Brown Paper Box Co.'s One-Night-Only REEFER MADNESS! THE MUSICAL Staged Reading Set for 4/20

Based on their four-time BroadwayWorld.com Award-nominated run, The Brown Paper Box Co. presents Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney's award-winning spoof, REEFER MADNESS! THE MUSICAL, as a staged reading. This one-night-only performance is Friday, April 20, 2012 at Stage 773 (1225 West Belmont Ave.) at 11:30pm. Tickets and information can be found at www.brownpaperbox.org.

One performance. Audience participation. Total madness.

Inspired by the original 1936 film of the same name and based on The Brown Paper Box Co's 2010 sold-out hit, this raucous musical comedy takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the hysteria caused when clean-cut kids fall prey to marijuana, leading them on a hysterical downward spiral filled with evil jazz music, sex, and violence. Wrought with punchy musical numbers and biting political commentary, REEFER MADNESS! THE MUSICAL is a hilarious and highly stylized satirical spoof. Set at a 1936 PTA meeting, the show-within-a-show's Lecturer uses scare tactics, song, dance, and a little heavenly intervention to band his audience against a leafy green assassin - "the real public enemy #1."

"The Brown Paper Box Co. couldn't feel more honored to remount REEFER MADNESS! THE MUSICAL for a second April 20th in a row," says M. William Panek, the show's director and one of The Brown Paper Box Co.'s founding members. "The ability to share Dan & Kevin's wildly clever show with Chicago on this subversively special night has become something of a tradition for us, and we can't wait to tweak the tradition this year by adding elements of audience participation."

The cast includes Zev Steinberg* (The Lecturer); Justin Kilduff (Jimmy Harper); Anna Schutz* (Mary Lane); Ashley Klingler (Mae); David Geinosky (Jack Stone); Michael Gardner (Ralph Wiley); Jillian Weingart (Sally); and features Patrick Butterfield*, Megan Ensley, Katherine Glavin, Michelle Kritselis*, Nick Shoda, Daniel Spagnuolo, and Katie Colby* on piano.

This Emmy, Ovation, and Drama Critic Circle Award-winning comedy features a production staff comprised of Chicago-based designers & collaborators: M. William Panek* (Director); Katie Colby* (Musical Direction); Ian Anthony* (Props Master); Michelle Kritselis* (Dramaturg); and Charlie Sheets* (Poster Designer).

* Denotes The Brown Paper Box Co. company members

Founded in 2010 and based in Chicago, The Brown Paper Box Co. creates thought-provoking and accessible theatrical experiences without the glitz of overproduction. This scaled-down approach allows our artists to deliver an elevated focus on the text.