Farmingdale High School’s endlessly entertaining spring play was Puffs, a hysterical parody of the Harry Potter series. It follows the story of the house Hufflepuff and the people within it, referred to as just “Puffs” throughout the play. The play often depicts well-known events throughout the books through the lens of the main cast, and provides commentary on the plot holes and other problems seen throughout the books and movies. The storyline follows the lives of the main characters and their experiences in a school environment.

 Mr. Glen Beck, theatre teacher and director at Farmingdale High School, stated that his reasoning for choosing Puffs as the show was because last year’s play, 12 Angry Jurors, was a drama. So Mr. Beck decided to choose a comedy to change things up from last year’s drama. Mr. Beck also remarked that he had heard about the play from a group of colleagues during the summer, and felt that the play would fit extremely well with the school. Mr. Beck states, “I had heard about Puffs from various theatre colleagues.  Last summer when we were doing virtual summer reading groups… I really could hear student voice in those characters so I selected it as this year’s offering.”

Throughout the production of the play, there were multiple issues and challenges due the amount of planning required for the show. Mr Beck explains, “The tech for this show is insane. There were over 180 sound cues and just as many light cues. The prop list was three pages. There were numerous costume and wig changes. The technicians really had to work hard to make this show successful.” Not to mention the fact that there were two separate casts used during different performances, which created challenges when it came to running the play. “If I were to double the cast again, I would require both casts to be present from the beginning all the way through the run.  I think by trying to accommodate schedules and needs, we wound up creating some blocking issues that really made tech week a bit more challenging,” says Beck.  

Despite the many challenges that came with the production, this year’s play was extremely successful in providing entertainment for all attendees. The cast and crew did an amazing job putting together this show, and it required serious dedication from these hard-working individuals. As always, it is truly amazing to see what the FHS theatre program is able to produce year-in and year-out.