the signs for "Potted Potter" they immediately wanted to see this show. This show is not something that ended up being very interesting in my opinion. The overall style of the show was very cheesy, black box, community theatre to me, but the prices were not. There was very little to look at. The show was mostly about the acting/comedy, and for someone who didn't expect that, it was a little disappointing. However, I can definitely say that the show was pretty funny and I am sure that anyone who knows Harry Potter would enjoy it. I think it is interesting that such a small show is traveling the country and playing places like the Byham Theatre. Even though I wasn't a huge fan of the show, I wish them success!
I had the opportunity of seeing this show Off-Broadway back when I visited NYC this summer, it was extremely delightful. Word of warning, if you do not like the Potter series or have not read any of the books, this show is absolutely not for you. It is an impressive two-man show that does its very best to remind the audience why they fell in love with Harry in the first place. Honestly, as Nathan said, the show's design does look a bit tacky and community-theatrey, but that charm is what adds so much to it. It also helps to focus attention onto the two performers, who might as well be running a marathon. Look out for a real Quidditch game too!!
It seems like this could be taken as a positive parody or as a negative one. I haven't seen it, but that is how a lot of things go when there is a heavy fan base. I feel like the show might be better if they actors didn't actively remind the audience that the show was not real. It destroys the magic. The show is real in itself and has its own entity outside of the actual Harry Potter series.
Starkid worked so hard on the shows that they write. They aren't perfect but none of the actors had fame before getting on that stage and making a name for themselves. Darren Criss worked hard and earned what he got. The others involved in the shows are probably just as hard working and deserving of what they receive. The shows aren't good because of the actors. They are good because of the plot. And Darren Criss doesn't even work with them anymore.
I appreciate what they are doing with the HP parody, but they should actually try to make it real, not some fake.
I have to say as an enormous Harry Potter fan, this sounds pretty great. It's always so sad when a series like this ends, and the fans who now have all the book, and all the movies, need to find new ways to satisfy their needs for their Harry Potter obsessions. Parodies are a really great way to do that. They take the old story, they make it funny, and they give a new spin to it. Potted Potter seems like a great way to keep the fans happy without it being taken too seriously and actually trying to be a staged production of Harry Potter.
After reading some more into this "Potted Potter," and some of the comments before me, I can tell this is something that I would definitely be interested in seeing. I've been a Harry Potter fan for as long as I can remember and something like this that is meant to remind the audience and viewers why they fell in love with the series to begin with is just my type of thing. Hopefully some time in the future I will be able to check this show out.
My family went to the Fringe Festival a few summers ago, and Potted Potter was a show that they really wanted to see but weren't able to. A year later, last summer, it came to New York so my family saw the show Off-Broadway. From what I had heard, it grew a lot in the time between when it was put on for the Fringe Festival and when it was in New York. The show was really funny, and some parents will enjoy it, but it's target audience definitely seems to be around age 12. Reading the books, or at the very least watching the movies, is a definitely a requirement if you want to enjoy the show, because the humor is all in the parody of how they translate the books to the stage. It was an okay show in New York, but I feel that, as Bertone said, it was a bit too cheesy and community theatre-y for the venue where I saw it. I don't think that I want to see the show again, but I hope it is a bit better in Pittsburgh than it was in New York.
As a huge harry potter fan, I have to say I really want to see this show and hope I get a chance to at some point. That being said, it does sound like something that fans would enjoy more than your average Joe. I certainly hope what others say about the show is true and that brings some of the magic of Harry Potter back ;)
Similarly to most people of my generation the Harry Potter series is easily one of my favorites that I have ever read. Growing up with such a close proximity to New York City I have seen more and more promotions for Potted Potter Off-Broadway that have caused me to want to see it but have never gotten the chance too. This being said, I wish I had been able to get tickets to see it here. My cousins saw the show when it was in the city and they loved it. They thought that the humor was well suited to perfectly parody the series. Even though I have never seen it I believe that some of the"cheesiness" that many people didn't like is just a byproduct of a good parody, think about any Mel Brooks film. One of my favorite parodies of all time is Spaceballs. In this film the characters are constantly caught breaking the fourth wall and blurting out cheesy lines but thats all part of the comedy of a parody!
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