I read this play knowing NOTHING except the fact that Harry, Ron, and Hermione are now adults.
I think part of the fun was going in without any expectations whatsoever, and just enjoying being immersed in the wizarding world again. For that reason, I'm going to keep this review spoiler-free, which means I can't really say much, except in broad strokes.
The bottom line is, this play was written for Harry Potter fans. Reading this play is downright FUN! I enjoyed every minute of it, which is why I gave it 5 stars. All the nostalgia factors are there. Think of this play as the Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII) of the Harry Potter franchise. We have a new story with new characters, but at the same time, we still have our old favorite characters - who are literally older - and we're just traveling down memory lane, paying homage to the original story. All the characters are just how we remember them, Ron being in especially good form as comic relief.
Intentionally or not, this play did have a couple "Harry Potter moments" when you wanted to shake the book and ask, "Why did you do THAT instead of doing this other thing that would obviously be a better idea!?" But perhaps that is part of the Harry Potter charm. There may be some shortcomings or inconsistencies in the plot, but the mere existence of the wizarding world itself just makes up for it.
So, let's be honest. My 5-star rating is more a result of my fandom than a critical analysis of the play. If I had to rate this STORY as a stand-alone entity... Maybe I'd give it 3 1/2 stars. Without giving away spoilers, I'll just say that the story includes elements that I find very difficult to do well in any book, and also, I didn't feel as much sympathy for the main character as I think I was supposed to.
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