Broadway met New York Comic Con as the original cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child kicked off the convention with a jam-packed panel.

Keep the secrets! The message still surrounds Harry Potter and the Cursed Child even though it’s been over well over two years since the show took its first bow in London. On the panel were Anthony Boyle (Scorpius), Sam Clemmett (Albus), Noma Dumezweni (Hermione), Jamie Parker (Harry), Poppy Miller (Ginny), Alex Price (Draco), and Paul Thornley (Ron).

The atmosphere was positively electric as Hogwarts loyalists cheered at the mention of their House names, references to the casts’ experience picking up the books were revealed, and the cast tried, but some ultimately failed, to keep plot points under wraps.

Audiences in the room were treated to something that few people outside of the theater have seen -– a clip from the show. The scene featured the first years, Albus included, participating in a lesson. The intricate choreography and movements by the cast give off the illusion that the wand is in control of the wizard.

Sam Clemmett commented on the scene, saying that the movement “feels organic. And it’s something that comes from us as performers and the wand leads us as it were. It was one of the great things about the rehearsal process was that they made it a room in which you felt like you could fail. It was a place to explore and be really creative… Finding the movement and the exploration with Steven [Hoggett, choreographer] was one of my favorite parts.”

The second treat of the day came from Imogen Heap, who provided a pre-filmed message about the upcoming soundtrack release. While the play is just that, a play, music plays a huge role in the production. The crowd listened to a clip from a scene set in the Ministry. All the cast members on stage were moving in their seats, miming out the motions that help set the characters in their places, pushing and pulling imaginary props and flipping capes.

Most palpable among the panelists was the sense of community within the cast (company members of which were seated behind our row and were so thrilled to see themselves on screen!). They lift the material off the pages every night on stage not only for the fans but for one another. Jamie Parker and Poppy Miller discussed checking in with one another about the marriage of Harry and Ginny — how that helps inform their progression through the play each night.

As for the play coming overseas, the biggest difference, and one that everyone agreed with, was the audience. The first U.K. preview had an air of uncertainty, because they were delivering another chapter in this beloved universe to a ravished fan base. Would they like it? Would they accept these new people in the roles for just a little bit? In the U.S., they knew how attendees would react.

Parker, who has read the books seven times since accepting the role, points out that the words at the end of Deathly Hallows left him to wonder about the future. Parker said, “I remember finishing the books for the first time and getting to that last line, ‘All was well.’ And being very suspicious of it, it leaves an awful lot of question marks and that for me is the need for this play. The loop isn’t complete until the last two lines of this play and without it you haven’t got the full myth.”

The play is not just for the most obsessed Potter heads. There’s something for everyone as the show cycles through explorations of growing up, experiences of childhood and the burdens that come with it, the same with parenting.

When asked what’s different about Harry as an adult and what’s the same, Jamie Parker mused, “He’s 40 now and he’s trying to be a dad with a kid going through the same rights of passages and frustrations. The big question for me is whether he did ever get past his childhood. He’s still running to save Sirius, to save Hermione, to save Tonks and the rest of the fallen 50 and I think that it’s never left him.”

Speaking of exploration, the only two original characters on the stage — Albus and Scorpius — come into roles that are informed by the work surrounding them but are completely new to the universe.

Anthony Boyle, who plays Scorpius Malfoy, spoke candidly about his approach to the character. “I thought about if you’re brought up and your dad is Draco Malfoy, I went to Catholic school, so I contextualize that as your dad being Judas. And then with your dad maybe being Voldemort I saw that as like the Devil. So being either the son of Judas or the Antichrist, and then going to school with that burden and not being able to hide with this bleach blonde white hair, the bullying that one must go through and then losing a mother early on, it’s really going to affect you. And there’s going to be a tremendous amount of pain that he has to carry around with him. And I think that a lot of humor that happens in the play comes from his pain.”

Poppy quickly followed up asking Anthony if the humor is a coping mechanism, to which Anthony replied that he believes the awkwardness of Scorpius certainly stems from this place of pain.

Parker followed up connecting Scorpius to Harry in that regard, saying, “You’ve just described a lot of common ground with Harry actually… but that’s a tool that Harry just hasn’t got.”

This goes to show just how connected and understanding these actors are with their characters and what they are learning from one another as the process continues on over two years later.

The final round of questions covered award fan experiences — please don’t send Anthony Boyle your hair! — and a quick serenade courtesy of Jamie Parker’s smooth voice.

‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ Comic Con Fast Facts

– On finding their way to the role and Harry Potter in general, both Noma Dumezweni and Paul Thornley gave into “tube-pressure,” seeing everyone reading it on their morning commutes.

– Jamie Parker records 20 minutes of the Harry Potter books every day for his son to listen to. He records them “in the toilet,” as he says it is the only place to get enough quiet and privacy.

– The wand choreography from London is not the same as it is on Broadway.

– Paul Thornley, when asked what he has taken from Ron, commented, “Well, it’s not a far leap is it?”

– Both Sam Clemmett and Anthony Boyle spoke to taking home some of the physicality of their roles, especially that they are ruining their posture. Boyle said, “I sit like this, like a crumbled-up spider.”

You can pre-order the Cursed Child soundtrack now and purchase tickets to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway, in London, and soon in Melbourne, Australia.