NAPA’S LUCK PENNY GOES TO POT–
IN A GOOD WAY
A hokey 1930s propaganda film runs headlong into Beach Blanket Babylon in Reefer Madness at Napa’s Lucky Penny Productions through March 23.
A musical spoof by Dan Studney and Kevin Murphy, the show opens with a swarm of zombies lifted right out of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”—zombies rendered helpless by the effects of marijuana. An ultra-serious lecturer (Brad Fisher) greets the audience and rivets them with a pseudo-scientific discourse about what happens when innocent young people fall under the spell of the evil weed. Soon we are treated to nearly two hours of them engaging in the most disreputable shenanigans and dancing to jungle music. The collapse of civilization can’t be far behind.
Directed by Lucky Penny co-founders Barry Martin and Taylor Bartolucci, with an onstage band led by Debra Chambliss, the cast of Reefer Madness goes at it with frantic energy—and frequent bouts of ennui when they are fully sedated by their favorite addiction.
In his Lucky Penny debut, Nico Jaochinco stars as Jimmy Harper, a small-town high-school nice guy who goes off the rails after his exposure to weed. Pilar Gonzales is his high-energy opposite as Mary Lane, an All-American sweetheart who likewise throws her potential down the drain thanks to pot.
The two of them enjoy idyllic moments in her family’s backyard, reenacting favorite scenes from Romeo and Juliet although neither one has read the play all the way through to its tragic end. Soon we’re in the “reefer den” where addict Mae (Chloe Angst) keeps her anxiety at bay with prodigious hits of the green stuff. A visit to a church (“Listen to Jesus, Jimmy”) provides little help for our hero, despite a personal visit from the savior (Skyler King).
Lucky Penny regular Emma Sutherland is delightful as bleach-blonde bimbo Sally. She’s in great voice too, lending a smoky lilt and seductive dance moves to many scenes in this quick-moving show. Sally and Mae are emblematic of how low potentially upright citizens can sink once they get a lungful of pot.
We even get a lightweight history lesson in how much influence newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst had in getting hemp and marijuana crops banned. Hearst had enormous holdings in timber—much of it to be made into paper for his publications. The hemp industry was an economic threat to his hegemony. Anti-pot hysteria wasn’t driven by health concerns after all—like so many other bits of legislation, it was driven by money.
This comical Reefer Madness follows the decline of an entire community down its path of self-destruction. Be careful the next time some seemingly friendly acquaintance offers you a hit. At the end of the momentary rainbow is only despair and death. You’ve been warned.
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Reefer Madness
Lucky Penny Productions
1758 Industrial Way in Napa
ends on March 23, 2025
for tickets ($35-$47), call 707.266.6305 or visit Lucky Penny
