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New musical at Empty Space loaded!
Topics: Bakotopia, reefer madness, Bakersfield, theater, theatre, Empty Space, June, 2008, Greg Goodsell, Review, blog
Posted by Bakontributor Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:33:56 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments Location: 706 Oak St., Bakersfield, CA 93304

New musical at Empty Space loaded
‘Reefer Madness’ leaves them red-eyed with laughs - FINAL SHOWS - Friday, June 27 & 28, 2008!



By Greg Goodsell, Bakotopia.com Contributor
Photos: Peter Beckman

<<CHECK OUT ALL THE EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW!

The roadshow picture of the 1930s would lure thrill-hungry Depression audiences into theaters with promises of nudity, violence and depravity on the provision that a stern moral lecture would be given by fadeout time.

Low budget features on prostitution, venereal disease, birth defects and drug addiction would play to packed houses on Main Street theaters.

Booklets on birth control distributed by nurses in uniform would be offered to patrons for a very reasonable fee.

“Reefer Madness: The Musical,” at the Empty Space Theatre is based upon the 1936 roadshow classic of the same name. The setting is small town America, circa 1936 as a Lecturer (Brian Brown) tells the sordid tale of Jimmy Harper (Paul Sosa), an overly enthusiastic teenager in love with the peaches and cream Mary Lane (Samantha Gonzales). Jimmy runs afoul of Jack Stone (Jeremiah Heitman), who introduces him to the pleasures of marijuana.

Stone’s helpmates Mae (Kamala Kruszka), Sally (Veronica Surber) and Ralph (Austin Jallo) lead Jimmy down the path of perdition as he turns into a rampant dope fiend. With unflinching realism, Jimmy’s downward spiral vividly depicts cruelty to stuffed animals, minor incest, theft and vehicular manslaughter. In case there are some members of the audience who still don’t get it, a helpful Placard Girl (Caroline Clark) interrupts the action with signs that read “Reefer makes you giggle for no good reason!”

Things go from bad to worse, and there are acts of murder, mayhem, even cannibalism in between show stopping musical numbers. There is even an appearance by then-president Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Jared Cantrell).

The local cast is more than up to giving the over-the-top performances their parts require. The big surprise the production offers is Kamala Kruszka’s heartfelt portrayal of Mae, an over-the-hill chippie who wins audience sympathy with her song of a life misspent, “The Stuff.” Kruszka is also a founding member of the Omnipresent Puppet Company.



More importantly, “Reefer Madness: The Musical” is entertaining to those who are prepared not to enjoy it. If you, like this writer, have seen countless lives lost and ruined from drug abuse, and reefer was a constant companion and fixture at many of these scenes, it would be next to impossible to see a play that extols marijuana as harmless without some deeply uncomfortable feelings. This is definitely not the case: In a concluding musical number, “The Truth,” the cast makes clear that marijuana, as depicted in the play merely serves as a metaphor about a society in search of a scapegoat.

There’s no reason whatsoever not to go see “Reefer Madness: The Musical” its closing weekend. There are toe-tapping songs, hot dance moves, acres of bared flesh and even grandpa will get a good chuckle out of a highly unsympathetic portrayal of FDR.

-“Reefer Madness: The Musical” plays at 8 p.m.
-FINAL SHOWS! Friday, June 27, and Saturday, June 28 at the Empty Space Theatre, 706 Oak Street, next to Pizzaville.
-Admission is free, but a $10 donation for adults and $5 donation for children and students is suggested.

Story also printed in Bakotopia magazine, issue 31, 6-26-08

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