Note: Due to a COVID outbreak, this weekend's performances have been postponed. Performances have been moved to 9/13, 9/14, and 9/15.
Don’t let the madness get you! That was the message throughout the original 1936 exploitation film, Reefer Madness. Decades later, what was considered to be one of the worst films ever made would become a zany and over the top musical.
“It was made in the 30s to warn people about the dangers of marijuana,” said SRO Underground’s director of Reefer Madness Jeff Tagliaferro. “I think something that lends itself to being the worst movies is how outlandish some of the some of the acts that the characters portray when they are under the influence of marijuana: hit and runs, murders, assault, listening to sinful jazz music.”
The story follows the misadventures of Jimmy Harper as he finds himself descending into the world of drug use when all he wanted to do was impress the girl of his dreams. What follows is a series of unfortunate events Jimmy could have never foreseen.
Reefer Madness is performed as a play-within-a-play framed by the lecturer portrayed in this production by Deidre Nolis. “I direct it, but I also star in it,” said Nolis. “I'm the one that starts telling people about the dangers of marijuana and how they need to watch this so that they understand how scary it is and then my character is put in various scenes as different people.”
As the title of the show suggests, there are more mature themes in this production which leads to a content warning. “There is some simulated drug use, of course, if you can't take that by the title,” said Tagliaferro. “Some depictions of sexual situations, as well as some violence and there will be some gunshots as well.”
SRO Underground’s production of Reefer Madness August 9th and 10th at 7:30pm and August 11th at 2:00pm at the Schorr Family Firehouse Stage in Binghamton.
Watch Bill Snyder’s interview with Jeff Tagliaferro and Deidre Nolis below: