By John Lyle Belden

The difficulty in writing about the hilarious parody, “Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic,” is that in the years since the original books and movies of the subject franchise were made and initially enjoyed, its creator has turned out to be much like the villains in her stories.

Still, this Off-Broadway hit by Matt Cox, presented as the summer youth production of Main Street Productions in Westfield, in a way responds to the sense of betrayal by She-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named by giving the narrative to those who don’t feel particularly “Brave,” or “Smart,” or in a privileged elite (like “Snakes”). This one’s for the “Puffs” everywhere, in the spirit, as director Amber K. Roth puts it, of “true friendship.”

Our intrepid Narrator (Carolyn Noneman) informs us up front that this takes place in a certain school of magic in Great Britian in the 1990s, when a certain 11-year-old spent seven years getting into all kinds of adventures, including a literal war. This is NOT about him, despite the fact he keeps showing up.

In rural New Mexico, 11-year-old Wayne Hopkins (Teddy Epstein) also discovers that he is a wizard – also that wizards exist, he’s really British, and owls can deliver mail. He makes his way to the school, where a talking hat chooses to which House each student will belong. While others famously join the “Braves,” Wayne finds himself in the “Puffs,” which is apparently the opposite. His housemates include Oliver Rivers (Spencer Rees Bland), a boy from a non-magical family in Indiana who is gifted in mathematics (for what good that does him here); and Megan Jones (MJ Elliott) a goth loner whose mother (Annalisa Schuth) is in the prison for “Sirius” criminals because she follows the Dark Lord.

Other Puffs include goofy Leanne (Morgan Rusbasan) who thinks that being a wizard at all is cool, and just wants to have a silly slumber party; Ernie Mac (Liam Thompson), succeeding to some degree at trying to be cool; Hannah Abbott (Eve Carson), who maintains high spirits despite the frequent bullying; J. Finch Fletchly (Layne Thompson), whose charisma combines the slacker and class clown archetypes so well, he even enjoys being a possible figment of others’ imagination; nervous Susie Bones (Greta Shambarger), whose family may be cursed; Sally Perks (Nora Gapinski-Coon), who finds she is more attractive without her glasses, making her confident but nearly blind; and Cedric (Carter Dean Kinnett, the one Puff that readers of the books all know about.

The scar-faced kid with weird luck who talks to snakes (name starts with H) is played by Moon Siebe. All other characters are portrayed by Preston M. Blair, Mackey Brose, Lucy Cooper, Lousia Dobson, Jack Elicker, Keighan Johnson, Jack Levine, Calvin Noneman, Dhruvi Shah, Ella M. Steffans, and a mop.

In under two hours (including intermission) we roll through seven years, each more dangerous – with a thicker book – than the one before. The more familiar you are with the franchise, the funnier the jokes and sharper the jabs are. And that really bad thing that happens at the climax of Book 4? It still happens.

Still, this is more than a good-natured mocking of a popular set of stories. It sticks to the point of view of the people trying to live their own epic while finding themselves in support of someone else’s. Those kids in the yellow and black school uniforms mattered, too, and any win can feel good, even if it means climbing from fourth place (of four) to third.

This is reflected in the exuberant performances of our talented cast. While Epstein, Bland, and Elliott are solid as the main trio (a counterpoint to the novels’ threesome), Rusbasan and Thompson are naturals at physical comedy – earning as much as stealing their scenes. Kinnett shines, appropriately, with all the suaveness his housemates lack, as well as cooly presenting a much darker side in Act II. Schuth is fun to watch as she demonstrates that you can take the girl out of the Puffs, but not the Puff from the girl. In addition, we give a shout-out to the ensemble member who played Bippy, the odd elf-like character the Puffs really should have noticed earlier, given their dorm’s proximity to the kitchen.

Carolyn Noneman is an excellent host, engaging the audience as she guides us through the story, taking all its absurdities in stride.

Roth is assisted by Melina J. DeGolyer, with student director and dramaturge Anna Pfeiffer. Stage manager is Samantha Kelly, assisted by students Julia Brammer and Corwyn Barrows. Stage crew are William Gapinski-Coon, Jackson Brammer and Sullivan Hill – hopefully among these I mention are the excellent “shadows” helping make the magic happen.

The spell lasts for one more weekend. See “Puffs” Thursday through Sunday, July 24-27, at the Basile Westfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St.; get tickets at westfieldplayhouse.org.