Piff (and Mr. Piffles) and Puddles in 'Misery Loves Company' at The Hanover Theatre

WORCESTER — John van der Put could point to some significant achievements as a magician.

"At the beginning I was doing close-up magic, so I specialized in sleight of hand," he said. He was good at it. The young Londoner became a member of Britain's prestigious Magic Circle at age 18. He has said that his influences included, "Penn & Teller and people doing something more fun and risky with magic."

But although van der Put had a comic banter, it could come across as sarcastic, and people thought he was grumpy. It was a hindrance. Van der Put protested that he wasn't grumpy it was just that his face looked grumpy. Then one time he was invited to what he thought was going to be a costume party and borrowed a costume from his sister — a "dragon outfit."  At the party, no one else was in costume.

Piff the Magic Dragon was born, van der Put adapting the name from the hero of the children's song "Puff the Magic Dragon."

"Before I was just a grumpy guy doing magic. I put on a dragon's outfit, and it's hilarious," van der Put said during a recent telephone interview. Because of the dragon attire, people didn't take the sarcasm seriously, and laughed instead.

Thanks to that unwitting sleight of hand of change of costume, Piff is now a star in the United States, with a residency at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino and in Las Vegas. Piff is known for his astounding magic tricks, quick wit, ever-grumpy face, and his accomplice, Mr. Piffles, about whom more in a minute.

Piff is also currently touring the U.S. with world-renowned golden voice clown, Puddles Pity Party.

Their "Misery Loves Company Tour" will come to The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts for a show at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Philadelphia native Michael Geier was part of an Elvis tribute show until he had a transformation when he changed into a whiteface clown costume. All of a sudden, there was no more Michael Grier. It's Puddles Pity Party instead.

YouTube stars

Puddles Pity Party’s voice has been compared to rock legends like Tom Jones and Freddie Mercury. The 7-foot sad clown has amassed nearly 900,000 YouTube subscribers and performed sold-out shows all over the world, including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts, London’s Sojo Theatre and a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Both Piff and Puddles appeared on "America's Got Talent"  and didn't win — Pifff on Season 10 in 2015, and Puddles on Season 12 in 2017. However, they had good runs on the show, with Piff making the finals and Puddles the quarterfinals.

They had met previously at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

"We became buddies," Piff said.

Touring together has been "great. It's a great mix of music and comedy and magic. There's something for everybody," Piff said.

Piff and Puddles perform their own set, but the set overlaps with collaboration between the two artists and a finale involving both. According to the producers, "while the show is appropriate for kids, it’s not a kids’ show."

Piff will be in Worcester with his long-trusted sidekick, Mr. Piffles.

Just before a show at the Edinburgh Fringe, Piff found a rescue Chihuahua in nearby Dundee, Scotland. The dog had been abused but when he went on stage with Piff he shone and came out of himself.

Now Mr. Piffles and Piff are inseparable.

"He's doing great. We've been together for 13 years. My oldest relationship." Mr. Piffles is billed as "The World's Only Magic-Performing Chihuahua."

Magic more popular in US

Piff has undergone another transformation as he's settled into a nice life Stateside without too much thought of returning home.

"I don't get back to England very much at all. I consider myself to be basically American now," Piff said.

One reason seems to be that "Americans like magic more than they do in the UK," he said.

After he put on that dragon outfit, Piff recognized the situation and ran with it. He declares to people "I'm a genuine magic dragon." At his Las Vegas show he is introduced as the "resident ray of sunshine." He still does close-up along with more elaborate acts. Even if he is somewhat testy with people, they laugh. People come willingly up on stage to be a part of a given trick. His demeanor  has been described as "grumpy, spiky dismissiveness."

In 2011, Piff got up close with his magic heroes when he appeared on the first season of "Penn & Teller: Fool Us." He caused a stir, impressing the magician-comedy duo.

Staying Stateside, Piff was booked to be part of a show in Las Vegas in 2013. The show didn't last very long, but in 2015 he had his successful run on "America's Got Talent."

"It just happened to be I was in America when I did 'America's Got Talent' and that was my biggest break," Piff said.

The season was won by ventriloquist Paul Zerdin, ironically also a Brit. A touring version of the show featured some of the participants, including Piff.

Later in 2015 Piff opened his first stage show at the Flamingo, billing himself as "Loser of 'America’s Got Talent.'"

'Reptile Dysfunction'

With the Vegas residency and regular touring, things were going magically for Piff, but then the pandemic came along.

"It shut down everything in Vegas. We had to cancel all our tour dates," Piff said. "Basically we went online."

He appeared on YouTube and Zoom, and was a contestant on the TV show "Tournament of Laughs," which he ended up winning.

Asked if he's ever wanted to push his antics beyond any current outlets, Piff pointed out that he has recently released his first special titled "Reptile Dysfunction," which is free on YouTube. The show features a special appearance by Penn Jillette. Since its July 1 premiere, "Reptile Dysfunction" has received over 300,000 views.

Now the resident Las Vegas show has reopened, and Piff is touring with Puddles.

"We like to do a mix of new tricks and old favorites," he said of keeping a balance in his act.

On "America's Got Talent" one standout trick was when judge Howie Mandel selected three of four hanging boxes that were then destroyed. The fourth unselected box contained Mr. Piffles.

Asked what he does if a trick goes wrong, Piff said, "You try to find a way to rescue it. The audience  doesn't know how a trick is supposed to end, but when a trick crashes and burns, you're really standing there with egg on your face."

Still, there have been "no real disasters. We've been lucky enough," he said. Besides, "Part of the show  each night is you never know what's going to happen each night."

Mr. Piffles isn't getting any younger, but "he's a big part of the show," Piff said.

"He doesn't have to do much on the stage. He's just there on the stage, so I think he's got a few years left in him."

Speaking of years, Piff said that he's just re-signed "for another three years at the Flamingo. And we love it there."

Piff the Magic Dragon and Puddles Pity Party: Misery Loves Company Tour

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

Where: The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester

How much:  $29.50, $39.50, $49.50 and $59.50 depending on seat location, with limited VIP packages available at $159.50.

Info: 877-571- 7469); thehanovertheatre.org

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Piff (and Mr. Piffles) and Puddles to play Worcester's Hanover Theatre