Reefer Madness
13 – 22 November 2026 at the Pioneer Theatre.
Auditions
We are thrilled to announce audition bookings are now open for our November 2026 production of Reefer Madness !
During the 1930’s, marijuana propaganda in the United States was driven by a combination of political interests, racial prejudice, and sensationalist media coverage. After the establishment of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1930, Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger launched a campaign portraying marijuana as a dangerous substance that caused insanity, violence, and moral corruption. Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst played a significant role in spreading these fears through his widely circulated newspapers, which published exaggerated and often racist stories linking marijuana use to Mexican immigrants and African Americans. Hearst’s papers frequently described cannabis as a drug that drove users to murder or madness, helping fuel public panic during the Great Depression era. It has also been argued that Hearst had economic motives for opposing hemp, which competed with the timber industry used in newspaper production. Propaganda films such as Reefer Madness (1936) reinforced these messages by depicting marijuana as a directpath to crime, insanity, and social collapse. It is this climate of social fear that Reefer Madness: The Musical satirises.
Content Warning: Reefer Madness contains depictions of drug use, sex, sexual assault, exaggerated violence, and implied nudity.
AUDITION INFORMATION
Monday 22nd and Wednesday 24th of June from 6:30pm
To request materials and book an audition please email the team at hmsreefermadness@gmail.com with your name, preferred audition date and time, and the role you’re auditioning for.
Please read the audition pack for more information:
About the show
Inspired by the original 1936 propaganda film of the same name, 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. With a book by Kevin Murphy (Heathers the Musical), Reefer Madness is a highly stylised and satirical political commentary that will leave you wanting more.
*Content Warning: Reefer Madness contains depictions of drug use, sex, exaggerated violence and implied nudity. Viewer discretion is advised for patrons under 15 years.
Production Team:
Co-Directors – Max Waterson & Kevin Rodrigueza
Musical Director – David Lang
Choreographer – Lauren Oxenham
Sweet Charity
Congratulations cast and crew for an amazingly successful show
Thank you to all who came to see the amazing show and support the society !
Information page – Past Productions
