J.K. Rowling to Produce Harry Potter Play

[rattlesnakeroot]

I really have no idea what to make of this and I can't wait to read the comments. This story came out just before Christmas so it's a few weeks old:

From USA Today, December 20, 2013

J.K. Rowling will produce a play based on the boy wizard's life before heading to Hogwarts, according to the Associated Press.

In a statement released Friday, the

Comments

[waddiwasiwitch]

Not sure about it to be honest either.
Don't you think it's a little strange that all of a sudden she's picked up two Harry Potter projects after years of silence and the encyclopaedia that never surfaced? ( I know the movies are not strictly HP but part of the HP universe, but you know what I mean)
You'd think she's concentrate on one and then do the other. She's gonna be a very busy lady between writing the screenplays for the movies and the play. Is it going to be a musical or just a dramatic piece? Sorry about the ramble.

[rattlesnakeroot]

No, you aren't rambling - that is a really valid point! She seems to be diluting the brand a bit with this scattershot way of doing new material, a little here, a little there. Look at what a mess Pottermore has been! And what bothers me most is that she said in court during the Lexicon Trial that she didn't want to be "rushed" into making an Encyclopedia or doing anything with HP for the next ten years, and yet we have announcements every month or so of new projects like the script about Newt Scamander and now this play. I'm not sure if WB is pressuring her to do something new or maybe she was less than thrilled with writing adult novels after all.

[shyfoxling]

I'm not thrilled with the idea. First, I agree with commenters (I think on some other site) that it sounds like a strange choice of setting. No exciting plot ideas leap to mind about Harry living with the Dursleys and getting bullied at school, mistreated at home, etc. They could possibly make it a Roald Dahl-esque grotesque comedy, but other than that, I don't know. And it not being written by JKR puts it in a funny place WRT its canonicity, although I suppose you could say the same for the films.

[rattlesnakeroot]

Dahl immediately came to my mind too - Matilda and James and the Giant Peach. Don't you think it has to be a dark comedy of some kind, with Harry making fun of the Dursleys and doing magic behind their backs while they complain about him? The Hogwarts version of "Annie." #Cringeworthy