Heather Allen

Attention Harry Potter nerds! This play is for you!

The story is about Hufflepuffs at Hogwarts during the seven years that the books take place. Some of the humor of the show comes from the fact that the play is kind of fan-fiction in the sense that it’s not affiliated with the books or movies, or Cursed Child, though they make reference to those things during the play. This also includes naming the other houses as “The Braves,” “The Smarts,” and “The Snakes.” (lol)

It was such a fun experience at New World Stages to see this off-Broadway show! The theater is small, but I really appreciate and enjoy that experience because it was so intimate. We sat near the aisle and received at least two high fives by the actors. It’s interactive, the set is minimal, and the play is only 90 minutes, there’s so much going on and your immediately are transported into the story.

Most of the story follows a trio of Puff friends, Wayne, Megan, and Oliver, and how they are figuring out these weird experiences like Quirrel, the troll in the dungeon, Sirius, and all the other adventures that are happening to Harry simultaneously.  Wayne was also an orphan who grew up with his uncle in New Mexico, and when he arrives at Hogwarts he also thinks that he has a magical destiny. Megan was a goth girl whose mom was in “Wiz Priz” and she’s waiting for her mom to break her out of school. And Oliver is from New Jersey and is a math genius and doesn’t grasp wizardry as easily as some of the people who grew up in a wizard house. Just these fish out of water story lines make such as comical addition to the already hilarious story.

The Narrator was the driving force of the narrative, moving the audience from one year to the next. We’re seeing the Puffs change and grow from weird puberty to nearly adults in year seven. It really puts Harry’s story in perspective because his choices were affecting everyone at the school.

They really play into the house attributes to make fun of Hufflepuffs in the play. They characters in the Puff house try to come in third in the house cup, they know that they are failures, but they find companionship in their mediocre-ness.

I’m in awe of how well they put seven years into the play (plus an epilogue). The time passed quickly in the show, but they knew when to slow down the action. And all the actors were able to do quick changes that allowed for quick story changes.

Overall, I was really happy I had a chance to see this! I was laughing the entire time and if you’re a Harry Potter fan you will not be disappointed!

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