“Harry Potter” fans can put their broomsticks away. The eighth story will be performed on stage in London’s West End, but Potterheads don’t need to travel to the U.K. to find out what happens. The “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” scripts will be released shortly after the play debuts.

Pottermore revealed that the “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II” scripts will be published July 31. Conveniently, that’s both Harry Potter and author J.K. Rowling’s birthday. Scholastic will publish in the U.S. while Little Brown will publish in the U.K. Both print and digital editions will be available.

Due to the scripts being published so quickly, they might not be exactly what is seen on stage. The book “will comprise of the version of the play script at the time of the play’s preview performances,” Pottermore reports. While some changes might be made during previews, they’ll likely only be small changes to help the show flow better.

After the West End plays officially premieres, the creative team “freezes” the show, meaning they won’t make any more changes. That version will also be available eventually. “The Special Rehearsal Edition of the script book will later be replaced by a Definitive Collector’s Edition,” Pottermore says, but no release date for the later version was announced.

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is the eighth “Potter” story, but it takes the trio out of Hogwarts. The seventh book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” ended with an epilogue that took place 19 years later. That’s where the new story will pick up, with Harry, Ron and Hermione as adults with children who are starting school.

J.K. Rowling developed the story for both plays with Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. In typical Rowling fashion, the story was just too long for one show. Both parts of the play will run concurrently, with attendees expected to attend both shows in one day or on consecutive days.

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” stars Jamie Parker as Harry Potter, Paul Thornley as Ron Weasley and Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger. Previews start June 7 at the Palace Theater in London. The show officially opens July 30, the day before the “Cursed Child” scripts are released.

Will you buy the rehearsal edition of the scripts or wait for the definitive version? Or will both have a place on your shelf? Sound off in the comments section below!

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