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Have you ever heard the story about the wand-wielding, broom-riding boy wizard who was destined to be a hero? Matt Cox’s “PUFFS, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic,” is not that story. Well, not exactly …
Palo Alto Players’ latest production takes place at Hogwarts — that is, at a “Certain School of Female Magic and Male Magic” — during the glory years of The Boy Who Lived, but is told from the point of view of members of that most undersung of the school’s four houses: the humble Puffs, who just happen to be there, trying their best.
“PUFFS,” like that aforementioned other story, centers around a trio of friends. In this case, their adventures run parallel to those of their more acclaimed classmates. Protagonist Wayne (Will Livingston), an orphan from New Mexico, longs for greatness, but over the course of his years at that certain school, “he just keeps not saving the world,” director Kristin Walter said.
The show is “very funny, very satirical, there’s a zillion inside jokes from the books and the movies, and we walk that very fine line where we don’t get sued,” Walter said, laughing. It’s completely unauthorized by “Harry Potter” creator J.K. Rowling, and Walter said the rights come with a multipage rider with tips for staying out of lawsuit territory.
“You can say ‘Harry’ and you can say ‘Potter’ but you can’t say ‘Harry Potter,’” Walter noted. The characters are taught by the likes of Professor McG and Professor Sprouty, and fear the evil Mr. Voldy and his Death Buddies. Ron is played by a mop. And Walter is actually crocheting the characters’ striped scarves herself.
“They’re a little bit lopsided; they’re all just a little different and silly,” she said.
Michelle Skinner, who grew up with the books and has worked with Walter before, plays Megan, one of Wayne’s companions. Megan struggles to accept her Puff-ness and rebels against it by changing her accent, embracing goth style and trying out the other house’s identities.
“Her whole family is Puffs and she kind of has that stigma – that they’re kind of lame, they’re losers; she’s worked her whole childhood up until this point to not be a Puff,” she explained. “They’re that group of misfits. They don’t always belong. They’re a house of very different people that all love each other and accept each other despite that.”
While “PUFFS” is filled with winking references and parody content, Walter said it’s also full of heart, and carries an important message.
“There’s a wonderful speech about how as a Puff you fail and you fail hard, but you keep trying, and failure is just a form of practice,” Walter said. “That resonates a lot for me. I teach theater to middle schoolers and one of our little sayings is that we celebrate the epic fail. It’s not about perfection, it’s just about moving forward.”
Walter, who taught for more than two decades at Palo Alto’s Castilleja School and will move to Greene Middle School this fall, would seem the perfect directing choice for the production. A self-proclaimed huge “Potter” fan, she even boasts a “mischief managed” tattoo.
“I read it to my husband (Chris Mahle, a frequent Palo Alto Players performer and also a PAUSD teacher); I read it to my son as he was growing up,” she recalled of the series. “I must have read every book at least a dozen times.” In fact, her son Max Mahle is a member of the “PUFFS” ensemble. The two have acted together a few times, but this is Walter’s first time directing him (on stage, anyway).
While she loves the original stories, Walter is also well aware of the problematic, transphobic comments author Rowling has made in recent years.
“At our first rehearsal, we said our names, our Hogwarts houses, and our pronouns,” she said, “Mostly because it’s important but – bonus – because it pisses off J.K. Rowling. I am very, very glad this does not line her pockets at all,” she said of the unsanctioned show.
Though obviously geared toward those who have considerable familiarity with the world of You Know Who, Skinner said the show can be enjoyed by anyone, no matter how Muggle.
“The script does a really good job of almost creating a new world within a world that already exists. If you don’t know it, you’ll still be able to have a really fun time,” she said. “It’s funny and silly, but at the same time it has these incredibly heartfelt moments when you learn about love and friendship and loyalty within that. A couple of times, I’ve almost been brought to tears in the rehearsal room.”
In the cheeky play, students are categorized as Puffs, Braves, Smarts or Snakes. “There’s a story about the creation of the school, and it’s all of the different founders saying who they’d accept,” Walter said. Snakes founder Sal, for instance, is particularly interested in “blond, rich a******s.” Huffle Helga, founder of the Puffs, though, is open-minded and open-hearted. “She’ll take the rest of them. As long as they’re willing to work hard, they should have a place,” she said. “Reading the books, you never really think much about the Puffs. But they’re, like, the best house. They’re kind of awesome.”
“PUFFS” runs June 16 to July 2 at Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. The production is recommended for audiences age 13 and up. More information is available at paplayers.org.
