History Film / ReeferMadnessTheMusical

* ShoutOut: [[Theatre/{{Annie}} "A little orphan girl once told me that the sun would come out tomorrow. Her adopted father was a powerful billionaire, so I suppressed the urge to laugh in her face."]]

* BaitAndSwitch: The Narrator asks Principal Short "What is the human condition so powerful it can stave off all that is black and evil in these confusing times?" and taps a bulletin board filled with a collage illustrating ThePowerOfLove.

--'''The Narrator:''' The correct answer is, of course, ''vigilance''.

* WordSaladLyrics: "Mary Jane/Mary Lane"

* WidowedAtTheWedding: In the film version, Jimmy Harper and Mary Lane imagine themselves at their wedding when Mary was shot during the gun struggle between Jimmy and Jack the dope dealer, singing the reprise of "Romeo and Juliet" while Mary [[DiedInYourArmsTonight dies in Jimmy's arms]].

* HaveAGayOldTime: "Don't get queer on me!"

* CompositeCharacter: Jimmy Harper is basically Jimmy Lane and Bill Harper from the original movie combined into one character.

* TheIngenue: Mary Lane. She's a sixteen year-old girl who loves babies, considers nine pm the middle of the night, and apologizes to God for the [[FelonyMisdemeanor mortal sin]] of lying about a seat being taken.

!!''Film/ReeferMadnessTheMusical'' provides examples of:

* ActingForTwo: Alan Cumming is introduced as the Narrator. However, over the course of the film, he also manages to play FDR and Satan. At the end of the film [[spoiler: FDR gets up, and [[TheReveal dramatically discards his outfit]], resuming his Narrator appearance.]] The overlap is [[TakeThat not an accident.]]

->"Creeping like a communist
->It's lurking at our doors
->Turning all our children
->Into hooligans and whores"
-->--'''The Lecturer''', "[[TitleTrack Reefer Madness]]"

The 1998 musical adaptation of the 1936 propaganda film ''Film/ReeferMadness'' (also known as ''Tell Your Children!''.) As you might expect, it eschewed that [[SoBadItsGood unintentional satire]] of the original for VERY intentional satire. The film uses the original's framework, opening with a group of concerned parents congregating for a film presentation, proffered by a man who just oozes ulterior motive. The [[FilmWithinAFilm movie he shows]] tells the story of Jimmy Harper and Mary Lane, two upstanding, innocent children, whose lives devolve into a [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking twisted spiral of sex, violence, and snack food]] courtesy of the evils of marihuana. All the while, the original audience reacts with revulsion, shock, and the occasional incredulity.

-->"[[TitleTrack Reefer Madness]]"

The 1998 musical adaptation of the 1936 propaganda film "Tell Your Children!" As you might expect, it eschewed that [[SoBadItsGood unintentional satire]] of the original for VERY intentional satire. The film uses the original's framework, opening with a group of concerned parents congregating for a film presentation, proffered by a man who just oozes ulterior motive. The [[FilmWithinAFilm movie he shows]] tells the story of Jimmy Harper and Mary Lane, two upstanding, innocent children, whose lives devolve into a [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking twisted spiral of sex, violence, and snack food]] courtesy of the evils of marihuana. All the while, the original audience reacts with revulsion, shock, and the occasional incredulity.

** The song "Lonely Pew" has Mary dropping the word "transubstantiate." If it seems out of place, that's because the same word was used by the narrator in the original ''Reefer Madness.''

* HeyItsThatGuy: The Lecturer is [[Film/X2XMenUnited Nightcrawler]]
** And Mary is [[VeronicaMars Veronica Mars]]
** Not to mention the fact that Ralph is ''[[TalesFromTheCrypt the freaking Cryptkeeper!]]''

->"Creeping like a communist/
->It's lurking at our doors/
->Turning all our children/
->Into hooligans and whores/"
--> [[TitleDrop Reefer Madness]]

The film stars Alan Cumming, Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell, Steven Weber, Ana Gasteyer, and the [[TalesFromTheCrypt dude who did the voice of the Crypt Keeper.]] It premiered on Showtime in 2005.

* BadGirlSong: Combines with the HeelFaceTurn of the innocent Mary Lane, whose single run-in with marijuana leaves her [[IncrediblyLamePun fit to be tied.]]

--> I'm not addicted no, I just enjoy the glow

* CriticalResearchFailure: In universe. It's one of the most well known [[RomeoAndJuliet tragic endings]] in history. How do you not know this?

And to think all I wanted was swing dancing lessons!

* MarijuanaIsLSD: Played for laughs. Actors appearing in the stage show are instructed to act like they're on crack, rather than pot.
* TheMoralSubstitute: In-universe example: in the film version, at the end of "Listen To Jesus, Jimmy," Jesus challenges Jimmy to "take a hit of God" and see if he can "handle the high". Jimmy refuses, saying, "I've got a new god now!"

* PragmaticAdaptation: A most triumphant example, as some changes made for the movie, like Dead Old Man being replaced by Mary Jane/Mary Lane and The Truth replacing the reprise of Reefer Madness, were so popular that most stage productions now include those changes.

** In the stage version Jesus reprises "Listen to Jesus, Jimmy" at [[spoiler:Jimmy's execution]] to mock him for not listening to him
* WidowedAtTheWedding: In the film version, Jimmy Harper and Mary Lane imagine themselves at their wedding when Mary was shot during the gun struggle between Jimmy and Jack the dope dealer, singing the reprise of "Romeo And Juliet" while Mary dies in Jimmy's arms.

* OffscreenTeleportation: Jesus keeps doing this during the "Listen To Jesus, Jimmy" musical number. Completely [[JustifiedTrope justified]] since he's Jesus.