New Line Theatre to Present JESUS & JOHNNY APPLEWEED'S HOLY ROLLIN' FAMILY CHRISTMAS

To open New Line's 32nd season, the New Liners will bring you the world premiere of the new stoner musical comedy, Jesus & Johnny Appleweed's Holy Rollin' Family Christmas, with book, music, and lyrics by Scott Miller. Poor Harry Goodson learns his lessons the hard way, as he's visited overnight by his dead twin brother, Jesus Christ, Sandra Dee, and Johnny Appleweed, and he finally learns what his family already knows, that the answer to all his problems is marijuana!

A wacky companion piece to the unintentionally hilarious 1936 scare film Reefer Madness, this new musical is a crazy mashup of A Christmas Carol, Reefer Madness, and 1950s musical comedy, a tongue-in-cheek response to the War on Drugs and the Culture Wars, a comic look at what a little pot and a little truth can do to a normal, average, Midwestern, American family at mid-century, just as America plunges into the chaos of the 1960s.

Miller's score includes future classics like "The Elves Get Stoned," "Heteronormative," "Mary Jane and Mary Jane," "Love Doesn't Suck with My Dick," "Hoo-Hoo of Steel," "Don't Look at Me! I'm Sandra Dee!", "(Take Out) That Stick Up Your Ass," "Have Another Toke and Have a Merry Christmas," and many more!

The New Line cast includes Terrell Thompson (Harry), Kay Love (Bess), Tai Davis (Chip), Marlee Wenski (Tammy), Tawaine Noah (Uncle Hugh), plus Robert Doyle, Matt Hill, Stephanie Merritt, and Lauren Tenenbaum as the stoner carolers outside. The production is directed by Scott Miller and Tony Marr Jr., with choreography by Marr, music direction by Mallory Golden, costume design by Lauren Beardon, scenic design by Rob Lippert, lighting design by Matt Stuckel, and sound design by Ryan Day.

New Line presented the world premiere of Johnny Appleweed in 2006, and the regional premiere of Reefer Madness the Musical in 2004.

Scott Miller (book, music, lyrics) is a musical theatre composer, lyricist, bookwriter, historian, consultant, fanboy, and the founder and artistic director of New Line Theatre. He holds a degree in music and musical theatre from Harvard. He has written eleven musicals, two plays, and more than a dozen books about musical theatre. He also writes the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre blog. For fifteen years, he co-hosted the radio show Break a Leg: Theatre in St. Louis and Beyond, and now he hosts the periodic theatre podcast Stage Grok, available on iTunes. He lives in South St. Louis with this two cats, Hamilton and Macheath.

About New Line Theatre

Now in its 32nd season, New Line Theatre is a professional company dedicated to involving the people of the St. Louis region in the exploration and creation of daring, provocative, socially and politically relevant works of musical theatre. New Line was created back in 1991 at the vanguard of a new wave of nonprofit musical theatre just starting to take hold across the country.

New Line has given birth to several world premiere musicals over the years and has brought back to life several shows that were not well served by their original New York productions.

Altogether, New Line has produced 94 musicals since 1991, and the company has been given its own entries in the Cambridge Guide to American Theatre and the annual Theater World. New Line receives funding from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, and the Regional Arts Commission.

New Line's season continues with Sweet Potato Queens in March and Dracula In June, both back at the Marcelle Theater. Season tickets are still on sale - just click here.

For other information, visit New Line Theatre's full-service website at the link below. All programs are subject to change.

TICKET INFO

JJHRFX runs Nov. 30-Dec.16, 2023, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, all at 8:00 p.m., at the GRANDEL THEATRE, 3610 Grandel Square, at Grand, across the street from Powell Hall, and three blocks west of the Marcelle, in the Grand Center Arts District, New Line's usual home. Nov. 30 is a preview.

Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for students/seniors on the first Thursday; and $35 for adults and $30 for students/seniors for all other performances. To charge tickets by phone, call MetroTix at 314-534-1111 or visit the Fox Theatre box office or the MetroTix website. 

DISCOUNTS

HIGH SCHOOL DISCOUNT: Any high school student with a valid school ID can get a $10 ticket for any performance, with the code word, posted only on New Line's Facebook page.

COLLEGE FREE SEATS: Ten free seats for every performance, open to any college student with a valid student ID.

EDUCATORS DISCOUNT: New Line offers all currently employed educators half price tickets on any Thursday night, with work ID or other proof of employment.

MILITARY DISCOUNT: New Line offers all active duty military personnel half price tickets on any Thursday night, with ID or other proof of active duty status.

All offers not valid in connection with other discounts or offers, available only at the door, and subject to availability.

The address of the Grandel Theatre is 3610 Grandel Square at Grand Blvd., in the Grand Center Arts District, across the street from Powell Hall, just three blocks west of the Marcelle, New Line's usual home. The Grandel is fully accessible. There is street parking in front of the Grandel's main entrance, as well as local parking garages in the surrounding blocks. Accessible parking and entrance are around the block on the south side of the building down the alley off of Grand Blvd. There is no dress code and there are refreshments available in the lobby, including alcohol.

DIRECTIONS
 

Coming from the West

Take I-64/40 East, and take exit 37A for Market Street/Bernard Street. Continue on to Bernard Street, then take a slight left onto Market Street. Turn left onto S. Compton, go half a mile, then turn left onto Samuel Shepard Drive, and go four blocks to Grand.
OR... Take either I-44 or I-64/40 to Grand, go north on Grand Blvd. into Grand Center, past the Fox, then turn left (at Powell Hall) on Grandel Square.

Coming from the East

Take I-64/40 West into St. Louis, and take exit 38B for Market St 3000 West. Turn left onto Market Street, then right on S. Campton, then left onto Samuel Shepard and go four blocks to Grand; take a quick right, then a quick left onto Grandel Square.
OR... Take the McKinley Bridge, then take a slight right onto Salisbury Street, which bends a bit and turns into Parnell Street. Merge onto N. Jefferson, then turn right on Delmar, left on Grand, then right onto Grandel Square.

Coming from the North

Take I-170 South and I-70 East. Exit at Grand, and take a right on E. Grand Ave. which becomes N. Grand Blvd. Pass Delmar, and turn right at Grandel Square.

Coming from the South

Take I-55 North, then I-44 West. Take exit 288 for Grand Blvd/Louisiana Ave. Take a sharp right on Lafayette, then left on S. Compton. Go 1.6 miles, then turn left on Samuel Shepard Drive and go four blocks to Grand; take a quick right, then a quick left onto Grandel Square.
OR... When you get off the highway, turn left on Louisiana, then right on Grand. Pass under I-64/40, into Grand Center, past the Fox, and turn left (at Powell Hall) on Grandel Square.

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