The other boy wizard: Pied Piper to present Potter parody 'Puffs' this weekend
Sep. 22—TUPELO — This is the story of a very special young boy, raised by his uncle, who one day receives a letter — delivered in the talons of an owl — alerting him that he's been accepted into a prestigious school for budding witches and wizards.
No, not that special young boy. It's a different one.
This weekend, members of Pied Piper, the Tupelo-based nonprofit children's theater company, will present their take on playwright Matt Cox's hit parody of a certain beloved series of British children's novels, "Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic." The show opens tonight, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m. on-stage at the Tupelo Civic Auditorium. Additional shows are set for Saturday and Sunday, at 7 p.m. and 2 p.m. respectively.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and can be purchased at the door.
The main cast includes 11 young thespians, including Carter Murphy, Karson Branch, Dylan Garrett, Brooklynn Foster, Levi White, Piper Brown, Shinji Spragin, Bella Rose Morgan, Daniela Hendrickson, Addie Mae McCoy and Collin Anderson.
First opening in 2015, "Puffs" tells the story of Wayne, a recent admission to a well-known but unnamed school "of female magic and male magic." Once there, he — along with all his new classmates — is sorted into one of four houses: "Braves," "Snakes," "Smarts" and "Puffs."
Wayne, unsurprisingly, is named a Puff. Which is appropriate given Wayne's goal in life is to stand out, and Puffs are nothing if not unique.
"When he gets to go to this whole other world, he's not caught up so much in learning these new things as what can make him different, what can make him important," said Marley Maharrey, the production's director.
It's a goal to which most theater kids can likely relate.
"We all want to be seen; we all want to feel like people recognize us for who we are," Maharrey said. "The Puffs immediately (offer) this warm place where people are cordial and they're different and they're quirky, and he's trying to find his place with this group."
The play follows Wayne through seven years of school — the same seven years as a much more well known young wizard and his cadre of friends — and all kinds of adventures. It's a fun, heartwarming production, Maharrey said, one that will obviously appeal to those who grew up with its source material.
"With this, the whole point is that things are recognizable ... but not," she said, adding that those who love the world created by author J. K. Rowling will find a lot of nods and inside jokes throughout the play.
That said, knowledge of the world Rowling created isn't required to fall in love with the characters of "Puffs." It's part of what attracted Maharrey, who previously directed the show for Tupelo Community Theatre, to the production.
"I wanted to direct it again. Really badly," she said. "It's too good not to do."
Maharrey has been a longtime supporter of Pied Piper and currently serves as the head of its board of directors. She believes the theater company, open solely to children, opens opportunities for kids to overcome social fears and just be themselves.
"It brings together kids who would otherwise never get to work together," she said. "We are always a children's production. We are always focused on these kids, and we're really helping them find that passion early on ... If you want to be on stage, we'll find a way for you to be on stage."
It's the perfect place for kids who are just a little different, like the Puffs themselves.
"It's good to be a Puff. There's nothing wrong with being a Puff," she said. "They're different ... but being different is not bad. There are a lot of things to love about being a Puff."
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