TAKING A GOOD REEF ON DEMONIZATION

J.E. Productions has rolled up a doobie -- I mean a doozie -- of a
show with, Reefer Madness, a musical comedy based on the 1936
propaganda flick of the same name.

Set in the care free, all-American days of temperance, the story
follows teen sweethearts Jimmy (Lindsay Robinson) and Mary (Ally
Caldicott-Levitt) through their short but deadly slide into the
cesspool of vice and violence, all brought on by a first, innocent
toke of the green monster.

As musical director, Freedom Toast member Trevor Davies had the
daunting task of bringing Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney's unorthodox
soundtrack to life.

Indeed, with a sparsely decorated stage, it's almost exclusively music
that sets Jimmy and Mary's Norman Rockwell lifestyle apart from the
depravity of the inner-city drug den. Fortunately, the show is fuelled
by a cast of dynamic performers that includes Delean Ellerbeck and
Lily Haythornthwaite.

In moments where the cartoonish propaganda seems even heavier-handed
than normal, Brandon Newall's over-the-top portrayal of the
fire-and-brimstone lecturer brings everything back to its comic roots.

Robinson is fantastic as the dichotomous Jimmy Harmer, effortlessly
switching back and forth between the fresh-faced lad of 16, and the
drug-addled maniac he becomes after meeting bad apple, Jack, played by
Will Strawn.

A simpler villain for simpler times, there is no exploration of Jack's
human side; he is simply pure evil, luring innocent kids into a
downward spiral of addiction.

Crazed college dropout Ralph is played by Maddison Poppov who, along
with Brianna Wiens, co-directed the musical, uniting and inspiring
their talented cast to a stellar performance (especially Gillian
Cofsky as the Placard Girl -- wow).

It's hard to remember that no matter how absurd some of Reefer's
anti-cannabis slogans may appear, at one time this was not comedy.
Reefer Madness was a serious film produced with the expressed support
of the U.S. government, and therefore reflects the official stance of
American society at the time.

In the years that followed, Hollywood switched its demonizing to more
readily available targets such as Nazis, communists, and the evil of
evils -- rock 'n' roll. Yes, within 20 years it became possible to
ruin your life just as much as a dope-fiend, simply by listening to
the devil's music.

J.E. Productions' presentation of Reefer Madness:
the musical is a smolderingly sexy,
tongue-in-cheek look at homegrown propaganda.

Aside from the laughs though, perhaps the importance of this
production is not that drugs are evil or that drugs are good. Maybe it
is simply a reminder that we should often judge things more carefully
than we do.

After all, you never know which of today's scourges on society will
become tomorrow's Reefer Madness.