Review: Jobsite Theater & the Straz Center Present Matt Cox's PUFFS at the Jaeb

When it comes to spoofs, no time period did it better than the 1970s thru the 1990s.  You had Mel Brooks’ spoofing westerns (Blazing Saddles), Universal monsters (Young Frankenstein), silent movies (Silent Movie), Alfred Hitchcock films (High Anxiety) and Star Wars (Spaceballs). There were the Zuckerbergs and Jim Abrahams with Kentucky Fried Movie,  Airplane! and Police Squad.    Plus you had Monty Python (with both the Holy Grail and Life of Brian), Austin Powers, Hot Shots! and Scary Movie. 

Spoofs are still popular, as the announcement of Mel Brooks' upcoming Spaceballs sequel attests.  There have also been numerous recent stage parodies and reimaginings, including Friends, The Office, Stranger Sings and Spamilton.  Perhaps the most popular of these is Matt Cox’s "Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic."   The show debuted at the People’s Improv Theatre a decade ago, where it was scheduled to run for five performances but wound up being an eight-month success

If you are a fan of Harry Potter (whose name, as well as the names of his school and the various houses within, cannot be mentioned in full for copyright reasons), then Puffs is about the best medicine in this off-the-charts insane year.  The laughs come machine-gun fast, and if a joke doesn’t land, then there are a hundred more coming right at you that will.  As showcased in Jobsite Theater’s current winning production of Puffs, playing at the Jaeb until August 3rd, it’s a show that assaults you with humor, and the audience was left screaming with laughter for much of the night.

I knew the audience would be all-in the moment I arrived and saw several young (and even some middle aged) men and women donned in Harry Potter attire.  People wore Gryffindor tops and Hufflepuff jerseys.  A thirtysomething, draped in a Ravenclaw cape that she purchased from Universal, sipped her red wine.  Couples came dressed in matching Hogwarts t-shirts, including several people wearing Harry’s iconic round glasses and clutching their individualized wands.  There was an air of impending Baccanalia that I hadn't felt since Jobsite's Rocky Horror Show a year ago.  

Before the performance, various hits from last century played, all with the theme of “magic,” including “Do You Believe in Magic” by the Lovin Spoonful, “Strange Magic” by ELO, “Magic Man” by Heart, and Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard.”  There was a party atmosphere, as if those in attendance had shut off the news for the evening, forgot their troubles, and c’mon, got happy.  It was a boisterous opening night crowd, to say the least.

Was the much-needed laughter earned?  Oh my, yes.  Puffs is more than just a hilarious play; it’s a celebration of an icon that, through the Harry Potter books and films, has brought so much love and heart to so many people.  Who cares that the original author has tainted herself and her legacy with her various screeds against transgender rights? We should be able to separate art from the artists (at least in theory), so even if you’re not a JK Rowling fan, you can still be simply mad about Harry.  And that’s the feeling I had watching Puffs.  The more you know about Harry Potter, the better the show will be for you; you’ll laugh so hard that your stomach will hurt. 

But what about those who have little or no knowledge of Harry’s universe; will they enjoy it?  That will be interesting to find out.  But I’m sure any Muggle will have fun at Puffs, even those individuals who think Hogwarts is a disease or a Dumbledore is not a very nice thing to call somebody.  Laughter is infectious, and this hilarious show is the perfect antidote to our worldly (and stately) troubles.

Who knew that we needed more theater like this?  Shows that certainly aren’t high art, and don't pretend to be, but that are so exceptionally produced and loaded with so much fun and technical wizardry, that we’re glad we experienced them.  It’s like your best trip to Universal Studios, specifically the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but not nearly as expensive (and you don’t have to worry about the blistering Florida heat on a hot July evening).  It’s the mug of butterbeer that we didn’t know we needed until after watching it. 

For the uninitiated one or two people out there, Puffs focuses on the Hufflepuffs in Harry Potter’s wizard world.  At this school (not called Hogwarts here), there are four houses: The Braves (obviously the unnamed Gryffindor), the Smarts (Ravenclaw), the Snakes (Slytherin) and the rest of them, known as the Puffs (Hufflepuff).  The way I have always seen it, the four houses of Hogwarts mirror the Beatles: Paul McCartney is Gryffindor, John Lennon would be Slytherin, George Harrison as Ravenclaw, and last and least, Ringo Starr is Hufflepuff (he’s just happy to be there). 

The Puffs are the sorriest house at this unnamed Hogwarts, but they have such a good can-do spirit, such wonderful energy at being just average, that they sort of prize their loser status.  They know they’re not winners; they just want to be #3.  They’re called “The Mighty Ducks of Wizardry,” but then that’s changed to “The Mighty Ducks 2 of Wizardry,” which is far worse.  Like Ringo, they’re just happy to be there. 

In this alternate world, Harry is not the good guy.  Not by a long shot (he’s more trouble than he’s worth).  That honor of herodom, or whatever you want to call it with these smiley sad sacks, goes to the nice-guy schlub, Wayne Hopkins, an American nerd who befriends outsiders like Megan, who believes she was wrongly placed into the Puffs house via the sorting hat (not called that here), and Oliver, a math whiz.  We follow these three through their seven years of misadventures at this wacky wizard school where everybody knows your name.

And yes, various odds and ends from Harry’s world show up, even Ron and Hermione (but only as wigs on a stick). It’s quite funny, like Mel Brooks, Monty Python and a very long SNL skit all rolled into one.  Naughty, ribald, ridiculous, it’s also heartfelt.  Underneath its laugh-a-second assault lies a real heart.   And mirroring the Harry Potter universe, it grows a bit more serious  as it moves forward, which means Act 2 is not nearly as hilarious (or fun, or fulfilling) as Act 1.  Just like Harry’s world, it grows dark, or as dark as this crazy comedy will allow. 

The Jobsite cast is just about the finest assortment of local actors I’ve seen.  There’s not a bad note in the bunch, each and every cast member giving his or her (or their, mentioned in honor of Ms. Rowling) top-tiered performance. 

Cameron Kubly is a master at playing pathetic parts like Wayne.  He has that perfect whine in his voice, almost like he’s always pleading, like nails on a chalkboard if they could speak, and he comes across as the Nerd’s Everyman, Charlie Brown meets McLovin.  Nearly each year presented in the show, he dons a different t-shirt, starting with Masters of the Universe, and continuing with X-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, everything a child of the 1990s would want (the entire production has a marvelous Nineties kick to it).  But there’s a moment in Act 2 where we get to see a different side to him. His shirt is now black, and he’s in dire angst after a friend of his has perished during the three wizard tournament.  He showcases a don’t-give-a-f*ck attitude, booze bottle limp in his hand, and the deflated Mr. Kubly plays it just right.  He is the heart and soul of the show and he’s never been better. 

Troy Brooks is sensational as Oliver, at times bringing a Jerry Lewis vibe to the part. As his future love, Logan Franke is a marvel as the edgy Megan, proudly displaying a Nirvana t-shirt. Both of them connect well with each other (to the tune of Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose,” no less); they have actual character arcs, something we don’t always see in zany shows like this.  They make their roles three dimensional, not just the butts of jokes. 

Noa Friedman is a ball of energy in her various roles, and she probably had me laughing the most in this.  You never know what she’s going to do next, and you couldn’t wait for her bouncing-off-the-walls characters to enter the stage. 

The mega-talented Colleen Cherry is wildly wondrous in her various roles, especially as a deadly dragon (that looks like an alligator) and the house elf Bippy, who’s fated for a Dobby-like demise.   

Rachel Gallagher, Carolina Huerta and the brilliant Katherine Yacko get to show off so much versatility, each playing a plethora of characters, each one different (we never doubt who’s who, which is a wonder  with so many parts but not that many cast members).

Matthew McGee once again showcases for us why every production in our area (or in any area, for that matter) needs for him to be in it.  He plays the Narrator, and his part crackles with whip-quick quips, and no one does a better facial reaction to the onstage mayhem as well as he.  When mist has filled the stage, he walks on and says, “It’s like a Cypress Hill concert here!”  At one point he even quotes Scooby-Doo: “Ruh-roh!” His rapport with the audience is uncanny and he gets one of the show’s biggest ovations near the very end.  He alone makes any show a must-see. 

Ben Sutherland, who has just finished his junior year at UT, is a quite a find.  I recall his strong work in Tampa Rep’s Next to Normal last year, and great as he was in that, he’s even more of a standout here.  He plays the doomed Cedric in all of his unabashed self-assuredness; he’s so damn likable, the only overconfident Puff, and he plays into the smiling dream teammate perfectly, popping each moment onstage with extra sizzle (and it’s quite lively before he enters).  He towers over the rest of the cast,  smiling like he’s trapped in a Crest commercial and handsome in a BMOC sort of way, and he plays into the teenage heroic nature of the role.  He’s equally good as the bizarre villain, Mr. Voldy, putting Ralph Fiennes’ Voldemort to shame (love the band-aid on the nose and that hissy voice). 

And then there’s Spencer Meyers.  Mr. Meyers has showcased his versatility before (such as in Silence! The Musical several years ago), but he’s outdone himself here.  His Dark Arts Professor, in a wig that makes him look like the lost member of a 60s British Invasion band,  is a pitch-perfect copy of Alan Rickman’s Snape.  And make no mistake: What he does to a donut in Act 2 will forever be lodged in the audience’s memory. 

There are moments when Mr. Meyers changes his characters onstage, each one different and specific with the mere removal or addition of wigs or headpieces, whether he’s the stuttering Quirrell or the brazenly obnoxious Lockhart.   There’s even one moment early on where it looked like he was channeling Monty Python’s Terry Jones.  And his Mad-Eyed Moody, with wagging tongue and a single Cyclops googly eye, became an audience favorite.  Mr. Meyers is quite a wonder here, in every part; he’s so good that it makes us question why there’s no such thing as “The Spencer Meyers Show.” 

David Jenkins has directed a miracle of a production, making the most of the splendid special effects and tech work: Chris Giuffre’s solid set design; Katrina Stevenson’s fabulous and fun costumes; and Jo Averill-Snell’s awards-worthy lighting design, maybe the best I’ve seen at the Jaeb.  Teah Banks' props win hands down (love the viewmaster!), and various puppets are put to good use, including a giant green snake that sent me into an immediate Beany and Cecil flashback.   

Jeremy Douglass’ sound design is astonishing, including “Silence of the Lambs” music (“Goodbye Horses”) for the creepy Mr Voldy scene and many more musical allusions, from Haddaway to Queen to the overused “Price is Right” loser horn.  

The show is laden with a surfeit of inside jokes.  If you’re not in on it, if Harry Potter is just a name and not an obsession or even a lifestyle for you, then you may feel like a wallflower at this particular party. That said, an older gentlemen told me afterwards that he didn’t know much about Harry Potter but that he enjoyed the show immensely.    And more than one person told me that it’s the perfect show for this time—a true escape that takes us back to the 1990s, the last fully fun decade.  Puffs is already one of Jobsite’s top sellers, and you don’t want to miss seeing what the buzz is all about.  And in this case, the buzz is 100% deserved.

Jobsite’s production of PUFFS plays at the Jaeb Theater in the Straz Center until August 3rd. Photo Credit: James Zambon Productions

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