By:
Scottie Campbell

Let Me Be Blunt

     What could be more fun than watching the 1936 propaganda film Reefer Madness with your contemporary knowledge and your homo-jaundiced eyes, at around, say 4:20? How about seeing a tongue-in-cheek musical based on that silly film at Tampa’s M.A.D. Theatre? The theater company is presenting the tuneful parody of the same name (just add an exclamation point, naturally) at the Ritz Theatre through September 29.

     “The play is neither pro-drug nor anti-drug,” says out director S.P. Riordan. “The stage show is less about the drug and more about ‘propaganda’ itself.”

     Riordan., a Tampa native, shared a story with me that ties the whole reefer madness theory (that marijuana will make you mad) to the Bay Area.

     “It’s been told to me that an upstanding family in Tampa in the early part of the century had an upstanding young son who was the apple of their eye. The abridged version is that he started smoking marijuana, went ‘crazy’ and then went on a murderous rampage, killing his whole family. The press got wind of it, and the reefer madness theory was born. I’m told the house is still standing in Tampa and looks much like the ‘reefer den’ (where all the local kids go to get their fix) in the movie and musical. Obviously, they found out later that this kid had major mental issues, but they used the marijuana angle to really sell those papers.” (Newspapers, that is.)

     Outside of being a “kitschy musical with show-stopping numbers,” Riordan says there isn’t a whole lot specifically gay about the show. But does being gay influence his directing style? “My sexuality doesn’t have too much to do with my directing style, most of the time…with the exception of me having a keen eye for what’s fantastic!”
     M.A.D. Theatre, founded in 1999 by Elizabeth Robins-Edelson, incorporates the three performing arts—music, acting and dance—to bring affordable musical theater to stages throughout Tampa Bay. You can find out more about them and Reefer Madness! by visiting www.MADTheatre.com or by calling 813-786-6291.

Caged Bird
     With arts coverage in the Orlando Sentinel shrinking before our very eyes, theater critic Elizabeth Maupin’s blog has become an essential source of information. Cleverly titled “Attention Must Be Paid,” after a line from Death of a Salesman, the blog gives Maupin a forum to talk about everything from theater etiquette to etymology—and to post her full-length reviews.
     The importance of this blog could not be better illustrated than with the recent brouhaha over a canceled production of La Cage aux Folles at the Christian-based Trinity Preparatory School. Maupin’s coverage began with her own eloquently written rant that led to a thread that includes comments from the theater community and Trinity students. The blog even reports on the reaction of Harvey Fierstein, who penned the show’s book.

     To place the La Cage kibosh in a nutshell, an Episcopalian Bishop, John Howe, asked the school to cancel the production on opening night, and the school’s headmaster, Craig Maughan, obliged. Maughan acknowledged that there was “disappointment among students” and no wonder: The production is a culmination of a summer-long intensive.
     “The funny thing is that, as we've learned, teenagers and young people are way ahead of older folks when it comes to accepting sexual differences and to treating everyone the same,” wrote Maupin. You can visit her blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/Attention. (See Orlando News, page 9, for more on the canceled play.)

Our Fringe Runneth Over

     As irony would have it, a Trinity Prep alum is currently packing them in for his decidedly gay-themed play at Orlando’s way-gay Parliament House. A hit from this year’s Orlando Fringe, My Pal Bette, by out and proud scribe John Ryan, has extended its run through the end of September. Make note: Performances are now on Fridays. Find out more at www.MySpace.com/MyPalBette. (No word on whether Bishop Howe has had a chance to catch the show.)
     Don’t expect an extension of another Fringe hit, Cupid & Psyche. Producer Fred Berning has revealed that one of the cast members has scored a gig on TV’s One Tree Hill, so the show must close September 9. The musical tells of the young love god Cupid being sent by his mother Venus to punish the mortal princess Psyche, who is so beautiful that Venus worshippers are paying more attention to her than their goddess. Cupid winds up falling for Psyche, and comedy ensues. Maupin deemed the show a “nifty production,” and trust me, ogling shirtless gay boy Wes Miller, who plays Cupid, is worth the price of admission alone. To find out more, log onto www.TheatreDowntown.net, or call 407-841-0083.