Reefer Madness (2005 film)
Encyclopedia
Reefer Madness premiered on April 16, 2005 on the Showtime cable network
. It is a television movie
version of the 1998 musical
, and stars Alan Cumming
as the Lecturer, Ana Gasteyer
as Mae, and Kristen Bell
as Mary. The movie also stars siblings Christian
and Neve Campbell
as Jimmy Harper and Miss Poppy. Kristen 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).
The film 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 the night of April 20, 2005, Showtime aired the musical back-to-back with the 1936 exploitation film that inspired it. The film won the 2005 Emmy Award for Music and Lyrics (for the song "Mary Jane/Mary Lane," which was written specially for the film). It also received Emmy nominations for Choreography and Make-Up Effects. The movie was released on DVD on November 8, 2005.
) tells the assembly of anxious
parents about the evils of marijuana ("Reefer Madness"). With the help of his assistant, Blumsack (Stephen Sisk), he then launches into the tragic tale of one boy's struggles with the demon weed.
Jimmy Harper (Christian Campbell
) is a fine upstanding youth, blessed with the love of the fair Mary Lane (Kristen Bell
). The two are sure they will live happily ever after and (not knowing how the story actually ends) compare their relationship to that of William Shakespeare
's greatest love story ("Romeo and Juliet
"). However, across town, the sadistic weed-pusher, Jack Stone (Steven Weber
), and his cronies, neurotic
whore Sally DeBanis (Amy Spanger
) and former college student Ralph Wiley (John Kassir
), are living in the depths of depravity. Jack's moll
, Mae (Ana Gasteyer
), explains how she came to live in such a state and how she would leave Jack if he didn't give her the marijuana she so craves ("The Stuff").
Meanwhile, Jack goes out to recruit new addicts at Miss Poppy's (Neve Campbell
) soda counter ("Down at 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, Jimmy becomes an addict ("Jimmy Takes a Hit/The Orgy"). He forgets about Mary Lane, who sits alone in church, waiting for him ("Lonely Pew"). One night, Jimmy and Ralph break into the church in order to steal from the collection plate for drug money. Jesus (Robert Torti
) comes down from the cross and, in a musical revue hosted by Joan of Arc
(Christine Lakin
), 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, where he finds out that Sally, desperate for drug money, sold her baby to the black market.
One dark night, Jimmy and Sally are driving wildly 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 ("Mary Jane/Mary Lane"). However he realizes that by staying with her he is putting her in danger and tells her that he has to leave town without her. Mary then insists on going with him, saying "If Romeo has to run away, then so does Juliet." Jimmy tells her to go inside and pack, then sneaks away, hoping for a new start somewhere else, where Mary won't be harmed. 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, which turns out to be a marijuana brownie. Jimmy eats the brownie and immediately forgets all about Mary ("The Brownie Song").
Jimmy goes back to the Reefer Den. But this time, Mary pursues him, planning to rescue him. Instead, Ralph ensnares her with his fraternity jacket and a puff of reefer ("Little Mary Sunshine"). He soon finds out that he has unleashed more than he can deal with, as Mary transforms from your simple high school sweetheart into a sadistic, whip-cracking dominatrix
who begins to rape
Ralph. Jimmy comes downstairs to find Mary taking advantage of Ralph. He angrily attacks Ralph and the two begin fighting. Jack comes in and attempts to break up the fight, while Mae reprimands 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. The police appear, summoned by the gunshot, and Jack fingers Jimmy as the killer. He is carted off by the officers (who leave Mary's body where it lies). The radio reveals that Jimmy has been sent to death row.
Upon hearing this news, Ralph goes insane, thinking that Jimmy, Mary (whom he sees being molested by the devil
(John Mann
) in hell), 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. When they return, they find that Ralph, in the throes of reefer-induced hunger pangs, has murdered Sally and cannibalized her body. Jack shoots him several times, but Ralph continues to get up, his strength increased while he is in the throes of "Reefer Madness" he collapses in the backyard, but disappears when Jack goes to check the body. Jack looks up to see Ralph leap down from the trees only to be impaled on the scarecrow. 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 with a garden hoe and kicks the habit once and for all ("The Stuff (Reprise)").
When Mae reads in the daily paper that the president will be coming to town to visit a sick child, she becomes determined 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 Jimmy, who joins them in their crusade to tell the world about the evils of marijuana. They travel back to the reefer den, where Jimmy torches the crop. Mary appears, haloed and freed from hell by his heroic destruction of property. She promises to wait for him in heaven ("Tell 'Em the Truth").
The Lecturer's presentation ends; the entire audience joins the suddenly real film cast to explain how they will join the fight against things they don't understand, ("Reefer Madness (Reprise)"), thus connecting the 1930s
crusade against marijuana, with the Hollywood Hays Code and prejudice directed at racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, labor unions, gays and lesbians.
As the film ends, the galvanized
townsfolk hold a huge anti-reefer bonfire, in a scene similar to the book burning
s that took place in Germany in the 1930s
, as well continuing the film's theme of associating marijuana prohibition with other campaigns against minorities and dissent, with the Lecturer promising, as he drives away, "When danger's near exploit their fear."
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.
was released on November 9, 2005 by Showtime. The DVD includes an audio commentary
by director Fickman and the original film
.
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 Theatre'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's 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 movie.
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
. It is a television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
version of the 1998 musical
Reefer Madness (musical)
Reefer Madness is a musical satire of the 1936 cult classic Reefer Madness that opened in Los Angeles in 1998. The book and lyrics were written by Kevin Murphy and the music by Dan Studney. Directed by Andy Fickman, it was initially shown at the Hudson Theater on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los...
, and stars Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
as the Lecturer, Ana Gasteyer
Ana Gasteyer
Ana Kristina Gasteyer is an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her comedic roles when she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002.-Early life:...
as Mae, and Kristen Bell
Kristen Bell
Kristen Anne Bell is an American actress. Although her first film role was an uncredited appearance in Polish Wedding, Bell previously acted in stage and musical productions. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer...
as Mary. The movie also stars siblings Christian
Christian Campbell
Christian Bethune Campbell is a Canadian stage and screen actor. He is married to actress America Olivo.-Personal life:Campbell was born in Toronto, Ontario. Campbell's mother, Marnie , is a yoga instructor and psychologist from Amsterdam, Netherlands...
and Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell
Neve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After beginning her career on stage, and on numerous commercials, she starred on the Canadian television series Catwalk. She then rose to international fame on the Golden Globe-winning 1990s television series Party of Five, playing the role of teenager...
as Jimmy Harper and Miss Poppy. Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell, and John Kassir
John Kassir
John Kassir is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian who is best known as the voice of the Crypt Keeper in HBO's, Tales from the Crypt franchise...
reprise their roles from the stage; Robert Torti
Robert Torti
Robert Felix Torti is an American actor.Torti was born in Van Nuys, California. He married DeLee Lively on June 24, 1999. Together, they have three children.-Filmography:*Quincy M.E....
, who played both Jack and Jesus on the stage, portrays only the latter in the movie version (Steven Weber
Steven Weber (actor)
Steven Robert Weber is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the television show Wings which aired throughout the 1990s on NBC.-Early life:...
plays Jack in the movie).
The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
. It also screened in competition at the 2005 Deauville Film Festival and won the Premiere Audience Award. On the night of April 20, 2005, Showtime aired the musical back-to-back with the 1936 exploitation film that inspired it. The film won the 2005 Emmy Award for Music and Lyrics (for the song "Mary Jane/Mary Lane," which was written specially for the film). It also received Emmy nominations for Choreography and Make-Up Effects. The movie was released on DVD on November 8, 2005.
Plot
In a high school classroom, The Lecturer (Alan CummingAlan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
) tells the assembly of anxious
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
parents about the evils of marijuana ("Reefer Madness"). With the help of his assistant, Blumsack (Stephen Sisk), he then launches into the tragic tale of one boy's struggles with the demon weed.
Jimmy Harper (Christian Campbell
Christian Campbell
Christian Bethune Campbell is a Canadian stage and screen actor. He is married to actress America Olivo.-Personal life:Campbell was born in Toronto, Ontario. Campbell's mother, Marnie , is a yoga instructor and psychologist from Amsterdam, Netherlands...
) is a fine upstanding youth, blessed with the love of the fair Mary Lane (Kristen Bell
Kristen Bell
Kristen Anne Bell is an American actress. Although her first film role was an uncredited appearance in Polish Wedding, Bell previously acted in stage and musical productions. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer...
). The two are sure they will live happily ever after and (not knowing how the story actually ends) compare their relationship to that of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's greatest love story ("Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
"). However, across town, the sadistic weed-pusher, Jack Stone (Steven Weber
Steven Weber (actor)
Steven Robert Weber is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the television show Wings which aired throughout the 1990s on NBC.-Early life:...
), and his cronies, neurotic
Neurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving distress but neither delusions nor hallucinations, whereby behavior is not outside socially acceptable norms. It is also known as psychoneurosis or neurotic disorder, and thus those suffering from it are said to be neurotic...
whore Sally DeBanis (Amy Spanger
Amy Spanger
-Biography:A graduate of Triton Regional High School in Byfield, Massachusetts, Spanger made her Broadway debut in 1995 in the musical Sunset Boulevard, following a half-year run in the pre-Broadway national tour of Jekyll & Hyde...
) and former college student Ralph Wiley (John Kassir
John Kassir
John Kassir is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian who is best known as the voice of the Crypt Keeper in HBO's, Tales from the Crypt franchise...
), are living in the depths of depravity. Jack's moll
Gun moll
Gun moll is a term that refers to the female companion of a male professional criminal. In some contexts, gun moll more specifically suggests that the woman handles a firearm....
, Mae (Ana Gasteyer
Ana Gasteyer
Ana Kristina Gasteyer is an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her comedic roles when she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002.-Early life:...
), explains how she came to live in such a state and how she would leave Jack if he didn't give her the marijuana she so craves ("The Stuff").
Meanwhile, Jack goes out to recruit new addicts at Miss Poppy's (Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell
Neve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After beginning her career on stage, and on numerous commercials, she starred on the Canadian television series Catwalk. She then rose to international fame on the Golden Globe-winning 1990s television series Party of Five, playing the role of teenager...
) soda counter ("Down at the Ol' Five and Dime
Five and Dime
Five and Dime is a cartoon short by Walter Lantz which features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It is the 74th Oswald short produced by Lantz and the 125th overall. It also is among the number of shorts that feature Oswald in his fully clothed appearance....
"). There, he meets Jimmy, whom he lures back to the house and offers a stick of reefer. After one puff, Jimmy becomes an addict ("Jimmy Takes a Hit/The Orgy"). He forgets about Mary Lane, who sits alone in church, waiting for him ("Lonely Pew"). One night, Jimmy and Ralph break into the church in order to steal from the collection plate for drug money. Jesus (Robert Torti
Robert Torti
Robert Felix Torti is an American actor.Torti was born in Van Nuys, California. He married DeLee Lively on June 24, 1999. Together, they have three children.-Filmography:*Quincy M.E....
) comes down from the cross and, in a musical revue hosted by Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
(Christine Lakin
Christine Lakin
Christine Helen Lakin is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Alicia "Al" Lambert on the 1990s ABC/CBS situation comedy Step by Step and as Joan of Arc in Showtime's Reefer Madness...
), 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, where he finds out that Sally, desperate for drug money, sold her baby to the black market.
One dark night, Jimmy and Sally are driving wildly 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 ("Mary Jane/Mary Lane"). However he realizes that by staying with her he is putting her in danger and tells her that he has to leave town without her. Mary then insists on going with him, saying "If Romeo has to run away, then so does Juliet." Jimmy tells her to go inside and pack, then sneaks away, hoping for a new start somewhere else, where Mary won't be harmed. 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, which turns out to be a marijuana brownie. Jimmy eats the brownie and immediately forgets all about Mary ("The Brownie Song").
Jimmy goes back to the Reefer Den. But this time, Mary pursues him, planning to rescue him. Instead, Ralph ensnares her with his fraternity jacket and a puff of reefer ("Little Mary Sunshine"). He soon finds out that he has unleashed more than he can deal with, as Mary transforms from your simple high school sweetheart into a sadistic, whip-cracking dominatrix
Dominatrix
Dominatrix or mistress is a woman or women who takes the dominant role in bondage, discipline and sadomasochism, or BDSM. A common form of address for a submissive to a dominatrix is "mistress", "ma'am", "domina" or "maîtresse"...
who begins to rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
Ralph. Jimmy comes downstairs to find Mary taking advantage of Ralph. He angrily attacks Ralph and the two begin fighting. Jack comes in and attempts to break up the fight, while Mae reprimands 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. The police appear, summoned by the gunshot, and Jack fingers Jimmy as the killer. He is carted off by the officers (who leave Mary's body where it lies). The radio reveals that Jimmy has been sent to death row.
Upon hearing this news, Ralph goes insane, thinking that Jimmy, Mary (whom he sees being molested by the devil
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
(John Mann
John Mann (actor)
John Mann was an English radio actor.He played Snowey White who assisted the hero in Dick Barton for the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951.-External links:*...
) in hell), 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. When they return, they find that Ralph, in the throes of reefer-induced hunger pangs, has murdered Sally and cannibalized her body. Jack shoots him several times, but Ralph continues to get up, his strength increased while he is in the throes of "Reefer Madness" he collapses in the backyard, but disappears when Jack goes to check the body. Jack looks up to see Ralph leap down from the trees only to be impaled on the scarecrow. 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 with a garden hoe and kicks the habit once and for all ("The Stuff (Reprise)").
When Mae reads in the daily paper that the president will be coming to town to visit a sick child, she becomes determined 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 Jimmy, who joins them in their crusade to tell the world about the evils of marijuana. They travel back to the reefer den, where Jimmy torches the crop. Mary appears, haloed and freed from hell by his heroic destruction of property. She promises to wait for him in heaven ("Tell 'Em the Truth").
The Lecturer's presentation ends; the entire audience joins the suddenly real film cast to explain how they will join the fight against things they don't understand, ("Reefer Madness (Reprise)"), thus connecting the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
crusade against marijuana, with the Hollywood Hays Code and prejudice directed at racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, labor unions, gays and lesbians.
As the film ends, the galvanized
Galvanization
Galvanization is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, in order to prevent rusting. The term is derived from the name of Italian scientist Luigi Galvani....
townsfolk hold a huge anti-reefer bonfire, in a scene similar to the book burning
Book burning
Book burning, biblioclasm or libricide is the practice of destroying, often ceremoniously, books or other written material and media. In modern times, other forms of media, such as phonograph records, video tapes, and CDs have also been ceremoniously burned, torched, or shredded...
s that took place in Germany in the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
, as well continuing the film's theme of associating marijuana prohibition with other campaigns against minorities and dissent, with the Lecturer promising, as he drives away, "When danger's near exploit their fear."
Cast
- Kristen BellKristen BellKristen Anne Bell is an American actress. Although her first film role was an uncredited appearance in Polish Wedding, Bell previously acted in stage and musical productions. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer...
as Mary Lane - Neve CampbellNeve CampbellNeve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After beginning her career on stage, and on numerous commercials, she starred on the Canadian television series Catwalk. She then rose to international fame on the Golden Globe-winning 1990s television series Party of Five, playing the role of teenager...
as Miss Poppy - Christian CampbellChristian CampbellChristian Bethune Campbell is a Canadian stage and screen actor. He is married to actress America Olivo.-Personal life:Campbell was born in Toronto, Ontario. Campbell's mother, Marnie , is a yoga instructor and psychologist from Amsterdam, Netherlands...
as James Fenimore "Jimmy" Harper - Alan CummingAlan CummingAlan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
as Lecturer / Moloch the Goat-Man / FDR - Ana GasteyerAna GasteyerAna Kristina Gasteyer is an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her comedic roles when she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002.-Early life:...
as Mae Coleman - John KassirJohn KassirJohn Kassir is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian who is best known as the voice of the Crypt Keeper in HBO's, Tales from the Crypt franchise...
as Ralph Wiley / Uncle SamUncle SamUncle Sam is a common national personification of the American government originally used during the War of 1812. He is depicted as a stern elderly man with white hair and a goatee beard... - Amy SpangerAmy Spanger-Biography:A graduate of Triton Regional High School in Byfield, Massachusetts, Spanger made her Broadway debut in 1995 in the musical Sunset Boulevard, following a half-year run in the pre-Broadway national tour of Jekyll & Hyde...
as Sally DeBanis / Statue of LibertyStatue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886... - Robert TortiRobert TortiRobert Felix Torti is an American actor.Torti was born in Van Nuys, California. He married DeLee Lively on June 24, 1999. Together, they have three children.-Filmography:*Quincy M.E....
as JesusJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity... - Steven WeberSteven Weber (actor)Steven Robert Weber is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the television show Wings which aired throughout the 1990s on NBC.-Early life:...
as Jack Stone / George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of... - Abraham Jedidiah as Dead Old Man
- Christine LakinChristine LakinChristine Helen Lakin is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Alicia "Al" Lambert on the 1990s ABC/CBS situation comedy Step by Step and as Joan of Arc in Showtime's Reefer Madness...
as Joan of ArcJoan of ArcSaint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the... - John MannJohn Mann (actor)John Mann was an English radio actor.He played Snowey White who assisted the hero in Dick Barton for the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951.-External links:*...
as SatanSatanSatan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible... - Harry S. Murphy as Warden Harrah
- Tom Arntzen as Officer D.J. Sordelet
- Ken KirzingerKen KirzingerKen Kirzinger is a Canadian stuntman and actor best known for his portrayal of Jason Voorhees in Freddy vs. Jason and of Pa in Wrong Turn 2: Dead End . He also played "Mason" Jason Voorhees character spoof in the horror film parody, Stan Helsing.-Role as Jason Voorhees:At he is one of the...
as Secret ServiceUnited States Secret ServiceThe United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
Agent Matthews - Chang Tseng as Asian Man
- Kevin McNultyKevin McNultyKevin McNulty is a Canadian actor.McNulty was born in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. He has acted on three aviation movies: Falling from the Sky: Flight 174 with William Devane, Final Descent with Robert Urich and Snakes on a Plane with Samuel L. Jackson...
as Mayor Harris Macdonald - Stephen Sisk as Blumsack
- Robert Clarke as Principal Poindexter Short
- Lynda BoydLynda BoydLynda Boyd is a Canadian actress, singer, dancer, musician, and writer. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the Hollywood films Final Destination 2 , An Unfinished Life , She's the Man , and On Thin Ice, with Diane Keaton...
as Mrs. Deidre Greevey - Ruth Nichol as Mrs. Roxanne MacDonald
- Michael GoorjianMichael A. GoorjianMichael Antranig Goorjian is an American actor and filmmaker.-Early life:Goorjian was born and raised in Oakland, California. He has been singing, acting, directing, and choreographing since he was in junior high school...
as Mickey Druther - Britt IrvinBritt IrvinBrittney Elizabeth "Britt" Irvin is a Leo Award-nominated Canadian actress and singer, as well as a regular voice actor for Ocean Productions. She is typically credited as Britt Irvin in works since 2003, and as Brittney Irvin in works prior to 2003, though exceptions exist both ways...
and Alexz JohnsonAlexz JohnsonAlexzandra Spencer "Alexz" Johnson is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Her debut album Voodoo was independently released on March 30, 2010....
as The Arc-ettes
Musical numbers
- "Reefer Madness" - Lecturer, Parents, Zombies
- "Romeo and Juliet" - Jimmy, Mary, Company
- "The Stuff" - Mae
- "Down at the Ol' Five and Dime" - Mary, Miss Poppy, Lecturer, Company
- "Jimmy Takes a Hit" - Sally, Jimmy, Jack, Mae, Ralph, Company
- "The Orgy" - Sally, Jimmy, Jack, Ralph, Mae, Moloch, Company
- "Lonely Pew" - Mary, Lecturer, Company
- "Listen to Jesus, Jimmy" - Jesus Christ, Joan of ArcJoan of ArcSaint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
, SatanSatanSatan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
, Company - "Mary Jane/Mary Lane" - Jimmy, Mary, Mae, Jack, Singing Clams, Miss Poppy, Dead Old Man, Officer Sordelet, Jesus, Joan, Satan, Ralph, Sally, Chinese Man, Company
- "The Brownie Song" - Jimmy, Mae, Sally, Jack, Ralph
- "Little Mary Sunshine" - Ralph, Mary
- "Mary's Death" - Jimmy, Mary
- "Murder!" - Jimmy, Ralph, Mary, Satan, Sally, Jack, Mae, Zombies
- "The Stuff (Reprise)" - Mae
- "Tell 'Em the Truth" - Mae, Lecturer, Jimmy, Mary, Jack, Sally, Ralph, Company
- "Romeo and Juliet (Reprise)" - Mary, Jimmy
- "Reefer Madness (Finale)" - Company
- "Reefer Madness (End Credit Edit)" - Lecturer, Sally, Company
- "Mary Jane/Mary Lane (End Credit Edit)" - Mary, Jimmy, Company
Inspiration
In 1998, writing partners Kevin MurphyKevin Murphy (screenwriter)
Kevin Murphy is an American screenwriter, television producer, lyricist and composer. He wrote the book and lyrics of the musical Reefer Madness, as well as its television adaptation...
and Dan Studney, who had met while studying at Drew University
Drew University
Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
in Madison, New Jersey
Madison, New Jersey
Madison is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the population was 16,530. It also is known as "The Rose City".-Geography:Madison is located at ....
, were driving from Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and listening to Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
's Joe's Garage
Joe's Garage
Joe's Garage is a 1979 rock opera by Frank Zappa. Zappa stated that along with Lumpy Gravy, this album was one of his finest achievements. It was originally released as two separate albums, the first comprising Act I, and the second part as a double-album which made up Acts II & III. All three...
, 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
Harry J. Anslinger
Harry Jacob Anslinger held office as the Assistant Prohibition Commissioner in the Bureau of Prohibition, before being appointed as the first Commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics on August 12, 1930.Anslinger held office an unprecedented 32 years in his role...
, the first Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics, known as the Father of the Drug War.
Home release
The DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released on November 9, 2005 by Showtime. The DVD includes an audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
by director Fickman and the original film
Reefer Madness
Reefer Madness is a well-known 1936 American propaganda exploitation film revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try "marijuana" — from a hit and run accident, to manslaughter, suicide, attempted rape, and descent into madness...
.
Soundtrack
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 Theatre's Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub at Public Theater is a nightclub that hosts live performances regularly. The venue, which is a non-profit operation, is located at 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan, New York City...
hosted a release party concert featuring a four-person ensemble and leads Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
, Ana Gasteyer
Ana Gasteyer
Ana Kristina Gasteyer is an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her comedic roles when she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002.-Early life:...
, Christian Campbell
Christian Campbell
Christian Bethune Campbell is a Canadian stage and screen actor. He is married to actress America Olivo.-Personal life:Campbell was born in Toronto, Ontario. Campbell's mother, Marnie , is a yoga instructor and psychologist from Amsterdam, Netherlands...
, John Kassir
John Kassir
John Kassir is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian who is best known as the voice of the Crypt Keeper in HBO's, Tales from the Crypt franchise...
, Robert Torti
Robert Torti
Robert Felix Torti is an American actor.Torti was born in Van Nuys, California. He married DeLee Lively on June 24, 1999. Together, they have three children.-Filmography:*Quincy M.E....
, Amy Spanger
Amy Spanger
-Biography:A graduate of Triton Regional High School in Byfield, Massachusetts, Spanger made her Broadway debut in 1995 in the musical Sunset Boulevard, following a half-year run in the pre-Broadway national tour of Jekyll & Hyde...
, and Jenna Leigh Green
Jenna Leigh Green
Jenna Leigh Green is an American actress and singer best known for her performances as Libby Chessler on the television show Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and on Broadway and on tour in the musical Wicked.-Early life and career:...
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's 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 movie.