Reefer Madness (The Musical) Hits Melbourne

RL Productions brings Reefer Madness: The Musical to Melbourne's Chapel Off Chapel from 24 November to 4 December, 2016.

Inspired by the 1936 anti-marijuana propaganda film of the same name, this musical satire Reefer Madness: The Musical tells a tongue-in-cheek tale of the hysteria caused when clean-cut teenagers fall prey to the ‘demon weed’, marijuana.

Reefer Madness, composed by Dan Studney and Kevin Murphy (Heathers), is directed by Stephen Wheat (Avenue Q, Pippin) with musical direction by David Wisken (CROSSxROADS, Avenue Q) and choreography by Yvette Lee (In The Heights, Moonshadow), guaranteeing a raucous ride of cheeky laughs from start to finish.

When wholesome high school student Jimmy Harper (Ben Adams) falls prey to the intoxicating drug and becomes embroiled in the Reefer Den, he is led on a downward spiral filled with evil jazz music, sex and violence.

The audience witnesses Jimmy transition from good egg to bad apple as he is drawn further into the clutches of the Reefer Den and the denizens that occupy it, despite warnings from his innocent girlfriend Mary Lane (Grace O’Donnell Clancy) – who soon becomes caught up in the marijuana-induced madness too.

“I am so excited to bring this seldom-seen work to Melbourne. It's a real cult-classic and it's so rare to find a show that takes parody to the extreme in such an original, fun way,” says producer Ryan Lewis.

“The original film may be 100% serious when it tells you that smoking marijuana will turn you into a murderer, but the musical's flashy numbers featuring Jesus, zombies and an orgy shows how over-the- top this hysterical musical is!”  

Reefer Madness premiered in 1999 in Los Angeles, with the original production receiving five Ovation Awards and seven Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards before transferring to Off-Broadway. The 2005 Movie Musical received an Emmy for ‘Outstanding Music & Lyrics.’

Reefer Madness

Chapel Off Chapel,
12 Little Chapel St, Prahran

24 November – 4 December

chapeloffchapel.com.au

7.30pm Tues–Sat, 2pm 25–26 November and 3 December, 6pm Sundays $49 full / $45 concession / $42 groups 8+ / $45 preview (24 November)

Photos: Simon Fitzpatrick