“Puffs,” August 4 through 13

Friday, August 4, through Sunday, August 13

The Spotlight Theatre, 1800 Seventh Avenue, Moline IL

Praised by Metro as "hilariously heartfelt" and by the New York Times as "a fast-paced romp" that "exudes a jovial, winking fondness for all things Harry," author Matt Cox's stage comedy Puffs enjoys an August 4 through 13 run at Moline's Spotlight Theatre, this riotous and touching tale about the hangers-on of a certain boy wizard a show that, according to Nerdist, "never goes more than a minute without a laugh."

A work expressly "not authorized, sanctioned, licensed or endorsed by J.K Rowling, Warner Bros. or any person or company associated with the Harry Potter books, films, or play," Puffs is cheekily subtitled Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic. The shows offers audiences a new look at a familiar adventure from the perspective of three potential heroes just trying to make it through a magic school that proves to be very dangerous for children. Alongside them are the Puffs, a group of well-meaning, loyal outsiders with a thing for badgers “who are so lovable and relatable," according to Hollywood Life, "you’ll leave the theater wishing they were in the stories all along."

As playwright Cox explained in Playbill, "In the Spring of 2015, I had a fun little idea to take a look at a rather popular boy-wizard’s story from the perspective of some of the less fortunate students who happened to join him for seven years of education. That these students were probably quite a bit terrified, very consistently confused, and, perhaps, regretting their choice of magic school, became the crux of this particular tale. A second idea was that a certain red-haired best friend with a collection of sweaters would be played by a mop. It was a quick leap to settle this play’s focus on the "Puffs," whom pop culture has deemed the maybe-not-so-cool kids at this particular wizard school. I cracked open that septilogy of books, and dove into these background characters’ background lives. With a bit of imagination, it opened up the story in a brand new, fascinating way."

Making his Spotlight Theatre directing debut with Puffs is longtime actor actor and ComedySportz performer Andy Koski, who has appeared in such recent area productions as Genesius Guild's Measure for Measure and Quad City Music Guild's Something Rotten! With Spotlight co-owners Brent and Sara Tubbs serving as producers and Brent responsible for the set design, additional members of Koski's creative team include: fight choreographer Lily Blouin; stage manager Valerie Moore; costume designer Heather Blair; props designer Noah Hill; and sound designer Sarah Christopher. A collection of 17 area talents, meanwhile, comprise the Puffs cast: Alec Bull, Izzy Dudek, Doug Johnson, Robert Kennedy, RJ Knutsen, Deborah Kutsunis, Kira Rangel, Tommy Ratkiewicz-Stierwalt, Emma Regnier, Jessica Taylor, Dorothy Turner, Brent Tubbs., Joel Vanderbush; Rachel Vickers; Makis Witt; Jess Young, and Zachary Zelnio.

Puffs will be presented in Moline from August 4 through 13, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $20-25, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)912-7647 and visiting TheSpotlightTheatreQC.com.