Tell your children! Fight the menace! Kill the devil! Save our country! Because it’s—
Reefer Madness!
Now live on stage at The State Theater of Havre de Grace for two weekends only! Directed by Marion Jackson with Musical Director Jerrett Rettman and Choreography by Katie Gordon, this ‘cult-classic’ black-comedy musical has all the warnings you need to protect America from THE REEFER!
One of the most impressive things about the performance is how well-balanced the orchestra pit is. Conducted by Musical Director Jarrett Rettman on piano, the pit— consisting of Jeremy Hicks-Kachik on guitar, Josh Hutchinson on bass, Caleb Gordon on drums, and Jake Neville on reeds— is tucked away behind scenery at the back of the stage and never overplays the performers. Having a live orchestra for any musical is a boon, and this one particularly so because you get to hear Jake Neville doing slinky and saucy moves on the clarinet in certain moments when ‘Reefer’ takes over. You get a full orchestral sound despite having only five musicians on stage.
The aforementioned scenery, designed by Jared Noe, has some lovely paintings and structures built into the two flanking display pillars— a quiet town, church and carnival, etc.— but unless you’re right up on top of the stage, they’re set so far up stage that it’s difficult to get to appreciate all the hard work and detail that went into the paint job. The set is effectively simple, allowing for quick scene changes from the 5&Dime to Mae’s Reefer Den and back. Costumes, designed by Marta Noe, are also on-point for the mid-1930’s. You really get to see this in the female ensemble when they’re dressed like moral school children. The fashion-statement angel gowns for “Listen to Jesus, Jimmy” are also pretty wild. Where the show’s aesthetic really shimmers is with the lighting design of Ed Hoegg and Lilli Burril-Gordon. You get a lot of toxic green light every time that haunting refrain of “Reefer Madness” echoes through, in addition to some cooler blue lighting when things are meant to be a bit more subdued. Hoeg and Burril-Gordon get the lights going both in the house and up on the stage, which helps bleed the line of the fourth wall, drawing the audience more forwardly into the overall production experience.
Much like the way the lights find themselves defusing out into the house, director Marion Jackson makes use of the stage, the front of the house, even the aisles get put into action for this production. Bringing a lot of the dance routines down off the main stage and onto the front-floor of the main audience area sheds a light on the work of choreographer Katie Gordon. You’ll feel the crazy rhythm right down in their feet, particularly as they’re sashaying and swaying with all these classy 30’s style swing steps during “Down at the Ol’ Five and Dime.” You get more fancy footwork from Gordon’s canon during “Listen to Jesus, Jimmy” and the dancing becomes some of the most engaging parts of the performance all throughout the show because of her well-executed routines.
Where the show falls unfortunately short is in its conviction and commitment to embrace the darker thematic elements (which are warned about in the content warning prior to the performance and in all the printed materials advertising the show.) Yes the show is campy and Director Marion Jackson has a solid handle on that— particularly during the top of Act II when Mary Lane is running around with various absurd vehicles trying to find Jimmy. But there are many moments and scenes throughout that could have been taken to a higher level of camp to really drive home that off-beat humor of the libretto. The show’s narrative includes a great deal of sexual chaos and domestic violence— and while these things need to be portrayed carefully, it felt like there was a hesitancy to fully ‘go there’ in both regards. Without casting aspersions to the performers or Jackson, it had the equivalent feel of choosing to produce Avenue Q but deciding to back away from the puppet sex and the cursing.
There were also some disconnects between Jack (Ry Milliner) and Mae (Caitlin Adams.) They’re relationship is arguably the darkest in the show, with Jack as the ‘supplier’ and Mae is the Reefer Den ‘madam.’ It’s never fun to glorify domestic violence and abuse on stage and while Milliner’s character does make several well-placed stage slaps at Adams’ Mae, the character delivery is hollow and flat. It feels like Milliner is afraid to lean into the villainy and that we’re seeing an actor on stage who has to ‘be a jerk’ because the script said so. There is a similar disconnect with Adams’ Mae. She doesn’t clap back or rail against the Jack character (which in certain moments the lines of Mae feel like they should be brassy and loaded so as to setup the incoming smack from Jack) but she doesn’t exude terrified fear either. It’s unclear if these two actors were just not comfortable with their roles, each other, or the overall subject matter, but it didn’t work for Jack and Mae, and when Mae finally gets to serve up just desserts to Jack during “Murder!” it does not deliver the potentially cathartic and satisfying reward that it could have. To their credit, however, Caitlin Adams has a full voice, which sings clearly and smoothly through “The Stuff” and when she’s doing her three person march with Jimmy and President FDR at the end, it’s very kitschy. Milliner also doubles up as Jesus and gives a hilarious portrayal in the role, fully confident in this delivery and makes both “Listen to Jesus, Jimmy” and its reprise knee-slappin’ swell.
The indefatigable ensemble players— Ly-lan Canzali, who is referred to and seen most frequently as ‘the placard girl’, Bre Lewis, Allie Beermann, Marion Jackson, and Junior Moore— are the musical glue that carries the show. Particularly whenever you hear that rolling riff-refrain “Reefer Madness.” As mentioned, all of the impressive dancing in the show comes from the ensemble as well, and you just get the sense that these performers are really delving into the experience as a whole. I should also take a moment to mention Ralph (David Defrank) and Sally (Ashley O’Connor.) You don’t really get much of a chance to experience O’Connor’s voice as Sally until she doubles back as Lady Liberty during “Reefer Madness: The Finale” but when she does, that sound is superb. Similar can be said for Ralph, except he gets a big plucky sound to showcase during “Little Mary Sunshine” and you get a sense that he’s a baddie through and through. Both Defrank and O’Connor take these numbers that are well within their vocal wheelhouses and let them shine.
Jimmy Harper (Alex Fintak) and Mary Lane (Emma Stiner) they’re just like Romeo & Juliet (and oh my goodness, so literally!) Their story, wildly chimerical as it may be, is the central focal point in which The Lecturer (Andrew Mitchell) spins the evening’s entertainment around. The Lecturer doubles up in scenes as various other ‘everyman’ style characters, with a bunch of clever costumes provided by Marta Noe to differentiate. Fintak, as the bright-eyed innocent ‘do-well’ boy and Stiner, as the dewy-eyed gooey-mushy ingenue are just perfectly paired against one another and have a solid energy, particularly when being all ‘let’s go steady’ with one another in the early portions of the show. Stiner as a flawless handle on that 1930’s patois and cadence, speaking in that rhythm that sounds perfectly like yesteryore and her voice is sweet when singing “Romeo and Juliet.” Fintak does a great job of creating a noticeable difference between ‘Jimmy the Good’ and ‘Jimmy on Reefer.’ The gravelly voice, the twitchy disposition, his whole MO flips over and it’s intriguing to watch. And his vocals are particularly on point during “Mary Jane/Mary Lane.”
It’s that leafy green assassin, which will surely keep you laughing— don’t miss this hiiiigh production of Reefer Madness!
Running Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes with one intermission
Reefer Madness plays through April 27th 2024 at The State Theater of Havre de Grace— 325 St. John Street in historic downtown Havre de Grace, MD. Tickets are available at the door or in advance online.
