Previews: PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON at Lake Erie College’s Rickel Theater

First, there was the 1962 song made famous by folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary. Then, a 1979 juvenile fiction book adaptation by Romeo Muller. Now, Puff the Magic Dragon, the familiar children’s tale about childhood imagination and growing up, is being told as a multimedia ballet.

On Saturday, February 7, 2026, at Lake Erie College’s Rickel Theater, Cleveland’s Dancing Wheels Company and School will perform Robert Wesner's dance adaptation of Puff the Magic Dragon, based on Peter Yarrow and Leonard Lipton’s original song, and Muller’s expanded narrative book.

The former founder and director of Northeast Ohio’s Neos Dance Theatre, Wesner’s one-act children’s ballet tells the story of Jackie Draper, a child who didn’t dance or sing, who was visited by Puff the Magic Dragon. Puff used his magical powers to turn introverted Jackie Draper into more outgoing Jackie Paper, and together they ventured on a sailboat made from Jackie’s bed to Puff’s home, the island of Honah Lee. There, the two encountered and changed the fortunes of a pirate baker, rescued a falling star, and healed a group of sick sneezes using the pair’s powers of cleverness, creativity, and bravery. 

Puff the Magic Dragon is Wesner’s fourth commission for Dancing Wheels, and one he says he found both entertaining and challenging to create in collaboration with Dancing Wheels’ dancers.

“With a company of seven dancers having to play so many different characters in the ballet, finding ways for them to come on and be recognized as a new character was really fun,” says Wesner. 

There is also a lot of humor and whimsy inherent in the ballet production, says Wesner, including fanciful wigs, props, and artwork projections. 

Dancing Wheels’ company dancers Angelina DiFranco and DeMarco Sleeper will dance the lead roles of Jackie Draper/Paper and Puff the Magic Dragon, respectively. Joining them and the rest of the company dancers onstage will be students from the School of Dancing Wheels and its performance ensemble. 

For the 40-minute ballet’s soundtrack, Wesner says he turned to songs from the era in which the Peter, Paul, and Mary tune was written. Songs that blended folk and pop music with socio-political themes. The eclectic soundtrack for Puff includes music from Melanie, Petula Clark, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, Ludwig van Beethoven, as well as the ballet’s title track.

While Wesner’s ballet incorporates the essence of the original song’s lyrics, perhaps the most significant difference between the ballet and the song is that the ballet’s ending is a lot more hopeful.

“It doesn’t really land where the song does,” says Wesner. “There’s a renewal of spirit and healing at the end, where Jackie Paper turns back into Jackie Draper, only this time Jackie can dance, sing, and is fully engaged in their family life.”

Dancing Wheels Company and School presents Puff the Magic Dragon on Saturday, February 7, at 2 pm at Lake Erie College’s Rickel Theater within Royce Hall, 391 W. Washington St., Painesville, Ohio. General admission tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for those 16 years old and under.

Tickets can be purchased at dancingwheels.org/event/puff-the-magic-dragon or by calling 216-432-0306.

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