[NEohioPAL] REEFER MADNESS! at Oberlin College April 16-18, Matthew Wright/Martin Cespedes

[Alexander Birnie]

REEFER MADNESS!

music by Dan Studney
lyrics by Kevin Murphy
book by Dan Studney & Kevin Murphy

Matthew Wright, director
Martin Cespedes, choreographer
Ian Axness '09, music director

April 16-18, 2009  8PM
April 17 & 18, 2009 11PM
Hall Auditorium, Oberlin College


TICKETS       CAST       PRODUCTION TEAM       PRODUCTION NOTES        
BIOS       MEDIA       EXTRAS
Visit T&D online: http://new.oberlin.edu/theater-dance

Fight the menace! No, not tuition inflation! Not global warming! The  
Oberlin College community is facing an even greater evil: marijuana.  
Hear the story of Jimmy Harper, an upstanding youth turned murderous  
pot fiend. Watch how reefer sucks him into a world of orgies, weed  
freaks, and rock music! A delightfully campy spoof on the 1936 anti- 
drug propaganda film of the same name, this musical comedy takes a  
tongue-in-cheek look at the hysteria caused when clean-cut kids fall  
prey to marijuana. Associate Professor Matthew Wright directs Kevin  
Murphy and Dan Studney's fresh and irreverent new musical, with music  
direction by Ian Axness ’09 and choreography by Martin Cespedes.

Reefer Madness will be performed at Oberlin College’s Hall Auditorium  
Thursday through Saturday, April 16 through 18 at 8 pm, with  
additional shows Friday and Saturday nights at 11 pm.  There will be  
no matinee performances. The show may be inappropriate for younger  
viewers.  This production is sponsored by the Oberlin College Theater  
and Dance Program.


Tickets:
$4 Students
$6 Seniors/Faculty/Staff
$8 Public
All tickets $3 more at the door
Tickets are available by calling Central Ticket Service at (440)  
775-8169 or 1-800-371-0178. Hall Auditorium is wheel chair accessible  
and parking is free, located behind Hall Auditorium. Viewer discretion  
is advised.
[directions to Hall Auditorium]

Cast
Lecturer
Mary Lane
Jimmy Harper
Jack Stone
Mae
Sally
Ralph
Ensemble

Josh Christian '10
Holland Hamilton '11
Alexander Birnie '09
Tip Scarry '11
Jill Murdoch '09
Alexandra Korshin '10
Kevin Carr '09
Corey Arnold '11, Sam Heldt '09, Lisset Lorenz '12,
Jael McCants '12, Michael Olson '12, Ellie Philips '12,
Marysia Pomorski '11, Patrick Webster '12

Artistic / Production Team
Director
Choreographer
Music Director

Scenic Design
Costume Design
Lighting Design
Sound Design

Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager

Technical Director
Asst. Technical Director
Master Electrician
Costumer
Sound Mixer

Box Office Manager
Publicity

Matthew Wright
Martin Cespedes
Ian Axness '09

Michael Louis Grube
Chris Flaharty
Carolyn Wong
Richard Ingraham

Meg Lindsey '09
Laura Cornwall '12, Read Tuddenham '12

Joe Natt
David Bugher
Andrew Kaletta
JoEllen Cuthbertson
Francis Wilson

Barbara Kessler
Alexander Birnie '09, Jennifer Gaeng '11,
Emma Louise Rodriguez '11, Philip Waller '11,
Emma Walton '10, Marley Zeno '11


Production Notes
        Associate Professor of Theater Matthew Wright has been  
dreaming of directing Reefer Madness at Oberlin ever since he  
performed as the Lecturer in a 2004 Cleveland production.  Now, he  
couldn't be more excited to bring the hilarious, high-energy musical  
to Hall Auditorium.  "We think that this is a theatrical event that  
virtually every student on campus will enjoy," says Wright.  "We're  
doing this for the student population here at Oberlin.  It's a  
celebration of student artists, and we hope to get a fabulous student  
audience.

       Wright has assembled a top-notch production team to execute  
this highly conceptual musical, which satirizes a 1936 government- 
subsidized exploitation film.  The original movie became an instant  
cult classic due to its outlandish portrayal of marijuana use and the  
sex and crime sprees that inevitably follow.  In the musical, a high  
school drama teacher mounts the production as a means of anti-drug  
education for the community, a conceit that "gives us a lot of license  
in terms of how we design it," says Wright, "and gives us an  
opportunity to take a soft jab at high school-mentality design  
techniques."

      Veteran dancer and professional choreographer Martin Cespedes,  
who has appeared in the national tours of Man of La Mancha, The King  
and I, South Pacific and West Side Story and choreographed opening  
acts for Earth, Wind and Fire, and the Bee Gees, will stage the  
musical numbers, including one memorable dance sequence in "The  
Orgy."  The score, comprising pop, jazz, and even disco music, is,  
according to Wright, "sort of a fun, crazy, eclectic mix of music that  
might seem a little bit anachronistic, but allows us to have an  
incredible amount of fun staging some remarkable musical numbers."

      While the musical is renowned for being a hilarious good time,  
Reefer Madness is, like any good piece of Oberlin art, not without a  
tinge of social and political commentary.  "It's completely timely,"  
Wright explains.  "It has an awful lot to say about government  
censorship. It does, in its satirical way, comment on race and ideas  
about race that date back well before the 1936 original. And, of  
course, it exposes the misinformation in the anti-drug campaigns of  
both the '30s and the more recent one that started with Just Say No."   
Wright hopes that the Oberlin community will appreciate the political  
satire; at the same time, he's eager to stress that "it's a lot of  
fun, and we really don't want to downplay the fact that it's a great  
time."


Bios
Matthew Wright (Director)

Matthew Wright currently serves as Associate Professor of Theater at  
Oberlin College, where he teaches a variety of acting studios.   
National credits include productions at The La Jolla Playhouse,  
McCarter Theatre, Clarence Brown Company, Studio Arena Theatre of  
Buffalo, Trinity Repertory Theatre, Florida Stage and New Theatre.   
Northeast Ohio audiences have seen Matthew in The Fix, Reefer Madness,  
The Imaginary Invalid and Urinetown: The Musical at Beck Center For  
The Arts, as well as the much-lauded JCC/TriC West production of  
Ragtime.  Matthew has been a proud member of Actors' Equity  
Association since 1988.

Martin Cespedes (Choreographer)

Martin Cespedes received a 2007 Northern Ohio Live Nomination for the  
choreography of Equus at the Beck Center in Cleveland.  He was named  
Cleveland's Best Choreographer of 2006 by Scene Magazine and has  
appeared in the national touring productions of Man of La Mancha, The  
King and I, South Pacific and West Side Story.  His most recent  
projects include Grey Gardens at the Beck Center, Into The Woods at  
Great Lakes Theater Festival, and the 13th Street Theater's I Love You  
Because, directed by Victoria Bussert. His is an alumnus of Jacque  
d'Amboise's Nation Dance Institute in New York City. Upcoming projects  
include Pippin at Cain Park, Evil Dead The Musical at Beck Center,  
Comedy of Errors, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, both at the Idaho  
Shakespeare and Great Lakes Theater Festivals.

Kevin Murphy (Book and Lyrics)

Kevin Murphy is a graduate of Drew University in Madison, NJ. Reefer  
Mandess, which Kevin co-produced in Los Angeles, is Kevin's third  
stage collaboration with Dan Studney, and the first to be  
professionally produced. Kevin won Ovation, Garland and Los Angeles  
Drama Critics Circle awards for writing and producing the original  
production. Kevin's work on the Off-Broadway production earned him a  
Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Lyrics. Along with Dan,  
Kevin wrote and executive produced the Showtime movie adaptation of  
Reefer. The film premiered at the Sundance Festival and screened  
subsequently at the following festivals: Deauville (Premiere Jury  
Award), Berlin, Sarasota (Best of the Fest Award) and True West. Kevin  
and Dan won the 2005 Emmy Award for Outstanding Music & Lyrics, for  
the song "Mary Jane/Mary Lane," written especially for the movie.

Dan Studney (Book and Music)

Dan Studney served as Screenwriter, Executive Producer and Composer  
for Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical. The movie is based on the stage  
musical, which Dan also co-wrote and -produced, and which has enjoyed  
runs in L.A., Cleveland, St. Louis and New York City. For his work on  
the original production, Dan won various Ovation, Garland and Los  
Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for writing, composing and  
producing. Not to mention a High Times Magazine "Stony" Award!

Press/Media
For media inquiries please contact T&D Publicity at 440.775.8171

Gallery/Extras
Check back soon for photos, interviews and more!
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