Puffs, or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (623)
See it if you like Harry Potter and remember enough about the series to get the nuances of the jokes
Don't see it if you don't like Harry Potter or don't really know much about it. You won't properly get what's happening and it just won't be too funny
See it if you like Harry Potter! The script, all the hidden jokes, everything about this play is fantastic.
Don't see it if you don't like or know much about Harry Potter. This is very much for HP fans.
See it if you are a hufflepuff or love Harry Potter
Don't see it if If you don't like or haven't seen Harry Potter
See it if you want to see a Dynamite young cast lovingly spoof the world of HP. This ensemble cast of rock stars make every moment an utter delight!
Don't see it if you've never seen/read HP (altho a vast knowledge is not required). It was the most FUN I've had in the theatre. GO SEE THIS SHOW!!! Read more
See it if you love all things Harry Potter + love live theater. It was a really fun time...my face hurt from smiling + laughing so much! going again!
Don't see it if you don't have an open mind + are not into parodies and not very fond of Harry Potter.
See it if You want to see a funny, light-hearted, yet warm story where one doesn't take him/herself too seriously.
Don't see it if You've never read it watched Harry Potter series, as it would be hard to get all the references.
See it if You're a Harry Potter fan, and you want to laugh nonstop for 90 minutes. You like parodies and satire that mock with love.
Don't see it if You aren't familiar with Harry Potter. The show doesn't stop to explain things and if you're not a fan, you'll probably be lost.
See it if You are a fan of Harry Potter.
Don't see it if You aren't familiar with the Harry Potter series or if you don't enjoy satire/parodies.
Critic Reviews (40)
" A funny and affectionate homage to J.K. Rowling’s world of wiz kids...Some of the jokes will be lost on those with no knowledge of the films or books. But even 'Potter' virgins will enjoy the show’s witty wordplay and well-executed physical comedy. At times, the pacing is so frenetic that jokes can’t find a place to land, but there’s heart as well as humor here...Like its main characters, 'Puffs' illustrates the heights to which underdogs can soar."
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"'Puffs' zips through the highlights of all seven books...'Puffs' feels engineered specifically to delight 'Harry Potter' diehards, and for the most part it succeeds—not every joke lands, but it makes up for it any misses with its high level of reverence for the Potter-verse...Even if this venture is not the bravest or the smartest, it’s got its heart is firmly in the right place, and audiences will likely leave charmed."
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"Most of the time, it's a pure, and purely enjoyable, lark...Cox's treatment is dispensed with respect, admiration, and even love for the originals, which makes the jokes funnier and the production even more endearing...The cast is all pitched at just the right level of confused caffeination, and give in to neither pure mimicry nor the inclination to blaze their own original trails. Moon and Belton are dynamic comic leads that wring every laugh from their fish-out-of-water characters."
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“How much you enjoy Matt Cox's ‘Puffs, or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic’ may depend on how well you know the Harry Potter books and the movies that followed. This mild satire tells an alternate but parallel story of the famous wizarding school for the members of the fourth house called The Puffs. The show attempts to cover many of the same events of all seven years in the 1990's when Harry, Hermione and Ron attended the school.”
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"In order to get through seven years in '90-ish' minutes, the action must move quickly, and thanks to Kristin McCarthy Parker’s seamless direction, it does. But 'Puffs' is more than just non-stop crazy action with a bunch of jokes for 'Potter' fans. Cox and Parker understand that sometimes comedy takes time, and they make smart choices about when to speed through the story, and when to slow down and build a joke for a better payoff. The action is never muddy or confusing."
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"Cox’s script pummels with multiple gags a minute, which can be exhausting in a show that runs just over ninety minutes...The story barely has room to breathe as jokes and physical comedy bits are thrown to the back of the house with abandon...Shaky moments and some jokes that don’t land aside, it concludes with a mixture and cynicism and warmth that sells the concept. Here is a work of underground theater that often beautifully complements its mainstream counterpart."
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"Bigger sets and impressive puppets add some flair but the joy of revisiting the well-loved 'Puffs' is what is sure to keep the show going for some time...Cox’s script is mostly the same from the previous production and sports the same weaknesses and strengths...Parker continues to run a tight ship with a production that mostly moves rapidly but also takes time to breathe...It is worth noting that the cast’s increased familiarity with their roles has made them even more memorable."
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"A way for fans of the books and movies to revisit their favorite place from a new perspective. And it can be appreciated on both a macro and a micro level...The writing by Matt Cox is crisp, funny and on point, director Kristin McCarthy Parker keeps the pace rolling along at a good clip, and the cast is uniformly excellent. If you’re a fan on any level, go and enjoy...If you don’t know from the magical world of 'Harry Potter,' you’re probably going to want to skip it."
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