Last Friday I saw Reefer Madness: The musical at UofT Hart House. It's a satirical musical based on the on the 1930s anti-marijuana church film of the same name. Reefer is a story about a wholesome hearty white boy Jimmy who gets into the world of deadbeat dropouts, sex, murder and run-a-ways when he is lured into trying marijuana.

Reefer was originally produced by a church group and told as a warning against the evils of weed, however it was so over the top to the point of ridiculous it became a cult hit and played at cannabis festivals today.

Although i haven't seen the original film, the musical is loosely based on the film but takes it a few joints further. It's super campy, bloody (a la "evil dead") but well produced. The highlight of the production was a sudden intervention from Jesus himself; the scene became a hilarious religious 100-Huntley St. meets Jesus Christ Superstar dream, with backup gospel choir apostles and dancing angels rounding out his crew. With an egoistic, showy, greasy and confident demeanor, Jesus dances around Jimmy, preaching the word of God telling him to stop doing the dope. "The only high you need is God!" Priceless.

The leading lady plays Mary, a naive goody girl who also falls into wild world of weed while in search of Jimmy. It turned out it was her voice that stole the show. The actress Jennifer Walls has a powerful voice that can nail the solo high notes against the cast yet can blend in harmony in her duets with Jimmy. Despite the deplorable sound quality at Hart House, she was able to still break through and knock out the crowd. She's apparently going into a music career, so perhaps I'll come across her again in the near future.

Overall the production was spot on - great sets, hilarious swing choreography (dating a swing dancer doesn't help!), smoking satirical lyrics and singing, and just the right amount of campiness before hitting the ridiculous. Props to this campus show!

Although we all left happy, we were a all little hungry...

-RE