Moline’s Black Box to Bring Harry Potter World to Stage in “Puffs”
The Black Box Theatre is presenting “Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic,” this weekend and next, at 1623 5th Ave., Moline.
For all of the fans who grew up alongside Harry Potter and want to revisit that world, “Puffs” exudes a jovial, slapstick energy for all things Harry, according to the downtown venue. Moline’s Spotlight Theatre did the show in August 2023, and the two theaters share one actor – the busy Tommy Ratkiewicz.
This clever and inventive show “gives you a new look at a familiar adventure from the perspective of three potential heroes, trying to make it through a magical school that proves to be very dangerous for children,” a Black Box release said. It’s been called “hilariously heartfelt” (Metro), and a group so “lovable and relatable, you’ll leave the theatre wishing they were in the stories all along” (Hollywood Life).
Bringing the show to life is director Kailey Ackermann and co-director Kat Jecklin, stage manager (intern) Linnea Strack. The cast includes Aaron Deneckere as Wayne, Aiden Earley as Ernie Mac, Cayla Odendahl as the Narrator, Eden Myers as Leanne, Elissa Dynes as Megan, Emma Hughes as Hannah/Xavia, Matt Call as J. Finch, Savannah Skidmore as Sally, Tommy Ratkiewicz as Cedric/Voldy, Valerie Moore as Susie/Harry and Vea Vavrosky as Oliver. Most of the characters also appear as other minor characters as well.
Tommy Ratkiewicz (center) in “Puffs” at The Black Box Theatre (credit: Capturing Fireflies Photography)
Ackermann is ecstatic to be directing her first show at the Black Box, and her program bio said coming to “Puffs” with her very best friends by her side started as a “not-so-Sirius” idea over what was almost certainly too much caffeine, and yet, as if by magic, here it is. Most of her theater experience has been onstage, with favorite roles including Jo March in Little Women and the Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods, but she said “every so often it’s nice to boss people around from the comfort of the house seats.”
She has been assistant director for Double Threat Studio’s spring shows (featuring high school students) since 2023 and has dabbled in props design for various theaters in the area.
Ackermann said she’s learned a lot from Double Threat founder and director Megan Warren.
“It’s fun to keep getting to know the kids every year and watch them grow up. I’ve learned a lot from Megan, and I feel like it’s honestly influenced the way that I’ve directed this show,” she said Monday. “She’s so inclusive and she’s so mindful of respecting her actors’ time and respecting them as people and making sure they respect each other.
Tommy Ratkiewicz (center) in “Puffs” at The Black Box Theatre (credit: Capturing Fireflies Photography)
“For her, it’s not just we’re putting on a show. Like, she’s trying to help them also become better human beings,” Ackermann said. “It’s really cool to watch her be this amazing director and music director, and them not just learn theater things from her, but they go to her for anything in life because they respect her so much as a person, because she shows that respect.”
She came up with the plan to direct “Puffs” while hanging out with her friends Kat Jecklin and Valerie Moore, who are both in this production. Moore was stage manager for the Spotlight version.
“I was interested in the story ’cause I think it’s really cool to see this story that’s so popular from a different perspective,” Ackermann said of “Puffs.”
The extremely silly comedy does not center on Harry and his friends – in fact Ron is a mop that Harry talks to, she noted. “It just makes it so funny because Harry just carries around this mop and talks to him like he’s a person. This show is anything but serious,” Ackermann said.
The story is named for the Hufflepuffs at the famous wizarding school, “because they’re the last thing from the main characters in the original series,” the director said. “The only Hufflepuff that’s notable in the original books is probably Cedric Diggory, and he is a character in this show, but everyone else is a made-up character.”
Aaron Deneckere (right) plays Wayne in “Puffs.” (credit: Capturing Fireflies Photography)
As “Puffs” starts, a Narrator addresses the audience and begins to tell a tale about a young, orphaned boy with a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt, but dismisses the boy’s story to introduce another orphan named Wayne who lives with his uncle Dave in New Mexico. One day, an owl drops a letter in Wayne’s living room telling him that he has been invited to “a certain school of magic.” His uncle quickly tells him that his parents were wizards before rushing him to the train station.
“You hear about the events from the original series, but the way it happens is different because it’s from a different lens,” Ackermann said. “It’s cool, but it’s done in a very silly, very campy way. You know, you can’t take this show too seriously.”
The villain in the show is based on the evil Lord Voldemort from the series, but here “Voldy” is kind of dumb and harmless, she noted.
“They’re almost bumbling. You can tell right away that they’re probably not going to get what they want in the end,” Ackermann said. Ratkiewicz is one of seven cast members (there are 11 total) who play more than one role.
As the narrator, Cayla Odendahl “keeps you engaged and tries to make the audience laugh because she can break that fourth wall and talk directly to you,” she said. “It’s great. And she can do whatever she wants because she’s outside of time and space of the story.”
Ackermann didn’t see the Spotlight production, which she thinks helped her helm this one.
“I feel it’s like almost like a benefit that I haven’t seen it, ’cause then I don’t feel like I have to compare what I’m doing to what they did,” she said. “I can just do my show and not worry about if, you know, am I taking someone else’s ideas, or am I, do I feel like I’m trying to one-up anybody, which is not what you want with community theaters.”
“We honestly don’t really talk about it much. Honestly, all I’ll get is, if I make a direction, they’ll be like, oh, that’s a cool way to do that because we didn’t think about that last time,” Ackermann said.
The poster for “Puffs” at Black Box Theatre, 1623 5th Ave., Moline, now playing through Aug. 15.
A veteran of being on the Black Box stage (with a 60-seat capacity), she said her biggest challenge has been “how small the backstage area is,” she said. “We actually had to spend a whole rehearsal making adjustments based on if someone needs to cross over, because you have to be so careful when walking back there.”
“I thought it would be more difficult, having like a long stage like this and being so close, but it’s been a lot of fun, figuring out how to make this story work in this space,” Ackermann said. “It’s honestly just the logistical things like that.”
While Potter fans will find Easter eggs in “Puffs,” the general public need not be familiar with the books or movies to appreciate the show.
“They’re all new characters with the exception of some characters from the books and the movies. The Puffs are this whole new group of people that you’re being introduced to,” Ackermann said. “You get to know them as the story goes on. You don’t have to already know them because you’re getting to know them here.”
A scene from “Puffs,” playing through Aug. 15 at Black Box Theatre. (credit: Capturing Fireflies Photography)
She was about 10 when the first film came out in 2001.
“They were like my age, and so I felt like I grew up with them,” she said of the student characters, “The books I didn’t read until I was in college, because for some reason when I was younger I wasn’t a huge reader, and now I am, so I had to catch up at some point.
“From day one, even from our first read-through, I could tell that the actors were gonna blow everyone out of the water because they’re so funny,” Ackermann said. “Some things are improv’d, and we get something different every day from some people. And so honestly, no matter how else anything else goes, at the very least, the actor is going to be super entertaining and people are going to be happy with that.
“And I feel so lucky to have this cast, honestly,” she said, and has loved partnering with Jecklin in putting it together. “As a director, it’s like, yes, this is my creation, but if I’m also helping with the set and I’m making the props and it feels like even more of a creative project.”
“She wanted to be on the other side of the table, so I was like, yeah, let’s do it, because we’ve been in shows together,” Ackermann said of Jecklin (they were double cast in “The Last Five Years” at Black Box in 2019. “We’ve been behind the scenes together really, so this has been something totally different, but it’s, it’s really fun. And our friend Valerie, who’s in the show, she’s usually like a stage manager or behind-the-scenes person, so we’ve kind of like flip-flopped roles, which is fun.”
Leading men having a blast
Aaron Deneckere (Wayne) is a Moline resident who teaches social studies at Sherrard High School. A BBT first-timer, his favorite roles include Bob Wallace in White Christmas, Tulsa in Gypsy, and Eddie in Mamma Mia!, all at Music Guild.
“I read the first couple books when I was a child, and I’ve watched the movies at least once,” Deneckere said of the Potter universe. “I’m what you call like a very casual fan, which makes this whole I think even better, because if I can enjoy something like this and not have a single idea what’s going on, I think an audience member can easily enjoy it.”
“There’s definitely hilarious moments throughout the whole show, but there are also like the earnest moments between characters. And I think it does a good kind of balance of respecting the source material while also poking fun and poking at the holes that exist in it as well,” he said, noting “Puffs” gently pokes fun at Harry as being a teacher’s pet. “It’s nice to focus on those side characters then for this entire production.”
A scene from “Puffs,” playing through Aug. 15 at Black Box Theatre. (credit: Capturing Fireflies Photography)
Tommy Ratkiewicz (Cedric/Voldy) is thrilled to be returning to The Black Box Theatre. He recently stepped off stage as Sky Masterson in “Guys & Dolls” at Countryside Community Theatre and prior to that he was on tour with Kwik Trip/Kwik Star as Red the Rooster, having traveled throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakota for five weeks (to early May 2026).
“It was a true Midwest tour and it was a freaking blast,” he said of being a madcap, mute rooster. “Basically just run around the store, and I like to say in the best way possible, cause havoc,” Ratkiewicz said. His favorite credits include Tarzan in the regional premiere of “Tarzan” (Spotlight), Rocky in “The Rocky Horror Show” (Rich Heritage) Joseph Bell/Wallace Hartley in “Titanic” (Spotlight), Motel in “Fiddler on the Roof” (QCMG), Robert in “Company” (BBT) and Marcellus Washburn in “The Music Man” (Countryside).
“I think I was the same age as Harry. Like, if Harry were like a real person, or if they brought back Harry as an adult, we would be the same age,” he said of the original Potter books and films. “So I think that was cool, kind of like, oh my god, I’m the same age as this fictional character. But so that was kind of a pull for me.”
In the Spotlight version, he played Oliver, one of the main roles, and now one of his parts is Cedric. Oliver is the geek, the nerd. “Focused on mathematics. Very upset that there’s not a math class at magic school,” Ratkiewicz said.
“I’ve never been like the cool popular kid in my life ever, I don’t think. So getting to play Cedric, this is pretty cool,” he said. “Especially there are scenes where Aaron’s character Wayne and Cedric like interact, and Cedric’s just like, yeah, what’s up, buddy? And Wayne is— he’s like, oh my god, this guy talked to me.”
He said he’s unrecognizable as Voldy in the second half of the play.
It is a pretty fun transition from playing Cedric earlier to playing Voldy in the last half. It’s an absolute blast,” Ratkiewicz said. “I am like the worst at breaking character. But the fact that you can’t necessarily see my face is like a saving grace.”
“It’s kind of relatable in the fact that like he thinks he’s doing a good job, but really like when you look at it from like another perspective, you’re like, he’s trying his best, but he’s not all there,” he said of the role.
Deneckere said Wayne is also very relatable in the show.
A scene from “Puffs,” playing through Aug. 15 at Black Box Theatre. (credit: Capturing Fireflies Photography)
“Wayne is very much kind of new to the entire magic world in general. And so he’s just taking everything in giant strides and just kind of absorbing what he can,” he said. “Certainly knowing the story beats would help, but I also think if you just didn’t grow up with the franchise or don’t know a whole lot about it, it’s not gonna be left behind with our plot.”
“Even if you’re not well-versed in the series, that you can come to the show and I feel like this is something with every show, but you can relate to certain things, but you also like, when you’re sitting in the audience, you can laugh at it,” Ratkiewicz said. “I may not know what’s going on, but what that person did as that character was hysterical.”
With going straight from “Guys & Dolls” to “Puffs” to BBT’s “Come From Away” (which has rehearsed since July 13, and will open Aug. 28) has been a challenge for his schedule. “Puffs” began rehearsals the same night as “Come From Away,” and Ratkiewicz has had to miss many practices for the latter, while learning parts for both shows.
“Tommy’s a powerhouse,” marveled Deneckere.
“My parents have very lovingly reminded me, this is what you want to do, so you just got to be ready to do it,” Ratkiewicz said. “And I’m like, thank you for that.
“Being here in the Black Box, it has definitely been growing as an actor,” he said. “Kailey and Kat emphasize this a lot, that when you’re 5 feet from the audience, every choice you make has to be— it can’t be like, well, I think I’m gonna do this, because they can see that on your face. You have to know what you’re doing when you’re doing it, and there has to be an intention, because if not and the audience catches that, it immediately pulls you out of the story.”
“There are some people in the cast that play 4 or 5 different characters. When you’re not on stage, well, you have a second to breathe,” Ratkiewicz said of “Puffs.” “Their second to breathe is flipping their brain into the next character that they’re coming in as.”
A scene from “Puffs,” playing through Aug. 15 at Black Box Theatre. (credit: Capturing Fireflies Photography)
“It’s been a blast to do this show again in a different space with a different group of people,” he said. “With this show specifically, because of how fast-paced it moves, is it’s definitely upped my game. Like I was saying, Kailey and Kat have told us that you have to know what you’re doing and the intention has to be there because they’re this close to you.”
It’s kind of terrifying (and satisfying) being able to see audience members’ faces while performing, Ratkiewicz said.
“I love it when I have worked here, seeing the reactions, not just like in funny moments or sad moments, but seeing the reactions of what they’re getting, like things that they’re picking up on and seeing with the emotion that’s played out onstage,” he said. “Seeing them being able to reflect that and be like, oh my God. Or I do have empathy for this character, or I am sad for this person, or I am happy for this person.”
BBT presents “Puffs” at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 7, 8, 13, 14, and 15, and 2 p.m. Aug. 9. Tickets ($18.75) are available HERE.
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