Experience Review: House Pride Night at ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’

For witches and wizards who accepted their Hogwarts letters, House Pride Month takes place every March. This year, Broadway play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child hosted four individual House Pride nights to celebrate. And because we are studious, logical, and reliable, The Pop Insider attended Ravenclaw Night on March 20 to discover how the show celebrates (and to flaunt our Ravenclaw pride, of course). For each House Pride Month performance, ticket holders are treated to house-specific memorabilia, trivia, decor, and drinks.

While House Pride Month is only once a year, you won’t need a Rememberall to know that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has performances at the Lyric Theatre in New York all year long, and some experiences that ticket holders can participate in during House Pride Month are available year-round. 

Your immersive experience begins before you even step foot in the theater lobby. Outside of the Lyric Theatre, you’ll notice the whimsical architecture, including the dragon sculptures that hold the lamps. During the four House Pride Nights, the first 100 people in line were welcomed into the lobby at 5:30 p.m., which was decked out in blue-and-grey balloons and Ravenclaw signs. Shortly after, cast members came down the (stagnant, but still Hogwarts-like) staircase to host Ravenclaw trivia. 

You could answer the trivia questions on your own or with team members, and all you needed was a muggle communication device that could scan the QR code. The cast members on this specific night were Cara Ricketts (Hermione Granger), Daniel Fredrick (Ron Weasley), and Gary-Kayi Fletcher (Ron Weasley Swing, Ensemble). 

There were 15 questions included in the Ravenclaw House Pride Trivia; most questions were related to the house itself, but covered events and characters across the entire Harry Potter and Magical Creatures franchise. So, if you’re a Hufflepuff and you attend House Pride Night with your Ravenclaw bestie, you’ll still be familiar with the content. 

Some questions were “Which of the four elements does Ravenclaw represent” and “In the books, all four houses had house point hourglasses in the great hall to keep track of their house points. What precious gemstones kept track of Ravenclaw’s points?” 

The winner received a swag bag full of Harry Potter-themed merchandise and several high-fives from the cast members. Following trivia, everyone took a group selfie with the cast members-turned-trivia-hosts. Once trivia ended, the rest of the ticket holders entered the lobby and everyone had a chance to participate in other interactive activities, raid the merch, and grab some themed-beverages. 

At House Pride Night, all ticket holders are also treated to free memorabilia. This includes a Playbill sticker, buttons, and temporary tattoos featuring the House icon.

There are three Instagram filters available to use in the lobby before every performance. First, fans can activate the Enchanted Ceiling by scanning the QR code and pointing their phone to the lobby ceiling — soon, you’ll see candles and banners drop down as if you were sitting in the Hogwarts Great Hall. You can also bring the portraits to life. Then, head to the Patronus Room to watch a Patronus glide across your Instagram story screen. You can throw in an “Expecto Patronus” before scanning the QR code, if you’ve got a happy thought ready. 

Upstairs, fans could participate in the Hogwarts House banner photo-op. Here, you could pose in front of the four House banners with your own House-specific prop! 

Each House Pride Night has a specific drink and cookie themed to house members: on Ravenclaw night, you could order The Wise Eagle (El Jimador Tequila, Curaçao, Lime) for $22 and the Schmackary’s Funfetti Cookie ($6.50), which featured blue sprinkles. 

You can get The Deluminator (Empress Gin, tonic, golden dust, lemon) for $20, Hogwarts Express Espresso (Reposado Tequila, cold brew coffee, coffee liquor, and mezcal) for $21, and the Spiced Golden Snitch (prosecco, fire whiskey, apple cider, and caramel) for $22, among other wine, beer, and cocktail options at any performance. Zero-proof versions of alcoholic beverages as well as soda and water are also available for all wizards and witches. 

Some beverages, like the Frozen Butterbeer ($17), come in a large plastic souvenir cup that features the show’s logo. You can take the cup home and use it whenever you need a burst of magic. You might feel like you’ve entered Honeydukes, because you can also purchase chocolate wands, chocolate frogs ($7), gummies, popcorn ($12), and other Harry Potter-themed candy. Non-frozen Butterbeer ($12) is also available. 

The show itself brings elements of magic and the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child book to life. You’ll be captivated by each actor and actress’s performance, the magic spells, costuming choices, and the scenery. The show utilizes every part of the theater, so you’ll feel as if you’re onstage with the characters you know and love (and love to hate) from any seat in the house. Sitting through the performance is another way to immerse yourself in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

If you’re unfamiliar with the content, you’ll still have a great time and can easily follow the story. The show is approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes long with a 20-minute intermission. 

Audience members are encouraged to dress up at all performances, not just House Pride Night. If your Hogwarts trunk is lacking Harry Potter-themed items, you can head to the Harry Potter Store (located mere minutes way from the Lyric Theatre) beforehand or throw on a tie from the show’s merch area. 

At every performance, fans can stock up on Harry Potter merch, some themed exclusively to the show itself, including adult T-shirts ($40), youth T-shirts ($35), hoodies ($70), scarves ($30), mugs ($20), magnets ($10), plush owls ($25), and more. Most of these pieces can be purchased online, but some products and deals are exclusive to in-theater purchases. 

There are House-specific products like pens, scarves, patches, necklaces, shirts, ties, and more. If you want to showcase your house pride, Gryffindors, Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs can buy a House Bundle ($60) which includes a shirt and tie. This offering is only available in the theatre. 

Play-specific merchandise features the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child logo and graphics. You can find this on shirts, totes, hats, bags, magnets, and more. There’s also a sorting hat T-shirt ($20) and the Souvenir Program and Tote Bag Bundle ($39), which includes a tote with a graphic of the show and a program that features photos and details about the play. The Sorting Hat shirt and the bundle are only available in the theater. 

If you left your wand at home, don’t fret — you can buy a wand at the show! Replica wands ($55 each) that look like the one’s Albus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger use in the show are available. Staff members also bring out merchandise and lobby decor after the intermission that ties directly to events in the show (but no show spoilers here). 

You don’t have to attend a House Pride Month show to enter the Wizarding World — every performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child features exciting interactions, merch, and drinks. You can catch a show every Tuesday-Sunday at 1:00, 2:00, or 7:00 p.m. ET. 

Most days feature one or two performances, so pick a day and time that works with your schedule: you don’t want to be late! Give yourself enough time to look at the portraits in the main gathering space, use the Instagram filters, stock up on merch, and grab a sweet or sip. 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child also has several special performances outside of House Pride Month in March (think about Harry’s birthday in July and Halloween in October). If you’re an established or upcoming witch or wizard, seeing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child during House Pride Month, or any month, should definitely be on your to-do list. 

Tickets start at $59 and can vary depending on the day and time you attend, as well as where you sit in the Lyric Theatre. Don’t forget to visit the Ministry of Magic — we mean, take a photograph — in the lobby’s red telephone booth before you leave!