How to watch the ‘Hocus Pocus’ reunion tonight with Bette Midler, Meryl Streep, Billy Crystal and more
Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker as the Sanderson Sisters in "Hocus Pocus." The trio is returning for a sequel. But first: a reunion.Andrew Cooper/Buena Vista Pictures
The Sanderson sisters, perhaps the most famous witchy trio since Shakespeare’s three witches of “double, double toil and trouble” fame in “Macbeth,” are flying back into town for their big moment.
The stars of the 1993 movie “Hocus Pocus” — Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy — are all onboard for the forthcoming Disney sequel.
But they’ll be giving fans a little taste for Halloween 2020, too. In keeping with the proliferation of TV and film cast reunions during the COVID-19 pandemic, Midler is hosting a “Hocus Pocus” reunion Friday.
When is the ‘Hocus Pocus’ reunion?
The virtual gathering will take place on Halloween Eve — or Cabbage Night, Mischief Night or Goosey Night, if you prefer.
In the movie, which has been getting heavy rotation this month on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween, Najimy, who recently “visited” NJPAC for a virtual conversation, plays Mary Sanderson, Midler plays Winifred Sanderson and Parker plays Sarah Sanderson. The witch siblings are brought back to life 300 years after they were executed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1693.
“Hocus Pocus" did not fare well at the box office when it was first released. The film became a beloved classic in the intervening years. For some fans, it’s now just as much a part of Halloween as pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating. And the characters are as bankable as ever. The film’s 2020 re-release ranked No. 2 at the box office the first weekend in October (yes, that’s more than 27 years after the film’s debut), generating $1.9 million to kick off the haunted season (it’s currently still at No. 6 with a total gross of more than $4 million).
Who will be at the ‘Hocus Pocus’ reunion?
For the reunion, Midler, 74, will have more friends than just the cast on hand. Expect a full lineup of celebrity guests.
"In Search of the Sanderson Sisters: A Hocus Pocus Hulaween Takeover” will be hosted by Elvira, the mistress of the dark herself, starting 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT Friday, Oct. 30.
Parker, Midler and Najimy will reprise their roles over the course of the one-hour reunion, which will be presented as a kind of documentary, illuminating the history of the Sanderson Sisters.
Other “Hocus Pocus” cast members in attendance will be Thora Birch, who played Dani; Omri Katz, who played Max; Vinessa Shaw, who played Allison; and Doug Jones, who played Billy Butcherson. John Debney, who supervised the music for the film, will also be there.
Special guests will include New Jersey’s own Meryl Streep along with Sarah Silverman, Billy Crystal, Jennifer Hudson and Kenan Thompson and Alex Moffat from “Saturday Night Live."
Glenn Close, George Lopez and “Halloween” queen Jamie Lee Curtis will also make appearances, as will singer Todrick Hall, John Stamos, Martin Short, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes (“MADtv”), “American Idol” winner Samantha Diaz, actress Sophie von Haselberg — who is Midler’s daughter — and Adam Lambert (and that’s not all).
How to watch the ‘Hocus Pocus’ reunion
Tickets are $10 (plus a $3 fee) and will benefit the New York Restoration Project, which works to restore parks, open spaces and community gardens in New York City.
Visit nyrpshop.org/#nyrphulaween or watch.eventive.org/nyrphulaween.
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