Dan Clarkson, Creator of Unauthorized Harry Potter Show, Potted Potter at Bally’s Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip Talks: How the Show Began, His Background, Resuming When Allowed, the Pandemic
When news came out last year that the internationally successful, unauthorized Harry Potter show was coming to the Las Vegas Strip, the question asked was could this new show have a strong and lasting audience? We now know the answer. Yes.
In its short time in the Entertainment Capital of the World, Potted Potter has proven itself. CYInterview attended the production last year. You can see our coverage of it by clicking here.
Before Potted Potter played in Las Vegas, its creator Dan Clarkson was performing the show to large audiences throughout Europe. Dan is pictured in the photo above on the left, with fellow performer Jefferson Turner.
Dan Clarkson joined us on CYInterview from London, to talk about how he knew an unauthorized show based on the Harry Potter books could become something big and how that led to bringing the show to the Las Vegas Strip at Bally’s Hotel and Casino.
Speaking of the reaction to Potted Potter in Las Vegas, he told us this:
“It was an amazing opportunity, but like anywhere we play, there’s always the danger of going will they get the jokes? Will they want to come along for this? We have a live game of quidditch in the middle of the show, will everyone want to join in? And we didn’t need to be worried in Vegas. I mean, it fit in so well in the town and the joy for us was after doing the show for so long, we wanted to do a version that was unique to Vegas and putting jokes that you wouldn’t see if you saw the show anywhere else in the world, you wouldn’t see these Vegas jokes.”
One reason people believed the unauthorized Harry Potter show has done so well in the Entertainment Capital of the World is that it is a show for the entire family. The creator of the production gives us his thoughts on that:
“I mean, that’s very flattering of you to say. So, I like to think so. I mean, the point behind Potted Potter was always that it was for the whole family. That didn’t mean it was a kids’ show, but it meant for the first time we were trying to do something similar to the books where adults could enjoy just as much as kids can enjoy it.”
Dan Clarkson confirmed to us that Potted Potter will be back on the Las Vegas Strip when shows are allowed to resume production. He also shared with us the state of the entertainment scene in London where he resides and how they are also dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
You can listen to the entire CYInterview below:
Listen to the entire Dan Clarkson CYInterview:
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Potted Potter’s official website can be found clicking here.
You can find Dan Clarkson on Twitter by clicking here.