‘Harry Potter And The Cursed Child’ Wins 9 Olivier Awards [TICKET INFO]

For all the critical success J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter franchise has received since the first novel of the series was published in 1997 to the record setting opening weekend of the film series’ final installment, it would be foolish to think that the West End play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, would have fared any differently.

Last night at the Olivier Awards, the British equivalent of the U.S.’s Tony Awards, Harry Potter won nine awards – a new Olivier record.

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Among some of the plays biggest wins were Best Actor, won by Jamie Parker who plays a grown-up Harry Potter, Best Supporting Actress, won by Noma Dumezweni who plays a grown-up Hermione Granger, and Best New Play. Anthony Boyle, for his portrayal of Scorpius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy’s son, won the award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

The play, which debuted in London in July 2016, takes place 19 years after the events of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Split into two parts – viewers have the choice to watch them back to back or watch them on separate nights – the story focuses on Harry and Ginny Weasley’s son, Albus, and Draco Malfoy’s son, Scorpius, as they both deal with the legacy of their parents while attending Hogwarts.

The script was written by Jack Thorne but based on the story written by Rowling, Thorne and John Tiffany. Tiffany won the Olivier Award for Best Director beating out three others, including himself, for his direction on his other play, The Glass Menagerie.

Harry Potter also won the awards for Best Lighting, Best Sound, Best Set and Best Costume Design.

Other big winners from last night’s award show include Groundhog Day, a musical based on the movie of the same name staring Bill Murray. The show won the award for Best Actor in a Musical (Andy Karl), and Best New Musical.

The nine awards won by Harry Potter beat the record previously held by Matilda and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, both of which had won seven awards.

Although the casting has not yet been announced, Harry Potter is expected to premier on Broadway in the spring of 2018 at the Lyric Theatre.