Metro Atlanta natives return home to perform ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ at Fox Theatre

ATLANTA — Naiya Vanessa McCalla followed her brother on stage, fell into acting and fell in love with theatre. 

“I idolized my older brother, and he would do the plays in elementary school,” McCalla said. “I was quite shy when I was a kid, and my parents wanted me to get out of my shell, out of my bubble. So they said if she loves him so much, she might as well go and try the theatre thing. It worked out for me.”

McCalla grew out of her shell and into her own. She acted with OnStage Atlanta and starred in shows at the Paideia School. Then, McCalla got whisked away into the wizarding world.

“Physically, it’s a very intensive show so it feels like every night, you’re expending energy, doing something that’s actively giving back to the audience and to the people around you,” McCalla said. “The show is a magic show in the obvious way, but it’s also a magic show in that it’s about love and acceptance and growing up, being a young person trying to find your place. I think there’s magic in that. Sitting in the audience, things will happen like that and you’ll move on so fast you won’t even realize someone just appeared out of nowhere and was just right there, but now they’re over here.”

McCalla plays Rose Granger-Weasley in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, running at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta through March 15. It’s the same theatre where McCalla has seen shows and collected playbills over the years. Now, she’s getting the same applause she gave other performers.

“Atlanta is my home. I’m so grateful to be back here,” McCalla said. “I’m feeling like I’m in a unique and special position to give back to a community that gave so much to me and is the reason I’m here and did shape the actor I am today.”

Adam Grant Morrison plays the main character, Albus Severus Potter. The Woodstock native cut his chops at Creekview High School before acting on the same stage where he saw his first professional show.

“It’s about friendship and family and love and care and finding your place in the world even when it feels hard to be doing that,” Morrison said. “Getting to see the families, kids and people come dressed up. We already have an audience excited to see this show and is in love with this world we get to be part of. That’s inspiring to me, to see the people that really care about this story.”

Morrison said as an anglophile, his mother would often read him and his siblings books from the Harry Potter series. He said his connection to the story and to the audience helps carry him through a flurry of performances.

“It is an amazing amount of work,” Morrison said. “Every single person on and off and backstage is working incredibly hard. It takes a lot of energy, physically and emotionally, to do the show. It’s a three-hour show, and a lot of it is go, go, go, go, go. You’re running from one place to the next. You get a second offstage to drink some water and fan yourself, and then you run right back on.”

Morrison credited Metro Atlanta with shaping him into a better person and professional. He encouraged others pursuing a passion or dream to take feedback and keep going.

“Listen to what the people around you are saying,” Morrison said. “Even if you don’t end up taking all the advice people give you, it’s important to be able to understand where people are coming from and listening to what other people say is invaluable. Read as much as you can, let your heart and passion guide you and listen to yourself. Be kind to yourself.”

McCalla prescribed aspiring actors a lot of sleep, water and good food. But she also encouraged those seeking the stage or anything in life to submit to serenity and cultivate confidence in themselves.

“Take your time, take a breath and believe in yourself, because you’re always going to be exactly where you’re supposed to be, and you do have a light inside of you, and you have the strength and courage to pursue anything you want to pursue no matter what. Above all, I want little Naiya to know she’s seen and she deserves to be.”