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'Reefer Madness' at Macon Little Theatre blazes to the stage on Friday

Reefer Madness is a musical based on an "educational" anti-marijuana PSA from the 1930s. It uses irreverent comedy to poke fun at the scare tactics used in the film.

MACON, Ga. — A new musical is blazing its way to the Macon Little Theatre stage on Friday.

Reefer Madness is a musical based on an "educational" anti-marijuana PSA from the 1930s. The musical aims to poke a little fun at the scare tactics used during the era to steer young people away from drug use. 

"The movie gained sort of a cult following because of the absurd plotlines that are a part of it and then the musical was developed to have sort of a more aware, tongue-in-cheek absurdity that this movie was in the 1930s," Artistic Director JP Haynie said.

Haynie says if you like the comedy of similar musicals like Rocky Horror Picture Show, this show is for you. 

"I think it scratches a lot of the itches for the Halloween timeslot we were looking for in an After Dark show. It's a little creepy, it has some darker storylines to it and it's got a lot of humor and comedy to it," he said. "This is definitely a big comedy. You will laugh a lot."

MLT: After Dark is a set of shows added into the traditional Macon Little Theatre season. These shows are for more mature audiences and the series gives the theatre a chance to broaden the kinds of shows that take the stage.

"We're able to take on more challenging plays, more edgier plays or comedies that are a little niche in their humor and I feel like that draws a more diverse crowd of people to come in and enjoy maybe their first show ever at our theatre," Haynie said.

While it has some darker subjects, Haynie says the musical has a lot of heart. 

"While we did fit it into our After Dark series, it's not a horribly grotesque or obscene show," Haynie said. "It is still based in the 1930s so it has 1930s sensibilities to a lot of the content that is going on, again it's all exaggerated and kind of poked fun at."

Many anti-marijuana PSAs from the time used fear to convince young people not to use drugs. Through comedy and music, Reefer Madness explores the dangers of that approach and how it can have lasting impacts on many lives.

"And also the slope that can lead to using that same sort of tactic and misinformation, with good intention, to damage the future for young people and try to tackle issues using scare as opposed to information. It's very relevant today still even if it's through the lens of laughing at a very similar joke from the 30s. We still deal with these things in schools and trying to educate young people, young and old people, about modern issues," he said.

Reefer Madness is a part of the Macon Little Theatre's After Dark production so it might be wise to keep the kids at home for this one. Opening night is Friday at 8 p.m. The musical runs through Oct. 29. You can get tickets on Macon Little Theatre's website.

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