Potted Potter Casts a Pleasant Spell

Photo by WWW.POTTEDPOTTER.COM

Megan Draghi
Staff Writer

On January 24 and 25, laughter filled the Hillwood Theater as actors Dan Clarkson and Jeff Turner acted out the seven Harry Potter novels in 70 min­utes. That’s right, all seven J.K. Rowling novels explained in the length of just one Harry Potter movie. Potted Potter even included a game of Quidditch, a favorite sport of Harry Potter fans.

The audience was able to participate in the game being split into the Gryf­findor and Slytherin teams. They passed a beach ball around hoping to get it into the goal on each wall of the theater. One audience member from each team was then selected to go up on stage and be their team’s seeker, the person who must catch the golden snitch to win the game. Turner dressed up in a ridiculously fun­ny, yellow costume as the golden snitch.

Throughout the show Clarkson and Turner brought the beloved characters Harry Potter and Ron Weasley and the not so great Lord Voldemort and Draco Malfoy to life. The men also gave a co­medic kick that made the audience think kindly toward the name Voldemort even if “he shall not be named.” Their cos­tume choices of wigs, hats, and robes had responses of laughter- especially Hagrid’s unruly hair. The best part of their story­telling was the props. Whether it was the canvas of a tropic beach scene labeled the Forbidden Forest or an adorable stuffed animal snake attached to a leash repre­senting Voldemort’s deadly snake Nagini, the modest looking props helped add onto the amusement of the viewers.

Potted Potter was a perfect balance of two completely different people com­ing together to make an outrageously funny show. Turner’s dedication toward accurately narrating the stories and play­ing Harry Potter made the show fun and easy enough to follow if one had never read the Harry Potter books before. Clarkson’s zest for disorganization such as spending most of the budget money on a dragon hand puppet makes him adored by the audience for his innocence as he creates excitement and laughter throughout.

The show received a well-deserved standing ovation from the audience. Sarah Hecht, a freshman social work major, proclaimed “I loved it. It was hi­larious. It was a good length of time and it was an amazingly funny way to explain the seven amazing books.” It was a de­light for the audience, Harry Potter fans and non-Harry Potter fans alike, making this show perfectly entertaining for just about anyone.