Reefer Madness: The Musical, gets high marks

Reefer Madness: The Musical, gets high marks

by Miryam Gordon - SGN A&E Writer Reefer Madness: The Musical By Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney Directed by Kate Jaeger RK Productions at Live Girls Theatre Through March 22 If the 1936 movie Tell Your Children! was the truth, we'd all probably be dead by now, killed by the demon weed! According to this government propaganda, marihuana makes you crazy, makes you sexually subversive, makes you want to screw your parents, and other incredible urges - all just after smoking one joint! One has to wonder if, even in 1936, the parents who the film was targeted to scare were even partially convinced of the powers of this drug. The film was resurrected in the 1970s as Reefer Madness, to become a cult classic that is so funny, there's no need to explain any of its bizarreness. So, it was no surprise when a Broadway musical was developed to take advantage of its campy ridiculousness. RK Productions, a new independent theater company, is mounting the Seattle premiere of this musical at Live Girls' Theatre venue in Ballard. It's campy, it's funky, it's a bit unpolished, but it's great, great fun! Musical production from a small live band is under the direction of Micah Ellison as The SpaceCakes. They do a nice job keeping the cast humming and providing properly ominous music, among other sound effects. Though costumes are uncredited, I have to say they are ultimately amazing - mostly because there are just sooooo many of them! Each of the multiple members of the ensemble (it's a very large cast) has to change in and out of costume at minimum six times. I couldn't count. Women had to change in and out of white tights, black tights, fishnet tights, and that was just the socks! You have to wonder what backstage looks like during a performance! Just keeping it all straight is a heroic effort. The cast is headlined by Robert Scherzer as The Lecturer, who makes sure you know how dangerous this drug is and who keeps the show on track with the story; also Heather Gautschi as Mary Lane and Ryan McCabe as Jimmy Harper, the young couple at the center of the story; and a scenery-chewing songfest from Kate Jaeger as the House of Weed Mistress, Mae. Mary Lane loves Jimmy and he and she are quintessential good kids who say "gosh" and don't chew gum in school, until Jimmy is lured to have a marihuana cigarette and everything goes to hell in a handbasket at once, for him. The press release tells you, "YOU WILL BE SHOCKED as the reefer seduces him into a world filled with sadistically wild orgies, junkie zombies, homicide, and the devil himself!" Jimmy even meets Jesus (a profanely funny performance by Luke Walker), who doesn't care that Jimmy is going down the tubes, since Jimmy hasn't asked for any assistance. The company feels it necessary to post numerous signs declaring the sexual content, adult humor, religious parody, suggested violence and that no one will receive a refund based on disliking the content of the show. They advise no young children should be present. Of course, it's a given that all the horrors of the known universe are placed at marihuana's door. It's enemy number one! The campiness of the production and the zaniness of the song and dance numbers allow some marginal singers to get away with not being tops, but it doesn't matter, since it all adds to the atmosphere. The ensemble is enthusiastic and energized, the choreography by Hailey Hays is fun and appropriate, and all in all, you'll laugh madly. At least many in this audience did. For more information, go to www.brownpapertickets.com or call 800-838-3006 or go to www.reefermadnessseattle.com. Comments on reviews go to sgncritic@gmail.com.

The Reel Spin - Oscar to Jodie Foster: 'Hollywood loves ya, baby!'

by Ron Anders - SGN A&E Writer Now that Academy Awards fever has subsided - for a few milliseconds at least - let's take a look at one of Oscar's darlings: A bankable Hollywood star who manages to stay above the title and just under the radar (read: Gaydar). Eminently professional, dauntingly intelligent, effortlessly poised and just plain fascinating to watch, Jodie Foster has largely managed to embody the proverbial riddle wrapped up in an enigma. Her personal life has been kept guardedly private - not easy for someone in the business of show - and there has been endless speculation by the Hollywood gossip machine about her sexual orientation. Foster finally came out (more or less) by thanking Cydney Bernard, her partner of 14 years, after being honored at last December's annual Women in Entertainment event in Hollywood. The revelation barely registered on the Richter Scale. With four Oscar nominations and two wins (both before the age of 30), two BAFTA Awards and a slew of international accolades, she has piqued our curiosity since the tender age of three, when she made her first appearance in commercials. Launching her acting career a few years later in the TV series Mayberry R.F.D., she has built a body of film work (as an actor, producer and director) which has earned the respect of her peers, who have given her entrance to the exclusive club of performers who have won multiple Oscars. As a self-professed Foster fan, I was eagerly anticipating her latest film, The Brave One, recently released on DVD. Her role as Erica Bain - a New York City public radio talk show host who barely survives a vicious, random attack in which her fiancé is killed - joins her recent portraits of women as reluctant warriors (Flightplan, Panic Room). Haunted and paranoid in her previously beloved New York, she gets a gun and finds herself taking horrific revenge on those who have hurt her and who intend to hurt others. She morphs into an unwitting liberator of the downtrodden, an angel of death whose retribution makes the mean streets unsafe for those who prey on the innocent. Foster comes full circle from her role as an adolescent prostitute in Taxi Driver, who is "saved" by Robert De Niro's psychotic vigilante in Martin Scorsese's ferocious 1976 masterwork. That film catapulted her to stardom and earned her the first of her Oscar nominations. The Brave One is never less than absorbing, largely due to Foster's gripping, understated performance. She is onscreen for nearly the entire running time of the film and the camera loves the taut, elegant lines of her face. Her megawatt star power, however, is not able to save a script which flounders in a sea of improbabilities. The film's aspirations as both a thriller and an existential good-versus-evil allegory are evidently meant to distinguish it from the Death Wish vigilante movies of the 1970s and 1980s. Thus, it gives us a heroine who reveals her inner conflict about her crimes - and her seeming inability to stop herself. This conceit works - but was not ultimately effective in helping this viewer suspend disbelief. Psychological motivations aside, the film's credibility takes a fatal turn towards the incredulous in the cat-and-mouse game played out between Foster and Terrence Howard (who seems to get more dreamily handsome with each screen appearance) as the police investigator who suspects Erica of her crimes. Their final confrontation robs the film of any potency it may have had as an action flick or message movie. You won't be bored by The Brave One, but neither will you be enlightened. For those who want to see more of Jodie Foster (and we are legion), here is a small sampling of her finest hours on film: Home for the Holidays. Foster's sophomore directorial effort features Holly Hunter as a comically beleaguered single mom who does not relish the idea of joining her family for Thanksgiving. Thus, the scene is set for a portrait of the exasperation that seasonal family gatherings are (in)famous for. The film is also a gentle reminder of the power of blood family connections - for better or worse. As a director, Foster shows obvious respect and affection for the actors - and she is guiding some heavy hitters here: Robert Downey Jr. as the Gay brother (who has hilarious sibling chemistry with Hunter), Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning as her parents (wonderfully endearing and exasperating) and Geraldine Chaplin as dotty Aunt Gladys. This film may make you think twice about making future holiday plans with your family - but you'll have great fun in the process with this heartfelt, comic gem. Contact. Adapted from Carl Sagan's novel, Foster plays Ellie Arroway, an astronomer whose search for extraterrestrial life comes to fruition in the form of a radio signal from space, indicating that intelligent life is somewhere out there. Her research eventually leads to a time-travel journey that is both engrossing and searingly poignant. The special effects are solidly in service of the drama and add a wonderful sense of adventure and tantalizing possibility to the tale. Robert Zemeckis' direction steers the film dangerously close to the sentimental at times, but Foster's performance insistently grounds the film in genuine emotion. The film works beautifully as a science fiction adventure with existential overtones, as well as a personal journey of our heroine's search for meaning in the universe. The Accused. In a classic Academy Awards surprise upset, Foster won her first Oscar for her devastating portrait of a rape victim (based on a true story). When Sarah Tobias, a young woman who is gang raped in a bar, finds out that her tormentors are given light jail sentences, her rage prompts her to continue her legal battle, asking her lawyer (Kelly McGillis) to prosecute the men who cheered the on the rapists. The film skillfully examines issues of the inadequacy of our justice system as well as personal responsibility for inciting a crime. Although it doesn't shy away from depicting gritty reality (the rape scene is almost too brutal to watch), the script sometimes takes on the tone of an over-simplified, made-for-TV movie. Don't let this stop you from watching The Accused. Here, again, it is Foster's impassioned performance that makes it unmissable. As Foster enters her mid-forties, it will be interesting to see what she has up her sleeve. Although Tinseltown gender politics are in flux, Foster still faces a traditionally sexist Hollywood, where women disappear from the screen as they get older, and men keep their place on the list of showbiz moneymakers.