Puffs (2018)

I read about this play a while back and fell in love with the idea of it – the Harry Potter satire is good enough, but centering it around Hufflepuff?  Even better!  I was super excited when I found out it was coming to cinemas through Fathom Events, and now having seen it, I’m perfectly delighted with it.

Puffs is an unauthorized retelling of Harry Potter’s years at Hogwarts, seen through the eyes of Hufflepuff students.  The “Puffs” (the unauthorized part means they can’t actually use words like “Hufflepuff,” “Dumbledore,” or “Azkaban”) struggle with being the school’s also-ran house, the students who aren’t brave, smart, or cunning enough to be in one of the other houses.  In between bullying, schoolwork, and dark wizards, the Puffs are just trying to make it through and come out alive, both socially and literally.

For starters, this play is hilarious.  It’s able to make quite a few more overt references that I expected, and the places where they’re constrained by copyright just means they have to get creative.  Any Harry Potter in-joke is fair game, from large-scale stuff, like Harry being Dumbledore’s blatant favorite and Hogwarts being dangerously unsuitable for children, to little details, such as Neville growing up to be hot and Voldemort’s bizarre hugs.  Some of the character impressions are spot-on (like Snape and Moaning Myrtle,) while others (like Harry himself) are intentionally ridiculous.

Naturally, plenty of fun is had at the expense of the Puffs.  They’re socially-awkward, average-at-best students desperate to make their mark but forever thwarted in the attempt.  I like their cheery, in-unison “Hi!”, their propensity for group hugs (“I’m coming in!”), and their optimistic if modest dreams for themselves (“Third or nothing!”)  Our new Puff trio – who, oddly enough, all have American accents – navigate the tricky, often perilous halls of Hogwarts, dreaming of themselves as heroes but eventually coming to grips with the fact that not everyone is “destined for greatness.”

Because it’s not just about being the “loser house.”  The show also looks at the positive aspects of being a Puff:  the way they look out for each other, their perseverance in the face of repeated failure, and their acceptance of themselves and one another.  For each of the students, they ultimately need to figure out why they’re proud of who they are.

With the exceptions of the trio and the narrator, who all stick to one part, the cast pulls triple+ duty all around, each playing one of the Puff crew and two or more other, more familiar characters from the series.  Special shoutouts to James Fouhey for his encouraging but slightly dim Cedric and his terrific Voldemort, Madeline Bundy for her hilarious Harry and pitch-perfect Moaning Myrtle, and A.J. Ditty for being an engaging and affable narrator.  Oh, and we can’t forget the two mops plays Ron and Hermione!

Warnings

Language, sexual references, drinking, magical violence, and thematic elements.