Not So Musical Monday: Puffs

It’s nearly Christmas, which means I should be reviewing something somewhat thematic, no? In the line of ABC Family since 2003 or so, I’ll be considering the Harry Potter universe Christmas themed. It’s a stretch, but at least I’m not the first one to do so. Now, admittedly I grew up a huge Harry Potter fan, which is perhaps one of the most common things that can be said by a 28-year-old American male. I read all of the books as soon as they came out, saw the movies came out, and complained about the differences between the books and the movies. Perhaps that is the reason I had so much fun watching the Off-Broadway production of Puffs or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic.

With broad strokes, Puffs tells the story of the Hufflepuffs during the times Harry Potter was at Hogwarts. To actually review Puffs is a rather unique task. I say with 100% certainty that someone who was not a fan of Harry Potter would probably not enjoy it much at all. It is full of clever jokes and allusions to both the Harry Potter books and movies—but the funniest allusions are subtler and would either make no sense or be completely missed by someone not terribly well versed in both. So is Puffs a good play? Yes—if you’re in the right audience, I laughed heartily and regularly. Is Puffs a good play if you’re not in the right audience? Probably not. It would be at best confusing with occasional jokes landing. At worst, it would be a collection of hodgepodge nonsense stuffed into a manic 90 minutes. 

Puffs I think should be celebrated for two things specifically that I appreciate—one in its creation and one in its production. First, Puffs is a really good use of parody. I’m sure an attorney was consulted as the bottom of their website reads: “Puffs is a stage play written by Matt Cox as a transformative & transfigured work under the magic that is US Fair Use laws. It is not endorsed, sanctioned, or in any other way supported directly or indirectly by Warner Bros. Entertainment, the Harry Potter book publishers, Sonia Friedman Productions or J.K. Rowling and her representatives, not to mention the people who made Free Willy, the Rocky franchise, Sylvester Stallone, or AOL Instant messenger. It is what one might call, ‘Its own thing.’” That is just downright good lawyering—its protecting your rights and having fun at the same time. That appeals directly to the attorney in me. 

Second, Puffs filmed their show live on stage in order to allow access for more people across the country who might not be able to see it. It’s on their website and for sale for $20. That’s a lot cheaper than an average Off-Broadway ticket (and certainly cheaper than plane tickets and lodging in New York.) I was having a conversation with a group of friends last week about how I want more people to have access to shows—though pirating things filmed without permission I feel strongly against—but Puffs is taking affirmative steps to get their play out as broadly as possible. It is done in cast albums for almost every Broadway show, but I hope more and more shows do this (Newsies and Shrek are two examples I’ve written about previously.)

Puffs was written directly to one of my major interests by someone who was clearly a large fan as well. I can understand why someone wouldn’t like the play, sure, but it was a great time for me. I really enjoyed Puffs on stage, but even more so, I enjoy what Puffs is doing off the stage in both its lawyering and its accessibility.