It was alright. It was just alright. 
 I know I gave this 4 stars, but to be honest, J.K. Rowling can write a dictionary with Harry Potter illustrations and I'd probably give it 4 stars, so my rating is almost irrelevant here, given my extreme bias. 
 The thing is, it was cute, it was sweet, it was entirely nostalgic to see the old crew again, but I hated the play format. As a person who grew up with Harry Potter, and who is in her early 30s now, I feel like I grew up with Harry Potter and the crew, and with the advent of this book, I have, in fact, grown old with them. It was lovely to see them again. It was like meeting old friends. 
 I don't feel old. I'm a more responsible person, for sure, but I feel young at heart. When we're young, adulthood, responsibilities, just the prospect of adulting seem so daunting...then one gets there and it's like, well, I'm as immature as I ever was. I love fun as much as I ever did. Growing old isn't that bad. And seeing the old crew being as much as they ever were brings joy into my not-yet-old-and-grizzled-heart. 
 I could do without the kids, to be honest. Oh, sure, they're little Potter and Granger-Weasley spawns, but come on, nobody ever has and nobody ever will win me over as much as their parents, whom I have loved the instant we met them on the Hogwarts Express. 
 (Ok, maybe not Ron...) 
 But I digress. The kids aren't all bad. I rather like little Scorpius, actually. 
 SCORPIUS: And it's just like my father's! I got his nose, his hair, and his name. Not that that's a great thing either. I mean -- father-son issues, I have them. But, on the whole, I'd rather be a Malfoy than, you know, the son of the Dark Lord. 
 The adults have grown, they've changed. Some have changed so much that I hardly recognize them, Draco, for instance. I like that he's, well, nicer now, but he doesn't feel like Draco, you know? I've been so used to Harry and Draco doing this... 
 That it's rather discombobulating to see anything otherwise. 
 But yeah, characters are great, but the format. THE FORMAT. 
 I don't even know it's fair of me to judge this based on the fact that I don't like that it's a play, because for fuck's sakes, IT'S A PLAY. Like, what did I expect? This may be the most confusing review I've ever written. I just don't like the play format. It's meant for the stage. That means it's up to the skill of the actors to portray what is implied. It's up to the audience to interpret nuances. It is almost entirely based on dialogue, and I hate that. I miss Rowling's writing. I love Rowling's writing, and I wanted more of it. The play brings up so many things that could have been written so much more, had it been expanded into a book format. The children's growing pains, particular that of young Albus. Harry's feelings as a parent. Draco's struggles with who he was and who he is. Furthermore, Ron is relegated to little more than comic relief. Let's be honest, I never liked the guy, but for him to be much of the same character that he ever was conjures up the image of the try-hard middle-aged dude, and I know that Ron is more than that. 
 I like it? I don't like it? I don't know. But I would certainly relish watching it on the stage if I ever had the chance. It's bound to be better than on paper.