***Disclaimer***
This review is my experience of Curran theatre while attending Harry Potter and the cursed child. Although some aspects of the review might describe experiences that might be specific to the Harry Potter show, the over all review is for the theatre itself.
The magical journey begins:
The year is 2019. Being from a generation that grew up with Harry Potter, I was super excited to hear that Harry Potter in SF. The day the tickets get released there is a mad rush to book them. My friend and I secure 2 tickets for the next year.
The year is 2020. Finally the day of Harry Potter and the cursed child. I drive to SF and park my car. Walk to the venue is the historic Curran theatre.
***Parking***
If you're driving here for the HP show, here are some recommendations for parking
Closest ones: The Mason/O'Farrell Garage($15 for 6 hours but expect to pay $35 since you'll be here for the whole day),443 Mason street ($35 for the day. Valet parking)
Alternatively you can even look up parking spots on the day of using Spot angels (https://www.spotangels.com)
Street parking is also available but it's rarely available on a weekend.
***The check in***
For the HP show, the theatre has barricaded part of the street, so there's more place to stand in lines. They let you in about half an hour before the show. The lines move fast. You may want to finish your drinks as they ask you to throw away your drinks before entering. Bags are checked and you pass through a metal detector before entering.
Some of the security seem like bouncers from a club. I saw a person getting yelled at for trying to move into a line that had less people. These are people who've paid $$ to come watch the show, not teenagers trying to sneak into the club. Something for the management to think about.
***On the inside***
There are food and drink stalls in the lobby of the first floor. Vendor stall on the right side. If that's crowded or has a line, you can go to the upper floor since they have the same things there as well. Same with the food stalls, there are 2 more on the upper floors.
For the HP show, carpets and wall papers inside have been changed to monogrammed "H". Not sure if that stands for Harry or Hogwarts. The blue wallpaper on the inside is stunning. They also have it in the basement which offers spot for photo op.
***The inside***
The inside looks very historic. Seats are however very cramped. You sit so close to the neighbor, that you can end up accidentally eating their popcorn (Would not recommend that!) My knees were pushing into the front of the seat and it felt like I was in a budget airline like Spirit. Sitting like that for 6 hours is not the most comfortable experience and ends up being distracting. For an auditorium with long lasting shows, they could have gone for a little more spacious seats. I understand the historic nature of the place but there are other historic theatres that I have been to which have had much more comfortable seating experience, so that's certainly not an excuse. For the HP show, there are Hufflepuff attendants who take you're order from the seats during the break, if you so choose (Kinda house-ist!!!)
***The bathroom experience***
There's a mens and a women's bathroom in the basement that lines up all the way till 2nd floor. However they move fast. 10 mins into the break the lines fizzle out, so that's the best time to go for a bathroom break IMO. There are Individual booths on second floor (Mezzanine) and balcony floors but they tend to move much slower especially during the second half of the show.
*** The break ***
There's a two and a half hour break in between to grab food during the HP show. It would be a good idea to make reservation on Yelp around that time since it gets crowded pretty fast. If you haven't made a reservation and don't want to wait, you can walk a few blocks and get access to less crowded restaurants. Oren's Hummus is at walking distance.
As far as the play's concerned, the special effects are amazing. I'll reserve my opinions about the story but the book's out there for you to read and form your own judgement. I had a good time at the show. Had the seats been less crammed, I may have enjoyed it more. read more