I am a big fan of Harry Potter! I have only read up to the 4th book but I have seen all the films. I even memorized the script of the second film at one point of my life. No matter how less I have read, the stories, the characters, and basically, J.K. Rowling’s imagination have made me admire the books. Once I have heard about the show Potted Potter coming to Manila, I immediately got excited!
The cheap seats were taken so fast so we bought the more expensive ones. I was with my little brother and my mom when we watched last Saturday (5 pm) at the RCBC Auditorium. I crammed my contest entry regarding gender equality that morning and afternoon so we were not able to eat at GB for lunch and snack anymore. We just bought the spaghetti at Country Style at the floor below the auditorium. I have eaten that meal for how many times already and for the same reason (quick meal before a show) but, I have to say, their spaghetti is really yummy! After a quick bite at Country Style we headed to our seats already.
When we came in the theater, the set was covered with white sheets except for the Hogwart’s train and the table with all the HP books. Jesse and Gary were already seen by the audience before the show even started. Gary sat on the Hogwart’s Express while Jesse mingled with some of the audience at orchestra right. Our family was one of those. My brother gave him a cheeky wave that’s why he caught his attention. We shook hands and he asked us questions about HP. It’s all fun and simple.
In the duration of the play, Jesse was the funnier one maybe because he got to play everyone else besides Harry. He pretended that he did not know a lot about the books which shows at the first part of the show when Gary asked him to write something on his forehead to make the audience know that he was Harry. Instead of writing a scar, he wrote the word Harry on Gary’s forehead! Gary, on the other hand, was more of the expert of the books so he really wanted the storytelling to be correct and exciting. Nonetheless, he was funny as well. They said initially that they would try to summarize each book for 10 minutes. How can one summarize 300+ pages in 10 minutes? Well, they went overtime but they did give out the gist of every book.
The three props that were covered in sheets were revealed to be the Forbidden Forest (Boracay with the “scary” lobster), a wardrobe (from Narnia--- Jesse got the prop wrong; you may think it was for the bogart but it was really a screen for the projector and a back wardrobe for the other props), and a “spooky” coffin. A coat hanger was also part of the set. It had various wigs and hats.
Jesse and Gary were the perfect team. They were like always on the same line of thought and they made spontaneous jokes together. They even researched about Boracay, Ateneo, and walis tingting to make the jokes local. However, there was one joke that nobody laughed at and Jesse said, “This work doesn’t work in Manila” and everyone laughed after. I loved the script as well! The sort-of inside jokes on Bambi as a petronus, the division of DH to camping and death in the films, The Tales of Beedle the Bard being about death (compared to the awesome heirloom pieces Dumbledore gave to Harry and Ron), Twilight, etc. were super hilarious! The whole show was really packed with energy and enthusiasm. It must have been very tiring for the both them!
The whole show was great! The parts that I really loved (because, honestly, I loved the whole show) were the Quidditch, the prophecy, and the narration of the DH.
Two big hoops were placed at the ends of the loge area nearest the stage. The entire orchestra was divided into Gryffindor and Slytherin. One big beach ball served as the Quaffle. I was pissed that those at the center treated the ball as a beach ball. No one stood up and actually tried to shoot the “Quaffle”; they just passed it around. No worries though for we were left with the seekers. Two young volunteers, a quiet girl for Slytherin and a cheeky boy for Gryffindor, were called on stage. The boy told Jesse that he could not speak so much. It was supposed to be a secret at first and I thought he just wanted to pee so badly but the audience ended up knowing in the end. He kept on giggling and giving thumbs up. His wizard hat fell a lot of times too because he couldn’t keep so still! Gary was dressed as the snitch, sparkly tights with ball-like jumper and all, and they had to bring him down to the floor. Slytherin won and she got herself a chocolate frog. Gryffindor was given a choice between 2 punishments. Jesse brought out a big water gun and asked the boy if he would rather have his face shot with water or have a chocolate bar as well but the entire Gryffindor (audience) would be shot with water. At first, I thought he was joking but then I saw the water dripping from the water gun. I already prepared myself to get wet because the boy was a kid and kids usually care more about themselves. To my surprise, the boy “sacrificed” himself but asked if he could just shoot him at his belly. Jesse even tried giving him the chocolate frog but he refused with a big no. The kid was so adorable! Jesse ended up giving the chocolate to the kid’s mom anyway and shooting everyone in the audience (more to the boy) with water. Jesse didn’t shoot water to the kid’s belly nor his face on stage, mind you. The water shooting happened after he got back to his seat.
The prophecy about Harry and Voldemort’s death turned about to be really funny. Gary pretended as Harry and Jesse as Dumbledore. Harry asked what “one shall live and the other must die” meant but Dumbledore just mumbled and repeated the prophecy. Harry again asked who will live since Dumbledore was the greatest wizard alive but Dumbledore just said the prophecy again. Harry lowered his standards and just asked for a clue. Dumbledore repeated the prophecy. It was so funny because of the manner and actions of Jesse! “One shall live” was pronounced in a high tone with raised right arm while “the other must die” was pronounced in a low tone with lowered left arm. Jesse said the line around 10 times, I guess, with the same power. He even asked some audience members to continue the phrase. Jesse said, “one shall…” and an audience member he pointed at responded with “live” at a high voice considering he was a guy! That brought tears to my eyes. It was funny. And yes, it never gets old!
One of the last parts of the show included a narration of the important events in DH. As Gary narrated, Jesse went around the wardrobe a couple of times to dress up as whoever Gary mentioned. My favorite was Voldemort with Nagini! It came to a point when Gary mentioned a lot of names in a sentence that Jesse went haywire! It was so funny!
If you are curious about the fire-breathing dragon that had been proudly advertised and had created excitement for Gary (since Jesse was in charge with props) and the audience, it was a cute puppet that, I suppose, breathed out “cotton fire”. It really looked like tongue to me though. Gary was disappointed because, for the entire show, Jesse said that he cut out some of the budget for the 20 brilliant actors, flying Ford Anglia, etc. He got Gary back though when he made the dragon soar with hands and said, “Phantom of the Opera does not have that!” Most of the props were simple and toned down, really. Dobby was a puppet. Nagini was a red stuffed toy snake. Ron wore a bright orange wig. Hermione wore a hat with plaits. Hagrid wore Afro wig. Sirius had a Scottish hat. The others wore various wizard hats.
Some of the other funny scenes included:
- Jesse putting in his mouth a chocolate that Gary had stepped on! I never got the chocolate part really (after bringing the light back via deluminator, Jesse had chocolate all over his mouth and some on the floor). Jesse did not know what Gary had done but regardless, it was on the floor. I am not being mean but it was good fun!
- Jesse and Gary singing “I Will Survive” at the end of the show. They changed the lyrics to fit the story. It was cool! I would have appreciated it better though if I heard the lyrics clearly. It was either too fast or the background music overpowered them.
I never took my smile off my face and I might even have laughed the entire show through! It was really funny and witty. My brother and my mom laughed hard too and that made me really happy. This show is a real treat to all HP lovers. The budget for the set and props was downplayed because of the comedic script. It made everything seem appropriate. The script was great. The actors made the entire acting community proud. This is definitely one of the greatest shows I have ever seen!
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