About Reefer Madness

Our dark tale begins in 1936, a year in which the threat of war was on the horizon, everything was in black and white, and Burt Reynolds was born (this sentence of facts brought to you by Wikipedia).

A stark modern-day morality tale - a film entitled Tell Your Children - is released. Believed to have been commissioned by a church group, the movie warns the youth of America about the new drug menace 'marihuana', helpfully demonstrating the effects of the substance through the tragic tale of young Jimmy Harper, an eager young buck who falls under the spell of the evil weed. A trail of destruction ensues - a hit and run death, rape, murder, suicide and madness - before a stern lecturer informs the viewer that the next victim could be their very own son or daughter. He calls upon the good people of America to take a stand for the good of the nation.

Soon after, notorious exploitation film maker Dwain Esper re-cut the film with more salacious images showing the devastating effects of the drug (wild underwear-clad orgies, manic piano-playing and the like) and a scandalous new title - Reefer Madness - and, as the cliche goes, the rest is history.

In the early 70s, the print of the film was discovered in the Library of Congress archives and distributed widely around college campuses. It quickly became a midnight cult hit, with students across the land guffawing at the wacky antics of Jimmy and the gang.

Fast-forward to 1998, and writing partners Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney are inspired to transform the movie into a new musical. Opening in a small Los Angeles theatre for an initial run of two weeks, audiences flocked to the show, selling it out for more than a year and a half. After a run off-Broadway, the show was transformed into a Showtime movie in 2005, with an all-star cast including Alan Cumming, Neve Campbell, and original New York cast members Christian Campbell, Kristin Bell, John Kassir and Robert Torti.

And lo! It is 2009, and Reefer Madness finally creeps its away across the Atlantic to degrade the good citizens of London. Take a deep breath (but don't inhale) and prepare for a ride to remember.

This amateur (non-professional) production is presented by arrangement with JOSEF WEINBERGER LIMITED on behalf of R&H THEATRICALS