DEMON WEED IN COLORADO SPRINGS!

WARNING:Reefer Madness the Musical, now playing at the Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs, will get you high, baby. Can you dig it? High on life. High on great music, exciting choreography, brilliant design. High on watching amazing performers deliver with aplomb a fantastic, inventive show based on a hilariously out of whack cautionary movie from 1936 about the evils of the devil weed. Put simply, it will freak you out in the best way possible- and that ain't no jive.

The musical is presented as a mockumentary of sorts, complete with overly earnest narrator, or Lecturer, speaking directly to the audience about the terrible "facts" of marijuana and how the stuff is destroying the youth of America. The Lecturer tells us the infamous story of Jimmy Harper and Mary Lane, who of course have their lives turned upside down, irrevocably ruined, by the demon weed. When we meet Jimmy and Mary- played to perfection by Andrew Wilkes and Chelsea Ringer- they are your typical suburban couple from the 1930's. Or rather, what was thought to be your ideal young white couple of that time. Jimmy and Mary are happy, peppy, and bursting with love- until Jimmy meets the evil Jack, who introduces him to the dreaded reefer. Soon enough, Jimmy is getting high, partaking in orgies, and hanging out with his fellow degenerates at Jack's place. Things go further South from there. The plot itself is hilarious, and I don't want to give too much away- suffice to say that things don't turn out so well for Jimmy and Mary. Along their tragic path, we meet Mae, the weed addict with a heart of gold and a voice like an angel's. Caren Tackett plays Mae, and she is flat out stunning- her comic timing is impeccable, and her singing sends chills of ecstasy down your spine. We also meet the demented Ralph, another weed-fiend played by a very funny Kevin Pierce. The sexpot at the den of iniquity is Sally, a sassy Rebecca Myers who lights up the stage every moment she's on it. We also get two numbers featuring the Son of Man Himself, Jesus. Jesus, and the evil Jack, are both played by Kenton Fridley- and let me tell you, this guy is the real deal. I really don't know how they can find so many talented people at the FAC, but somehow, they do. Every last member of the cast is excellent- Becca Vervoulas as the girl who brings out various placards with messages about how marijuana can make you do bad things like cannibalize your friends, and the ensemble of Alex Campbell, Nathan Ferrick, Sammy Gleason, and Omid Dastan Harrison are all perfect- they dance and sing and play a variety of outrageous characters with a glee that is infections and as addictive as the demon weed itself. And special mention must be given to Max Ferguson, who plays the Lecturer, who leads this madcap cast of lunatics with style and energy. Seriously, this cast is one of the best ensembles I have ever seen.

The choreography and direction by Nathan Halvorson is outstanding- moving at a break-neck pace, full of surprises and inventiveness and a sort of giddiness that makes you happy to be alive. The set, by Kevin Loeffler, is beautiful and just twisted enough to make you know that the world the show is presenting is a bit off-kilter. The costumes are stellar- giving us everything from your typical teenagers at the Five-and-Dime dancing a jitterbug, to hallucinatory reefer-zombies, a randy Devil, the aforementioned Jesus with a cadre of back-up angels, and semi-nude participants in the outrageous orgy scene. Perfectly matching the set and costumes in tone are the colorful lights by designer Jonathan Spencer. And the band, led by Ian Ferguson, is top notch. Every element of this show is perfect.

So, if you like smart, exciting, ground-breaking theatre that keeps you leaning forward, laughing and clapping, Reefer Madness at the FAC in Colorado Springs is the show for you. Once again, Scott Levy has put together the best theatre in the state, as is his habit.

And, if you can get a ticket to the March 1 show, you can meet the show's composer Dan Studney!

Want to see and hear more about the show? Click HERE for a short video!

HOW TO SUCCEED

Last Thursday night, I wanted to explode. It was the final dress rehearsal for How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying at StageDoor Theatre in Conifer, and things were not going so well. The actors were forgetting their lines. The scene shifts were taking so long they felt like waiting in line at the DMV. The band was hitting a couple of clunkers. And the hardest working actor that night- a young man understudying the lead role of Finch who was set to perform opening night due to the tennis schedule of the other Finch- came down with some sort of virus and almost collapsed during "Brotherhood of Man", the big final number.  We had added twenty minutes to the show- not with new dialogue or bits of business. Just with delay. I really wanted to explode.

But things can, and do, get better.

The understudy Finch had to take the next night off. But the other Finch was available due to not going to State Finals- usually a sad thing but for the show, a godsend. Friday night, we opened. Things started to click. We erased the twenty minutes we had added to the show. The band played sublimely. The cast  got back into the groove of things. And the audience really liked it. By Saturday night, our Finch understudy was back in good health, relatively speaking, and wanted to go on. I looked him in the eye, and asked him is he felt ready. He said yes. It was up to me whether or not we let him perform. I decided to go with it, based on my gut. Something felt right. There was electricity in the air, or something like it. Some weird sort of energy was filling the theatre. I don't know why, but sometimes, in theatre, a strange magic happens. Maybe it happens everywhere, but being a theatre person, I have experienced this rare sorcery through the stage. For whatever reason- hard work, confidence, rehearsal, and/or a set of un-named theatre gods who smile down on us from time to time- there are certain performances and shows that go to this other place- a level of existence where everyone is psychically connected, where every member of the cast is fearless, inspired, and brilliant. Saturday night, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying became one of those shows. Every single member of that cast took exponential leaps in their performances. I don't remember at exactly what moment I realized that something special was happening, because I was too busy enjoying the show, laughing and clapping and shouting along with the rest of the very enthusiastic crowd. But every time another cast member went the extra mile, it would inspire one of their fellow actors to take an equally daring leap of faith in both themselves and the show.

So now, the show has become one for the ages, one of those productions I will speak of fondly, and tell legends about, and refer to when directing other productions.

As my wife always says, leap and the net shall appear.