Reefer Madness: High Time for Carnegie’s Next Show

Let’s venture back to the 1930s when Demon Weed was just one more cause for hysteria.

 

Because you know what happens when good, clean-cut kids get a whiff of marijuana. Yup, they spiral into a hellish nightmare of manslaughter… suicide… madness…. 

 

At least that was what the ‘documentary’ Reefer Madness (a.k.a. Tell Your Children, a.k.a. The Burning Question, a.k.a. Dope Addict, a.k.a Doped Youth…) assured us. 

 

A favorite midnight movie on college campuses starting in the seventies, by the turn of the 21st century Reefer Madness was screaming for a stage musical parody.

 

Showbiz Players opens its revival of musical Reefer Madness: The Musical on Friday for a two-weekend run through Sept. 28 at The Carnegie in Covington. 

 

A wacky mash of musical numbers and social commentary, director Adam Drake loves the show as an “aggressive satire aimed squarely at that good old American pastime: fear-mongering.” 

 

Here’s who’s who and what’s what:

 

The Lecturer is our guide (of many guises) through the horrifying downward spiral of “good egg” Jimmy, who is lured from the local teen hang-out to a den of iniquity by pusher Jack. And how could Jimmy not give in to temptation when lately he’s been listening to swing and jazzperformed by “ginger-colored agents of evil” like Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie and such?

 

In no time Jimmy is indulging in ‘marihuana,’ pressured into taking his first hit of marihuana and sampling orgies. In no time he’s talking back to his parents! And treating a puppy badly! And trying to edge toward first base with is virginal girlfriend Mary Lane!

 

Mary prays for him – but not all prayers are answered. And sometimes they’re answered in very strange ways. 

 

Like a lot of people, talented NKU grad Julie Wacksman, who plays Mary, saw the movie in college. When she read the musical’s script “I definitely laughed, or, I guess, laughed so hard, I cried at parts.” 

 

 

Wacksman: I love Mary Lane. She is such a fun, quirky comedic ingénue (which seems to be my niche) but also has a very dark side, which comes out in full force once she smokes pot for the first time. It is definitely fun to reveal her different layers. She is also just very honest. 

 

Wacksman: I feel it’s almost more relevant today, with so much controversy about the legalization of marijuana and people trying to demonize it. I think the musical version modernizes it mostly because it plays like one big ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch. The characters are ridiculous, over the top archetypes who are drastically changed by taking a hit. 

 

Also, I am pretty sure there are more people smoking pot today than there were in 1939… or at least more people who do it openly. Since it is no longer so taboo, I think the musical’s attitude towards marijuana just makes it funnier. 

 

Wacksman: I am currently living in Norwood with my fiancé… and our kitties. I’m a full-time nanny and I have been splitting my (free) time between rock climbing — another huge hobby for me, especially in the fall and spring when temps are good — and theatre, because one rarely allows time for the other, but I love both so much. 

 

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Wacksman urges NON-theatergoers to give “Reefer Madness” a try. “Come see this show. It is hilarious, raunchy and tons of fun and not your typical musical, AT ALL!”

 

Reefer Madness, Sept. 19-28, The Carnegie, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington. Tickets $22.50, students/seniors $19.50. 859-957-1940 and http://www.showbizplayers.com/tickets