"Reefer Madness" at Rising Action Theatre: The Joys of Smoking, Screwing, and Killing

A horror show that covers up truly frightening imagery with a gloss of good humor.

Details

Reefer Madness, through April 18 at Rising Action Theatre, 840 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Wilton Manors. Tickets cost $35 for the show only, $60 with dinner. 800-595-4849; click here.

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More About

• Jimmy Harper
• Conor Walton
• Bill Dobbins
• Theatrical Plays
• Theater

Reefer Madness is not a perfect show. The singing is occasionally off-key and suffers continually from a lack of amplification. Each of the singers individually has the vocal power to overcome the prerecorded music coming out of the P.A., but they don't have the power to overcome one another: The ensemble numbers are mixed terribly for want of any mixing at all.

It's a significant problem, but Reefer Madness represents either Rising Action Theatre's coming into its own or else finding its niche. The historically uneven theater doesn't have much money, and even in this show, you get the sense that the production values are only a level or two above community theater. But a sense of fun or danger or excitement can compensate for a lot, and Rising Action's got it like no one else.