Cast

There are so many contradictions and convolutions - and so much confusion around today's marijuana laws that one might reasonably claim that we are living in a state of so-called reefer madness. After all, with a physician's written recommendation, a limited amount of the green-leafy plant is legal in California. At the same time, federal law classifies marijuana as highly prohibited narcotic - forbidden, with few and narrow exceptions.

Thankfully, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is de-prioritizing the fed's role in enforcement of pot laws. No longer will federal agents be raiding the Golden State's dispensaries, confiscating their intoxicating variety of cannabis crops. Meanwhile, most of us accept marijuana as a de facto custom in our society. We see it in movies, on TV, and in our neighborhoods - perhaps even in our living rooms. We hear about it on talk radio, in street-talk (buzz-kill, anyone?), and through the very ethers of our culture. Though the madness surrounding pot policy is nothing new, what has changed is the public perception of it.

In 1936, the propaganda film, Reefer Madness was released. Meant to be an educational service, it became an early but shrill cry for a war-on-drugs. Of course, with our cruelly overcrowded prison system we now see where this pyrrhic battle has gotten us: bankrupt and bereft of solutions. Nevertheless, Reefer Madness, the movie did yield "Reefer Madness - The Musical." And though it did take over seventy-years to happen, Dan Studney (Desperate Housewives) and Kevin Murphy's (The Simpsons) 1998 musical parody of Madness is mind-altering in its zaniness, subversive in its absurdity-turning the movie's stern warnings into a laugh-riot.

Now this smokin' show is burning-the-boards at Fullerton's Maverick Theater, through August 2, and it is a hit-ah, we mean a hoot-not to be missed by theatergoers who love musical comedy and topical take-offs. Wholesome Jimmy Harper (an engagingly cherubic Tyler McGraw) is the protagonist in Madness. After being lured in to taking an initial toke of whacky tobaccy, Jimmy falls hard into a hellish existence-quickly transitioning from "good egg" to "bad apple." Mary Lane (a delightful Emily Lopez) is the love of young Jimmy's life; it is she who holds the key to Jimmy's salvation. After all, love conquers all, right?

But in the meanwhile, on the bumpy path to redemption, Jimmy encounters zombies, President Franklin Roosevelt, and Jesus Christ (embodied hilariously by Alexander Makardish). To lend aesthetic distance and mock authority to the proceedings we are guided through the story by the Lecturer (a marvelously entertaining Mike Martin-who also plays FDR, Mr. Poppy, and the police inspector). We see the dreaded reefer den, where pot-heads live-to-smoke and smoke-to-live. In the dank den we meet our hostess, Mae (the formidable Patti Cumby)--a longtime user/abuser of the reviled but irresistible reefer-and Ralph (the quite watchable Ryan Coon), an addled pot puffer with a maniacal streak.

Both Mae and Ralph are under-the-thumb of the ill-tempered pusher-man, Jack Stone (a comedically gifted Robert Dean Nunez). Also among the reefer den denizens is the (literally) wigged-out Sally (a show-stopping, scene-stealing Aleesha McNeff), so desperate for the demon weed that she sells her infant child for drug money.

With a live five-piece band and nearly two-dozen song and dance ditties, "Reefer Madness," under the astute direction and choreography of Curtis Jerome, is a two-hour, two-act send-up of every pedantic drug documentary we've ever seen. What's more, Madness is good fun for adult audiences with open minds.

Director Jerome designed the cleverly versatile set as well as the guffaw-inducing costumes (of which there are many). Producer Brian Newell also does effective duty as lighting and sound designer.

But it is the performers who bring elation to the proceedings. Each portrayal is delightful, unique, and congruent with the bizaro world depicted here. "Reefer Madness" is a giddy experience. Dare see Madness; you'll likely laugh (a lot) under its influence.

Reefer Madness continues through August 2 at The Maverick Theater-110 East Walnut Avenue, Fullerton. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Matinees are Saturdays at 4 p.m. For reservations, call (714) 526Ð7070. For online ticketing, visit www.mavericktheater.com