Potted Potter!

Also known as: A review of Potted Potter Manila

Totally honest moment: I had no idea what Potted Potter was until I received an email from Ticketworld two weeks ago inviting me to watch the show and be a Tweet Seater. Before I explain what a Tweet Seater is, I must say that that last time I watched a stage production was two years ago? I haven’t been able to watch any because of budget and because I never get to catch the shows I want with the people I want to watch it with.

But anyway, this email came and they were inviting me to be one of the Tweet Seaters — meaning I would tweet the show while I watch. Seems like an interesting thing, right? I wasn’t sure if I would get it, seeing as it was on a weekday, and I didn’t know if I was willing to commute all the way to the other side of the city just to watch a 7o-minute show and then go home alone.

And then Filipino ReaderCon came and I experienced the euphoria of having our hash tag trend. Of course, it wasn’t just my doing, but I felt the thrill of tweeting and seeing all of it come to fruition, so I figured, Hey, maybe I should give this TweetSeat thing a chance.

So I replied to the email, and to my delight, they asked if I know someone who can join me. I immediately asked my best friend, who finally gave in and joined me when I told him that we didn’t have my pay for our tickets (which made me more delighted — hello, free tickets!).

To cut the long introduction short, my best friend and I caught the opening night of Potted Potter in Manila last Tuesday night. I was almost late (thank you, public transportation and Metro Manila traffic), but who cares? I had the most hilarious 70 minutes ever.

From the official website:

POTTED POTTER — The Unauthorized Harry Experience – A Parody by Dan and Jeff takes on the ultimate challenge of condensing all seven Harry Potter books (and a real life game of Quidditch) into seventy hilarious minutes. Even if you don’t know the difference between a horcrux and a Hufflepuff, POTTED POTTER will make you roar with laughter.

I didn’t know what to expect when I got in the theater (except maybe for sexy British accents…but you didn’t hear me…oh wait, I tweeted about that, nvm), but I was ready to tweet quotes and fun stuff. This task proved to be a bit hard because I couldn’t stop laughing as soon as the show started. Potted Potter in Manila stars Jesse Briton and Gary Trainor, one of Dan and Jeff’s touring cast, and they were excellent. A Harry Potter fan would definitely appreciate it, but if you haven’t finished reading all the books and you don’t feel like finishing it (which is some kind of sacrilege, really), then watching Potted Potter will keep you up to speed…with aching jaws from all the laughter. :D

I love how Jesse and Gary interacted with the audience too, and how they changed some things to make the show uniquely Filipino. For instance:

Jesse to the Keeper in the audience: “Hello. Do you have a walis tingting?” #PottedPotterManila

— Tina M (@tinamats) August 28, 2012

Hee! And the audience got to play Quidditch too! To explain more would be spoilery, but if you can afford it, go for the Orchestra seats so you can play! Jesse and Gary sorted out the audience into Slytherin and Griffyndor, and for our match, Slytherin won. :D I’m a Ravenclaw based on the Pottermore sorting, but I have a feeling that sometimes I have Slytherin blood in me, so yay house pride!

Like I said, it was kind of hard tweeting while watching, especially since I was trying to tweet as fast as the show goes (and it was really fast)! Also, I was torn between focusing on the stage action and my tweets, but I got used to it. :P Here are some of my favorite tweets for the night (you can check out #PottedPotterManila on twitter to see all the tweets — careful of spoilers, though!):

“What’s a wardrobe got to do with Harry Potter?” “How else are they going to get to Narnia?” LOL. #PottedPotterManila

— Tina M (@tinamats) August 28, 2012

If you think Snape is good shout “Hooray” ☺ #pottedpottermanila — Khadlyn Czarina (@khadlynczarina) August 28, 2012

Some audience participation. Lets play Quidditch! #PottedPotterManila twitter.com/gagagabgab/sta…

— Gab Alvarez (@gagagabgab) August 28, 2012

Jesse: He only wanted to be loved. He could have been your friend…on Facebook! #PottedPotterManila — Tina M (@tinamats) August 28, 2012

A very Harry Potter breakdown happening now. Aww. #PottedPotterManila — Toni Zuniga (@hoshiboy) August 28, 2012

“Dumbledore’s funeral.” “What?” “Dumbledore’s fun…day!” #PottedPotterManila

— Tina M (@tinamats) August 28, 2012

“I just killed Dumbledore!” *crowd cheers* “No! No! Not a yay clappy moment!” *crowd claps quietly* “Awkwaaaard.” #PottedPotterManila

— Gretchen Gatan (@gretchengatan) August 28, 2012

Snape: “I am so bad…. Or am I?” hahaha “I must confess through the medium of song!” #amazing #pottedpottermanila

— Princess Maha (@maharamos) August 28, 2012

As long as I’ve got seven souls, I know I’ll be alive! #PottedPotterManila

— Tina M (@tinamats) August 28, 2012

In short: POTTED POTTER WAS AMAZING. It was everything a Harry Potter fan would love, and everything a non-fan would probably end up loving and wanting to read the book after. Or even just loving, fine. You don’t have to read the book (sacrilege!!!)…but really, you should.

The show runs until September 2, and there are very limited tickets left, so get your tickets now and watch! I promise it will be the most hilarious 70 minutes of your life! :)

Talk about an extension of my awesome long weekend. :) Many many thanks (and chocolate frogs!) to Gab Alvarez from TicketWorld for inviting us to be TweetSeaters for Potted Potter! :)