Harry Potter Play Condenses Eight Movies to 90 Minutes

Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre will perform "Stupefy! The 90 Minute Harry Potter" at the Emerson Black Box Theater in December.

Cram eight Harry Potter movies into a 90-minute stage performance and you get something that's pretty fast and pretty silly.  "I think people will be really excited to see the characters they love on stage," Director Suki Lammers said. "We try to emulate the movie but throw a curve ball in there."  Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre will perform "Stupefy! The 90 Minute Harry Potter" in December at the Emerson Black Box Theater at Lindenwood University, located just a few miles from Maryland Heights in St. Charles. The show was written by Jaysen Cryer. Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre is the sister parody company to the St. Louis Shakespeare Company which performs once or twice a year.  "It's always a parody of a movie or a trilogy," Lammers said. …

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Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors Prepare for the Last Harry Potter Movie

The Thornhill Branch of the St. Louis County Library hosted a Hogwarts-themed evening in celebration of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II."

Kids gathered for an after hours Hogwarts-themed party at the Thornhill Branch of the St. Louis County Library in celebration of the last Harry Potter movie. Refreshments, costume contests, trivia and fun ruled the night as they escaped from the Muggle world.

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Quidditch Canceled by Maryland Heights, Not Dementors or Evil Professors

The game based on Harry Potter books will be offered again by Parks and Recreation Department in the fall.

Quidditch has been canceled in Maryland Heights. Why cancel a league based upon the game in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books? Are too many dementors present? That would explain all the rain and severe storms in the area. Or maybe Prof. Dolores Umbridge is up to her old tricks? But it’s nothing that dramatic. Simply not enough people signed up to start a six-team league, said Angela Ament, recreation specialist for the Maryland Heights Parks and Recreation Department. “We had a couple of sets of single people—not full teams or anything,” Ament said. In the wizarding world of Harry Potter, quidditch is a witches and warlocks game played while flying on brooms. It’s been described as a flying version of a combined game of basketball and …

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Mom's the Word

Ignorance is Magical

While a tornado raged overhead, a group of kids with seemingly no worries enjoyed a Harry Potter birthday party.

Maryland Heights residents will always remember where they were during the Good Friday storm. I know I will. My husband was in Los Angeles, so I was the only adult in a house full of eight-year-old girls, my teenage niece, my five-year-old son and my baby daughter. We were having a Harry Potter themed slumber party, and there was so much noise inside the house that the partygoers barely noticed the storm raging outside. I knew it was serious when the emergency sirens started blaring. “Let’s go downstairs,” I said nonchalantly. “But we want to stay up here for the Harry Potter movie marathon!” “That’s later. Now head to the basement. I’ve got activities planned down there.” My daughter looked at me like I was crazy. Our basement is …

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Amanda Holtom

9:59 am on Friday, May 20, 2011

Thank you. Glad you're okay!   more ›

Mom's the Word

The British Are Coming...To Maryland Heights?

Maryland Heights has two newly constructed roundabouts, one of which causes a young resident to think he's in England.

“Mommy?” Thus begins every conversation initiated by my children, even when I’m the only other person in the car. “Yeah, buddy?” “Is this England?” I laugh. “No, silly...” The rearview mirror reflects my five-year-old’s confused expression. “Then why are we in a circle road thingy?” He studies the McKelvey Road roundabout as we head to the community center to purchase our Aquaport family pass. “Honey, we have roundabouts in this country, too. I guess you’ve just never seen one here.” “Ohhh...” I’m not at all surprised it reminds him of England. We’ve been there several times, often re-circling busy roundabouts à la National Lampoon’s European Vacation. Thankfully, my English-born-and-raised husband maneuvers London traffic better than …

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