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{{Short description|2005 American musical comedy film}}
[[Image:Reefer Madness (musical).jpg|right|thumb|''Reefer Madness'']]
{{Infobox television
The film version of the musical '''''Reefer Madness''''' premiered on [[April 16]], [[2005]], on the [[Showtime]] cable network. It is a [[television movie]] version of the 2004 musical, and stars [[Alan Cumming]] as the Lecturer and [[Kristen Bell]] as Mary. The movie also stars siblings [[Christian Campbell|Christian]] and [[Neve Campbell]] as Jimmy Harper and Miss Poppy. Bell, Christian Campbell, and [[John Kassir]] reprise their roles from the stage; [[Robert Torti]], who played both Jack and Jesus on the stage, portrays only the latter in the movie version ([[Steven Weber]] plays Jack in the movie).
| image = Reefer Madness (2005 film) poster.jpg
| image_alt =
| caption = DVD cover
| genre =
| creator =
| based_on = {{Based on|''[[Reefer Madness (musical)|Reefer Madness]]''|[[Kevin Murphy (screenwriter)|Kevin Murphy]]<br />Dan Studney}}
| writer =
| screenplay = {{Plainlist|
* Kevin Murphy
* Dan Studney}}
| story =
| director = [[Andy Fickman]]
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Kristen Bell]]
* [[Christian Campbell]]
* [[Neve Campbell]]
* [[Alan Cumming]]
* [[Ana Gasteyer]]
* [[John Kassir]]
* [[Amy Spanger]]
* [[Robert Torti]]
* [[Steven Weber]]}}
| narrated = Alan Cumming
| music = {{Plainlist|
* Dan Studney
* David Manning
* [[Nathan Wang]]}}
| country = {{Plainlist|
* United States
* Canada
* Germany}}
| language = English
| num_episodes =
| producer = {{Plainlist|
* Andy Fickman
* [[Kevin Murphy (screenwriter)|Kevin Murphy]]
* Dan Studney}}
| editor = Jeff Freeman
| cinematography = Jan Kiesser
| runtime = 108 minutes
| company = Dead Old Man Productions
| budget = $25 million
| network = [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]]
| released = {{Start date|2005|04|16}}
}}
'''''Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical''''', also known as '''''Reefer Madness''''', is a 2005 American [[made-for-television]] [[Musical film|musical]] [[comedy film]] directed by [[Andy Fickman]], written by [[Kevin Murphy (screenwriter)|Kevin Murphy]] and Dan Studney, and produced by the three. It is a [[film adaptation]] of the trio's 1998 [[Reefer Madness (musical)|musical of the same name]], itself based on the 1936 [[exploitation film]] [[Reefer Madness|also of the same title]]. It premiered on [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] on April 16, 2005.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/15/arts/television/zombies-get-the-munchies-too.html|title=Zombies Get the Munchies, Too|first=Anita|last=Gates|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 15, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2005/film/markets-festivals/reefer-madness-2-1200528372/|title=Reefer Madness|first1=Dennis|last1=Harvey|date=January 30, 2005}}</ref> The film also received a limited theatrical release overseas, and grossed $8,972 in its short run.


The film stars [[Kristen Bell]], [[Christian Campbell]], and [[John Kassir]] reprising their stage roles, with the notable addition of [[Alan Cumming]] and [[Ana Gasteyer]] in other lead roles. [[Robert Torti]], who played the characters of both Jack and [[Jesus]] onstage, portrays only the latter in this version.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/the-truth-10-years-later-alan-cumming-neve-campbell-and-reefer-madness-cast-share-memories-from-set-com-346634|title=10 Years Later, Alan Cumming, Neve Campbell and Reefer Madness Cast Share Memories From Set|first=Michael|last=Gioia|date=April 14, 2015|website=Playbill}}</ref>
On the night of [[April 20th]], 2005, Showtime aired the musical back-to-back with the [[Reefer Madness (1936 film)|1936 exploitation film]] that inspired it.


==Basis==
==Plot==
In a small middle-America town in 1936, a group of parents have been gathered by a mysterious Lecturer for an assembly. The ominous Lecturer informs the parents that he has come to warn them about the evils of [[marijuana]] on their youth ''("Reefer Madness")'' through the tragic tale of one boy's struggles with the demon weed in a film titled [[Reefer Madness|''"Tell Your Children"'']]. Throughout the film, the Lecturer stops to detail a political point or to condescend any audience member questioning his credibility.
Most of the satirical basis of the movie was focused on censorship of the government, not reefer madness. It is an extremely comical and witty piece with many instances involving tongue-in-cheek humour.
==Quotes==
* Lecturer- "Do your children enjoy jazz music? For I am here to tell you that Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and the whole weed-blowing, ginger-colored lot are merely masquerading as musicians and are in fact agents of evil. (nods) Reefer slows down the smokers' sense of time, allowing them to squeeze in unnecessary "grace notes", giving this voodoo music the power to hypnotize white women into indulging in unspeakable acts of degradation."


Jimmy Harper and Mary Lane, a joyful teen couple, blissfully enjoy each other's company ''("Romeo & Juliet")'', unaware of the seedy goings-on in The Reefer Den across town. This is the residence of Mae, who is abused by her boyfriend, Jack, a street tough who supplies her and others with dope ''("The Stuff")''. Mary, Jimmy and their school friends head to Miss Poppy's [[Five and Dime]], ''("Down at the Ol' Five and Dime").'' Jack appears at the hangout, offering Jimmy swing lessons to impress Mary.
* "Marijuana is the most addictive of all drugs. It is many times more addictive than heroin."


Jimmy is taken to the Reefer Den, where Jack, Mae, college dropout Ralph and neighborhood prostitute Sally pressure him into smoking his first joint, leading him to a hallucination of an insidious bacchanal. ''("Jimmy Takes a Hit/ The Orgy")''. Jimmy turns into a crazed addict and neglects Mary, leading her to pray for him ''("Lonely Pew").'' While breaking into a church to steal collection money, Jimmy has a vision of [[Jesus Christ]] in a Vegas-esque Heaven, telling him to change his ways or be sent to [[damnation|eternal damnation]] ''("Listen to Jesus, Jimmy")''. Jimmy refuses to heed the word of God and continues to spiral into sin.
* Roosevelt-"I for one would like to hear what this blood-spattered young lady has to say!"


One night, Jimmy and Sally take a joy ride in Mary's stolen car while buzzed, running over an old man. Jimmy runs to Mary, debating whether to continue being under the influence or repent his ways ''("Mary Jane/ Mary Lane").'' Jimmy returns to Mary romantically, but he realizes that he is putting her in danger and tells her that he must leave town without her. Jack brings him back to the Reefer Den with a [[Cannabis foods|pot-brownie]], putting him in a [[Golden Age of American animation|cartoonized]] trip ''("The Brownie Song").'' Mary follows Jimmy to the Den where Ralph seduces her by convincing her that Jimmy has joined his "[[Phi|frat]][[Beta|ern]][[Cannabis|ity]]". He suggests that they celebrate with a smoke, which turns out to be a toke. This intro to reefer immediately turns Mary into a sadistic [[dominatrix]] who terrorizes Ralph for pleasure ''("Little Mary Sunshine)''. Jimmy enters and a fight ensues. Jack stops the fight, knocks out Jimmy and accidentally shoots Mary. He frames an unconscious Jimmy for the crime. Jimmy gives Mary his class ring, and comforts her as she dies in his arms ''("Mary's Death")''.
* Mary Lane- "Jimmy! What are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 p.m.!"


Jimmy is taken away by police. Racked with guilt, Ralph has pot-induced hallucinations of Jimmy as a ghost, Mary as Satan's sodomy pal and the children who got hooked on the Reefer Gang's dope as the living dead. Ralph gets an extreme case of the munchies and ends up killing and cannibalizing Sally. Jack shoots Ralph to stop him ''("Murder!")''. Seeing similar visions, Mae realizes the error of her ways and tells Jack to do the same. He rejects her pleas and she bludgeons him to death with a garden hoe, gaining her much-needed empowerment ''("The Stuff (Reprise)").
* Sally- "What a night! I was in more laps than a napkin!"


Mae pleads to the visiting [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President]] about Jimmy's case, earning the boy a presidential [[pardon]]. Jimmy, Mae, the President and Jimmy's fellow prisoners, Ralph, Jack, and Sally (reincarnated as [[Uncle Sam]], [[George Washington]], and [[Statue of Liberty|Lady Liberty]] respectively) raise the American justice system and patriotism ''("Tell 'Em the Truth")''. Jimmy burns down the Reefer Den's weed garden, freeing Mary from both Hell and [[Satan]] before everyone's eyes. The Lecturer's film ends with Mary entering Heaven, greeted by Jesus and other Holy souls.
* Roosevelt- "A [[Annie|little orphan girl]] once told me that the sun would come out tomorrow. Her adopted father was a powerful billionaire so I suppressed the urge to laugh in her face, but now, by gum, I think she may have been on to something!"


The entire audience joins the suddenly real film cast to hold a huge anti-reefer [[bonfire|book burning]] pledging to join the fight against marijuana, sex, racial and ethnic minorities and other things harmful to their dear country ''("Finale")''. The Lecturer drives off, pleased that he has succeeded in exploiting everyone's biases.
* Jimmy (During "Loved by Mary Lane")- "Mary Jane, Mary Jane, you conquered me like [[Charlemagne]]."
* "You melt resistance down like hot [[Velveeta]]!"


==Synopsis==
==Cast==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
{{spoiler}}
<!-- written from reviews and watching the movie version; please correct any lapses -->
In a high school classroom, The Lecturer tells the assembly of anxious parents about the evil of marijuana ("Reefer Madness"). With the help of his assistants, he then launches into the tragic tale of one boy's struggles with the demon weed.


===Principal cast===
Jimmy Harper is a fine upstanding youth, blessed with the love of the fair Mary Lane. The two are sure they will live happily ever after ("[[Romeo and Juliet]]"). However, across town, the weed-pusher Jack and his croonies, Sally and Ralph, are living in the depths of depravity. Jack's [[moll]], Mae, explains how she came to live in such a state ('"The Stuff.")
* [[Alan Cumming]] as The Lecturer, [[Moloch|The Goat Man]], [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]], and other minor characters
* [[Christian Campbell]] as James Fenimore "Jimmy" Harper
* [[Kristen Bell]] as Mary Lane
* [[Steven Weber]] as Jack Stone and [[George Washington]] in "Tell 'Em the Truth"
* [[Ana Gasteyer]] as Mae Coleman
* [[John Kassir]] as Ralph Wiley and [[Uncle Sam]] in "Tell 'Em the Truth"
* [[Amy Spanger]] as Sally DeBanis and [[Statue of Liberty]] in "Tell 'Em the Truth"
* [[Robert Torti]] as [[Jesus]]
* [[Neve Campbell]] as Miss Poppy


===Supporting cast===
Meanwhile, Jack goes out to recruit new addicts at Miss Poppy's soda counter ("The Ol' Five and Dime"). There, he meets Jimmy, whom he lures back to the house and offers a stick of reefer. After one puff, Jack becomes an addict ("Jimmy Takes a Hit/The Orgy"). He forgets about Mary Lane, who sits alone in church for weeks and weeks ("Lonely Pew").
* Abraham Jedidiah as Dead Old Man
* [[Christine Lakin]] as [[Joan of Arc]]
* [[John Mann (musician)|John Mann]] as [[Satan]]
* Harry S. Murphy as Warden Harrah
* Tom Arntzen as Officer D.J. Sordelet
* [[Ken Kirzinger]] as [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] Agent Matthews
* Chang Tseng as Asian Man
* [[Britt Irvin]], [[Alexz Johnson]] as Arc-ettes


===Lecture assembly===
One night, Jimmy and Ralph break into the church in order to steal from the collection plate for drug money. Jesus comes down from the cross and, in a musical revue hosted by [[Joan of Arc]], exhorts Jimmy to kick the habit ("Listen to Jesus, Jimmy"). But Jimmy's too deep into his habit to be saved; he has a new god now. He goes back to the Reefer Den, and to Sally.
* [[Kevin McNulty (actor)|Kevin McNulty]] as Mayor Harris Macdonald
* Stephen Sisk as Blumsack, the Lecturer's projectionist assistant
* Robert Clarke as Principal Poindexter Short
* [[Lynda Boyd]] as Mrs. Deidre Greevey
* Ruth Nichol as Mrs. Roxanne MacDonald
* [[Michael A. Goorjian|Michael Goorjian]] as Mickey Druther
{{Div col end}}


==Musical numbers==
One dark night, Jimmy and Sally are driving back to the house, stoned, when their car hits and kills an old man. Sally runs away. Jimmy, scared straight, drives in a panic to Mary's house, where he tells her he still loves her, and that they must go far, far away. Mary happily accepts him back, and everything seems right with the worlds ("Mary Jane/Mary Lane").


* '''Reefer Madness''' – ''Lecturer, Parents/ Zombies Ensemble''
But Jack knows that if the police catch Jimmy, his 'reefer empire' will be shattered. He waits for Jimmy at Mary's house and offers him an innocent looking chocolate brownie. Jimmy eats the brownie and immediately forgets about Mary Lane ("The Brownie Song").
* '''Romeo and Juliet''' ''– Jimmy, Mary''
* '''The Stuff''' ''– Mae''
* '''Down at the Ol' Five and Dime''' ''– Mary, Miss Poppy, Lecturer, Youth Ensemble''
* '''Jimmy Takes a Hit/ The Orgy''' ''– Sally, Jimmy, Jack, Mae, Ralph, Exotic Ensemble''
* '''Lonely Pew''' – ''Mary, Lecturer (Organist), Ensemble''
* '''Listen to Jesus, Jimmy''' ''– Jesus Christ, Joan of Arc and Arc-ettes, Satan, Heaven Ensemble''
* '''Mary Jane/Mary Lane''' ''– Jimmy, Mary, Full Company (Mae, Jack, Singing Clams, Miss Poppy, Dead Old Man, Officer Sordelet, Jesus, Joan, Satan, Ralph, Sally, Asian Man)''
* '''The Brownie Song''' ''– (animated) Jimmy, Mae, Sally, Jack, Ralph''
* '''Little Mary Sunshine''' ''– Ralph, Mary''
* '''Mary's Death''' ''– Jimmy, Mary''
* '''Murder!''' ''– Jimmy, Ralph, Mary, Satan, Sally, Jack, Mae, Zombies Ensemble''
* '''The Stuff (Reprise)''' ''– Mae''
* '''Tell 'Em the Truth''' ''(Finale)''' ''– Mae, Jimmy, Lecturer (FDR), Mary, Jack, Sally, Ralph, Prisoner Ensemble''
* '''Romeo and Juliet (Reprise)''' '''(Finale)''' ''– Mary, Jimmy''
* '''Reefer Madness (Finale)''' ''– Company''
* '''Reefer Madness (End Credits)''' ''– Full Cast''
* '''Mary Lane (End Credits)'''– Mary, Jimmy, Company


==Production==
Jimmy goes back to the Reefer Den. But this time, Mary follows him, planning to rescue him. Instead, Ralph ensnares her with his fraternity jacket and a puff of reefer ("Little Mary Sunshine").
In 1998, writing partners [[Kevin Murphy (screenwriter)|Kevin Murphy]] and Dan Studney, who had met while studying at [[Drew University]] in [[Madison, New Jersey]], were driving from [[Oakland, California|Oakland]] to [[Los Angeles]] and listening to [[Frank Zappa]]'s ''[[Joe's Garage]]'', when they began discussing how one might stage the piece. "So I started picturing it in my head," Studney recalls. "Frank Zappa's concept of a musical and then it just hit me. I turned to Kevin and said 'What about doing ''Reefer Madness'' as a musical?'" By the time duo reached L.A., they had already written the first song.


The high school is named after [[Harry J. Anslinger]], the first Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics, known as the Father of the Drug War.
Jimmy comes downstairs to find Mary making out with Ralph. He angrily attacks Ralph and the two begin wrestling. Jack comes in and attempts to break up the fight, while Mae reproaches them for corrupting someone as innocent as Mary. During the scuffle, Jack's gun goes off and Mary is shot through the heart ("Mary's Death"). Jimmy holds her but it is too late; she dies in his arms.


==Release==
The police appear, summoned by the gunshot, and Jack fingers Jimmy as the killer. He is taken away. The radio reveals that he has been sent to death row.
''Reefer Madness'' [[premiere]]d at the 2005 [[Sundance Film Festival]]. It also screened in competition at the 2005 [[Deauville Film Festival]] and won the Premiere Audience Award. On April 20, four days following the film's television premiere, Showtime aired the musical back-to-back with the [[Reefer Madness|1936 exploitation film]] that inspired it.


A limited theatrical release occurred internationally in the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]]. The film made $8,972 in its short run.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0404364/|title = Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical}}</ref>
Upon hearing this news, Ralph goes insane, thinking that Jimmy, Mary and the rest of the youths whose lives have been ruined by marijuana, are stalking him from beyond the grave ("Murder"). Spooked, Jack and Mae go out for food while Sally stays behind to look after the raving Ralph.


===Home media===
When they return, the find that Ralph, in the throes of reefer-induced hunger pangs, has murdered Sally and eaten her body. Jack shoots and kills him. But now Mae is having visions of Jimmy, Mary, Sally and Ralph, all accusing. To regain her sanity the only way she knows, she hacks Jack to death and kicks the habit once and for all ("The Stuff (Reprise)").
Showtime released the [[DVD]] on November 9, 2005. The DVD includes the [[Reefer Madness|original film]] and an [[audio commentary]] by director Fickman with several cast members. The DVD case itself also smelled of [[Chocolate brownie|brownies]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Does the Reefer Madness DVD Smell Like Chocolate? (Message Board) |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=888021 |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=www.broadwayworld.com}}</ref>


It was released on [[Blu-ray]] on June 30, 2009, including a [[German language|German-language]] [[Dubbing#Translation process|dub]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005) |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/Reefer-Madness-The-Movie-Musical/103456/ |access-date=2023-03-21}}</ref>
When she reads in the daily paper that the president will be coming to town to judge a dance contest, she determines to talk to him and gain a [[Presidential pardon]] for Jimmy. They burst into the electrocution chamber at the last second and free the doomed boy, who joins them in their crusade to tell the world about the evils of marijuana ("Tell 'em the Truth").


It some territories, it can be downloaded or streamed in HD via [[Vudu]], [[Redbox]], [[Amazon Prime Video|Amazon]], [[Google Play]], [[Microsoft Movies & TV|Microsoft]], and [[YouTube]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical streaming |url=https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/reefer-madness-the-movie-musical |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=JustWatch |language=en}}</ref>
The Lecturer's presentation ends. The entire audience joins in to explain how they will join the fight against things they don't understand ("Reefer Madness (Reprise)").


==Side Notes==
===Accolades===
The film won the 2005 [[Emmy Award]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics|Music and Lyrics]] (for "Mary Jane/Mary Lane", which was written specially for the film). It also received Emmy nominations for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography|Choreography]] and Make-Up Effects.
*The high school that Jimmy and Mary attend is named after [[Harry J. Anslinger]], the United States' first "[[drug czar]]".

*The Lecturer refers several times to a newspaper written by [[William Randolph Hearst]], whose real life newspapers featured exaggerated stories and anti-marijuana propaganda.
==Soundtrack==
*The number [[420 (cannabis culture)|420]] which is a [[euphemism]] for the consumption of cannabis and elements of its associated culture appears several times throughout the film. Jack's house address is 420, and the church's hymnal listing lists 420 several times. Many more examples exist.
A soundtrack CD was first released by Showtime in their "stash box" press package. Mixed from the 5.1 audio masters, this version has several anomalies including a few sound effects.

On October 28, 2008, [[Ghostlight Records]] released a double CD of the soundtrack from the film and original Los Angeles cast recording. The night before, [[The Public Theater]]'s [[Joe's Pub]] hosted a release party concert featuring a four-person ensemble and leads [[Alan Cumming]], [[Ana Gasteyer]], [[Christian Campbell]], [[John Kassir]], [[Robert Torti]], [[Amy Spanger]], and [[Jenna Leigh Green]] doing an abbreviated concert version with introductions to each song by Kevin Murphy.

The two versions of the soundtrack differ in quite a few places, both from each other and from the film, but it is most noticeable during the song ''Murder''. The Showtime CD features a longer version of the song, sans all spoken dialogue. The Ghostlight CD features a truncated version of the track littered with dialogue from the film.

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404364/ ''Reefer Madness''] at the [[The Internet Movie Database|Internet Movie Database]]
* {{IMDb title|0404364|Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|reefer_madness_2005|Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical}}


{{Andy Fickman}}
[[Category:2005 films]]
{{Satellite Award Best Television Film}}
[[Category:Film remakes]]
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Musical comedy films]]


[[fr:Reefer Madness]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reefer Madness}}
[[Category:2005 films]]
[[Category:2005 television films]]
[[Category:2000s musical comedy films]]
[[Category:American comedy television films]]
[[Category:American musical comedy films]]
[[Category:Canadian comedy television films]]
[[Category:Canadian musical comedy films]]
[[Category:Films about cannibalism]]
[[Category:German comedy television films]]
[[Category:German musical comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language Canadian films]]
[[Category:English-language German films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Andy Fickman]]
[[Category:Films scored by Nathan Wang]]
[[Category:Films based on musicals based on films]]
[[Category:Musical film remakes]]
[[Category:Portrayals of Jesus in film]]
[[Category:Showtime (TV network) original programming]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Franklin D. Roosevelt]]
[[Category:Stoner films]]
[[Category:Films based on musicals]]
[[Category:2005 comedy films]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:2000s Canadian films]]
[[Category:2000s German films]]
[[Category:Canadian musical television films]]
[[Category:2005 musical films]]

Latest revision as of 21:51, 2 December 2024

Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical
DVD cover
Based onReefer Madness
by Kevin Murphy
Dan Studney
Screenplay by
  • Kevin Murphy
  • Dan Studney
Directed byAndy Fickman
Starring
Narrated byAlan Cumming
Music by
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada
  • Germany
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producers
CinematographyJan Kiesser
EditorJeff Freeman
Running time108 minutes
Production companyDead Old Man Productions
Budget$25 million
Original release
NetworkShowtime
ReleaseApril 16, 2005 (2005-04-16)

Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, also known as Reefer Madness, is a 2005 American made-for-television musical comedy film directed by Andy Fickman, written by Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, and produced by the three. It is a film adaptation of the trio's 1998 musical of the same name, itself based on the 1936 exploitation film also of the same title. It premiered on Showtime on April 16, 2005.[1][2] The film also received a limited theatrical release overseas, and grossed $8,972 in its short run.

The film stars Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell, and John Kassir reprising their stage roles, with the notable addition of Alan Cumming and Ana Gasteyer in other lead roles. Robert Torti, who played the characters of both Jack and Jesus onstage, portrays only the latter in this version.[3]

Plot

[edit]

In a small middle-America town in 1936, a group of parents have been gathered by a mysterious Lecturer for an assembly. The ominous Lecturer informs the parents that he has come to warn them about the evils of marijuana on their youth ("Reefer Madness") through the tragic tale of one boy's struggles with the demon weed in a film titled "Tell Your Children". Throughout the film, the Lecturer stops to detail a political point or to condescend any audience member questioning his credibility.

Jimmy Harper and Mary Lane, a joyful teen couple, blissfully enjoy each other's company ("Romeo & Juliet"), unaware of the seedy goings-on in The Reefer Den across town. This is the residence of Mae, who is abused by her boyfriend, Jack, a street tough who supplies her and others with dope ("The Stuff"). Mary, Jimmy and their school friends head to Miss Poppy's Five and Dime, ("Down at the Ol' Five and Dime"). Jack appears at the hangout, offering Jimmy swing lessons to impress Mary.

Jimmy is taken to the Reefer Den, where Jack, Mae, college dropout Ralph and neighborhood prostitute Sally pressure him into smoking his first joint, leading him to a hallucination of an insidious bacchanal. ("Jimmy Takes a Hit/ The Orgy"). Jimmy turns into a crazed addict and neglects Mary, leading her to pray for him ("Lonely Pew"). While breaking into a church to steal collection money, Jimmy has a vision of Jesus Christ in a Vegas-esque Heaven, telling him to change his ways or be sent to eternal damnation ("Listen to Jesus, Jimmy"). Jimmy refuses to heed the word of God and continues to spiral into sin.

One night, Jimmy and Sally take a joy ride in Mary's stolen car while buzzed, running over an old man. Jimmy runs to Mary, debating whether to continue being under the influence or repent his ways ("Mary Jane/ Mary Lane"). Jimmy returns to Mary romantically, but he realizes that he is putting her in danger and tells her that he must leave town without her. Jack brings him back to the Reefer Den with a pot-brownie, putting him in a cartoonized trip ("The Brownie Song"). Mary follows Jimmy to the Den where Ralph seduces her by convincing her that Jimmy has joined his "fraternity". He suggests that they celebrate with a smoke, which turns out to be a toke. This intro to reefer immediately turns Mary into a sadistic dominatrix who terrorizes Ralph for pleasure ("Little Mary Sunshine). Jimmy enters and a fight ensues. Jack stops the fight, knocks out Jimmy and accidentally shoots Mary. He frames an unconscious Jimmy for the crime. Jimmy gives Mary his class ring, and comforts her as she dies in his arms ("Mary's Death").

Jimmy is taken away by police. Racked with guilt, Ralph has pot-induced hallucinations of Jimmy as a ghost, Mary as Satan's sodomy pal and the children who got hooked on the Reefer Gang's dope as the living dead. Ralph gets an extreme case of the munchies and ends up killing and cannibalizing Sally. Jack shoots Ralph to stop him ("Murder!"). Seeing similar visions, Mae realizes the error of her ways and tells Jack to do the same. He rejects her pleas and she bludgeons him to death with a garden hoe, gaining her much-needed empowerment ("The Stuff (Reprise)").

Mae pleads to the visiting President about Jimmy's case, earning the boy a presidential pardon. Jimmy, Mae, the President and Jimmy's fellow prisoners, Ralph, Jack, and Sally (reincarnated as Uncle Sam, George Washington, and Lady Liberty respectively) raise the American justice system and patriotism ("Tell 'Em the Truth"). Jimmy burns down the Reefer Den's weed garden, freeing Mary from both Hell and Satan before everyone's eyes. The Lecturer's film ends with Mary entering Heaven, greeted by Jesus and other Holy souls.

The entire audience joins the suddenly real film cast to hold a huge anti-reefer book burning pledging to join the fight against marijuana, sex, racial and ethnic minorities and other things harmful to their dear country ("Finale"). The Lecturer drives off, pleased that he has succeeded in exploiting everyone's biases.

Cast

[edit]

Principal cast

[edit]

Supporting cast

[edit]

Lecture assembly

[edit]
  • Kevin McNulty as Mayor Harris Macdonald
  • Stephen Sisk as Blumsack, the Lecturer's projectionist assistant
  • Robert Clarke as Principal Poindexter Short
  • Lynda Boyd as Mrs. Deidre Greevey
  • Ruth Nichol as Mrs. Roxanne MacDonald
  • Michael Goorjian as Mickey Druther

Musical numbers

[edit]
  • Reefer Madness – Lecturer, Parents/ Zombies Ensemble
  • Romeo and Juliet – Jimmy, Mary
  • The Stuff – Mae
  • Down at the Ol' Five and Dime – Mary, Miss Poppy, Lecturer, Youth Ensemble
  • Jimmy Takes a Hit/ The Orgy – Sally, Jimmy, Jack, Mae, Ralph, Exotic Ensemble
  • Lonely Pew – Mary, Lecturer (Organist), Ensemble
  • Listen to Jesus, Jimmy – Jesus Christ, Joan of Arc and Arc-ettes, Satan, Heaven Ensemble
  • Mary Jane/Mary Lane – Jimmy, Mary, Full Company (Mae, Jack, Singing Clams, Miss Poppy, Dead Old Man, Officer Sordelet, Jesus, Joan, Satan, Ralph, Sally, Asian Man)
  • The Brownie Song – (animated) Jimmy, Mae, Sally, Jack, Ralph
  • Little Mary Sunshine – Ralph, Mary
  • Mary's Death – Jimmy, Mary
  • Murder! – Jimmy, Ralph, Mary, Satan, Sally, Jack, Mae, Zombies Ensemble
  • The Stuff (Reprise) – Mae
  • Tell 'Em the Truth' (Finale) – Mae, Jimmy, Lecturer (FDR), Mary, Jack, Sally, Ralph, Prisoner Ensemble
  • Romeo and Juliet (Reprise) (Finale) – Mary, Jimmy
  • Reefer Madness (Finale) – Company
  • Reefer Madness (End Credits) – Full Cast
  • Mary Lane (End Credits)– Mary, Jimmy, Company

Production

[edit]

In 1998, writing partners Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, who had met while studying at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, were driving from Oakland to Los Angeles and listening to Frank Zappa's Joe's Garage, when they began discussing how one might stage the piece. "So I started picturing it in my head," Studney recalls. "Frank Zappa's concept of a musical and then it just hit me. I turned to Kevin and said 'What about doing Reefer Madness as a musical?'" By the time duo reached L.A., they had already written the first song.

The high school is named after Harry J. Anslinger, the first Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics, known as the Father of the Drug War.

Release

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Reefer Madness premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. It also screened in competition at the 2005 Deauville Film Festival and won the Premiere Audience Award. On April 20, four days following the film's television premiere, Showtime aired the musical back-to-back with the 1936 exploitation film that inspired it.

A limited theatrical release occurred internationally in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The film made $8,972 in its short run.[4]

Home media

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Showtime released the DVD on November 9, 2005. The DVD includes the original film and an audio commentary by director Fickman with several cast members. The DVD case itself also smelled of brownies.[5]

It was released on Blu-ray on June 30, 2009, including a German-language dub.[6]

It some territories, it can be downloaded or streamed in HD via Vudu, Redbox, Amazon, Google Play, Microsoft, and YouTube.[7]

Accolades

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The film won the 2005 Emmy Award for Music and Lyrics (for "Mary Jane/Mary Lane", which was written specially for the film). It also received Emmy nominations for Choreography and Make-Up Effects.

Soundtrack

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A soundtrack CD was first released by Showtime in their "stash box" press package. Mixed from the 5.1 audio masters, this version has several anomalies including a few sound effects.

On October 28, 2008, Ghostlight Records released a double CD of the soundtrack from the film and original Los Angeles cast recording. The night before, The Public Theater's Joe's Pub hosted a release party concert featuring a four-person ensemble and leads Alan Cumming, Ana Gasteyer, Christian Campbell, John Kassir, Robert Torti, Amy Spanger, and Jenna Leigh Green doing an abbreviated concert version with introductions to each song by Kevin Murphy.

The two versions of the soundtrack differ in quite a few places, both from each other and from the film, but it is most noticeable during the song Murder. The Showtime CD features a longer version of the song, sans all spoken dialogue. The Ghostlight CD features a truncated version of the track littered with dialogue from the film.

References

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  1. ^ Gates, Anita (April 15, 2005). "Zombies Get the Munchies, Too". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Harvey, Dennis (January 30, 2005). "Reefer Madness".
  3. ^ Gioia, Michael (April 14, 2015). "10 Years Later, Alan Cumming, Neve Campbell and Reefer Madness Cast Share Memories From Set". Playbill.
  4. ^ "Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical".
  5. ^ "Why Does the Reefer Madness DVD Smell Like Chocolate? (Message Board)". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  6. ^ Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005), retrieved 2023-03-21
  7. ^ "Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical streaming". JustWatch. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
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