This October, Strauss Theatre Center presents Puffs, Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years At A Certain School of Magic and Magic, with six public performances and two patron nights.
Rather than a play following a certain boy wizard that shall not be named, Puffs follows a young boy named Wayne Hopkins as he and his new friends set out on adventures at a certain magical school.
Mike Turner and Lindsey Mouk, two actors of the play, joined Cory Crowe for an interview on Lagniappe regarding the play and the characters that they embody.
"So, it is a show about the world that Mr. Potter is in, but it's not necessarily about him. It's about another group of students at a certain school of magic, who learn that they are meant to be wizards," said Mike Turner, who plays Oliver. "And they go to the school, all these crazy events unfold, and it's kind of that same story that you might be familiar with, but told in a different light."
"I have about six or seven different faculty members that I portray," said Lindsey Mouk. "So lots of switching back and forth between those professors."
And although this story is based on a popular book series, it does not mean that you need to have read it before watching the play.
"It's very much a story that you can follow as it goes along," said Mike Turner. "It tells a concise story. It's a fast story because we're going over seven years in a little under two hours, but it's just a very funny, fast, coming of age story where we're following these kids from finding out they get to be wizards and everything that comes along with that."
The first public performance for Puffs will take place on October 17, 2026, with the following shows presented on October 18, 22, 23, 24, and 25.
For more information about this play, visit strausstc.com/puffs. For more information about Strauss Theatre Center, or other upcoming performances by the Strauss Theatre Center, visit strausstc.com.
