THE BASICS: PUFFS, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, a play by Matt Cox, directed by Joey Bucheker, with a large ensemble cast, opened on January 28 and runs for two more weekends, through Superbowl Sunday February 13, Fridays – Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2, with one Saturday matinee this weekend only, February 5, at 2pm. Produced by O’Connell & Co the play is at Shea’s Smith Theatre, 654 Main Street, Buffalo NY 14202 (716-847-0850) Sheas.org OR Facebook.
Photo ID and proof of vaccination and masks are required and they are strict about this, so have your documents ready.
Runtime: 2-1/2 hours with one intermission, full-service bar.
THUMBNAIL SKETCH: “For seven years a certain boy wizard went to a certain Wizard School and conquered evil. This, however, is not his story. This is the story of the Puffs… who just happened to be there too. A tale for anyone who has never been ‘one of the cool kids,’ was a little nerdy in school, and was never deemed destined to save the world.”
THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION: To begin with this was a wonderful cast, with some well-seasoned performers, including Kris Bartolomeo, Mike Benoit, Marissa Biondolillo, Nathanial Higgins, Christian Hines, Sabrina Kahwaty, Nicholas Lama, Daniel Lendzian, Gabrielle Nunzio, Jenn Stafford, and David Wysocki.
To single out some performances which seemed outstanding to me, let’s start with Nathanial Higgins as Narrator who reminded me a lot of the British actor Michael York (known to many from the Austin Powers movie franchise). Smooth, unflappable, he provided the gravitas that is essential for the crazier characters to bounce off of. I’ve always noticed that the actors, male and female, who tour, work at regional theaters, or perform on cruise ships always come back home with a certain panache. And he has that.
For sheer energy on stage, though, it’s a toss-up between David Wysocki (who plays “Cedric” and later with a skin-colored flap covering his nose “Mr. Voldy” – think Lord Voldemort) and Sabrina Kahwaty (who plays “Leanne” and many other roles). Talk about “fully committed!” We sat in the front row (recommended) and felt we got a complete gym workout by just watching those two dance, leap, drop, roll and make the small Smith stage seem twice as big as it really is.
Their energy is rivaled by actress Kris Bartolomeo as the somewhat punk/goth bad girl Megan Jones. The characters Megan, Oliver (played by Christian Hines), and Wayne make up the trio of protagonists (a sort of fun-house mirror image of the “original” trio of Harry Potter, Hermione Grainger, and Ron Weasley). Weasley does make an appearance in PUFFS as a somewhat reddish string mop. Yes, the kind high school janitors use.
Of course, I really wanted to see Nicholas (Nick) Lama who plays the lead nerd, “Wayne Hopkins,” the boy with big dreams that are ultimately fulfilled, just not exactly the way he thought they would be. Regular readers of my reviews know how impressed I am with every additional performance by Nick, starting with ALMOST, MAINE at Shea’s 710 through NUNSENSE A-MEN at Shea’s Smith, and who killed it in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (at O’Connell & Co. in Kenmore) and in ELF at MusicalFare.
And a very pleasant surprise was seeing Jenn Stafford on stage so soon after she successfully reprised the role of Malory in Road Less Traveled’s hilarious HAND TO GOD as well as her Artie Award winning dual-role of Mom/The Mayor, also on this stage, produced by Second Generation Theatre. In this PUFFS ensemble cast where there are many multiple roles taken on by the cast, sometimes appearing on stage for just one line, the ability to get into and then portray a character in seconds is essential, and Stafford is a master.
The set by Bill Baldwin is cleverly designed for farce, with four doors (ostensibly for the four “houses” at the school) and multiple entrance and exit points to the left and right of those doors. The action is non-stop. And apart from rolling back two central doors from time to time, entrances and exits are seamless and instantaneous. I did say “non-stop” didn’t I?
The costumes by Sara Jo Kukulka are very clever as are the many, many props courtesy of Alley Griffin. Many props. Which brings us to two credits that we don’t usually see for local productions and they are Standby/Swings Vincent Murphy and Stefanie Warnick. Given the vagaries of the pandemic, it made sense to have them waiting in the wings. For O’Connell & Co., Shea’s Smith is a rental, and so postponement or cancellation would have been financially painful. But, those two weren’t just lounging around backstage. With Alley Griffin, Stage Manager, they took on the jobs of Assistant Stage Managers, which, in a production with a multitude of entrances and cues and props and costume changes, was a really smart idea.
Lighting Design was by Matthew DiVita, Sound Design by Matt Cox (yes, the playwright), and original music was by LA based composer Brian Hoes.
Note and a quote from the playwright: “PUFFS is a stage play written by Matt Cox as a transformative & transfigured work under the magic that is US Fair Use laws. Puffs is not authorized, sanctioned, licensed, or endorsed by J.K Rowling, Warner Bros., or any person or company associated with the Harry Potter books, films or play.”
Having said that, a lot of the humor depends on at least a rudimentary knowledge of the Harry Potter universe. I suppose that if you have zero interest in things Potter, then presumably you won’t be at this play. But if you are attending as a parent or someone’s date, you’ll be fine. Still, the more you know, the more you’ll get the inside jokes.
PET PEEVE: I am not a fan of scanning a QR code in the lobby and then reading the playbill on my phone. Not only is that rude to the people I came with but you can’t look up anything once the show starts. So, if you’d like to read the playbill BEFORE you go, here’s a link.
WHAT’S NEXT: When Mary Kate O’Connell’s ankle heals, we can hope for a rescheduled TENDERLY, The Rosemary Clooney Musical. Looking ahead to March, it will be WORKING, the musical based on the book by Studs Terkel, March 25 to April 10, 2022.
Rating: Three and Half Buffalos
*HERD OF BUFFALO (Notes on the Rating System)
ONE BUFFALO: This means trouble. A dreadful play, a highly flawed production, or both. Unless there is some really compelling reason for you to attend (i.e. you are the parent of someone who is in it), give this show a wide berth.
TWO BUFFALOS: Passable, but no great shakes. Either the production is pretty far off base, or the play itself is problematic. Unless you are the sort of person who’s happy just going to the theater, you might look around for something else.
THREE BUFFALOS: I still have my issues, but this is a pretty darn good night at the theater. If you don’t go in with huge expectations, you will probably be pleased.
FOUR BUFFALOS: Both the production and the play are of high caliber. If the genre/content are up your alley, I would make a real effort to attend.
FIVE BUFFALOS: Truly superb–a rare rating. Comedies that leave you weak with laughter, dramas that really touch the heart. Provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!