As the cannabis market in the United States continues to expand, and attitudes around the plant continue to shift, the love for Mary Jane is beginning to seep into other places, like the performance arts world.
Prospect Theater Company and National Asian Artists Project (NAAP) recently performed a concert version of “Baked! The Musical” on Oct. 2 at the Loreto Theater at the Sheen Center for Thought & Culture in New York City, according to a Playbill news release.
The show featured an all-Asian cast, including Clair Kwon (“Almost Famous”), Lianah Sta. Ana (“Miss Saigon”), Jason Ma (“Pacific Overtures at Signature Theatre”), Timothy Huang (“American Morning”), MinJi Kim (“Rule of Three”), Sushma Saha (“1776”), Savidu Geevaratne (“Your Own Personal Exegesis”), Hazel Anne Raymundo (“Avenue Q”) and Drew Tanabe (“Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust Road”).
The musical is a story about family, failure and weed, with a contemporary pop-rock score, reflecting on self-worth and themes born out of the writers’ experiences as children of immigrants growing up in the United States.
The musical, featuring a book, music and lyrics by Jord Liu, follows overachiever Jane Huang, who fails to secure her dream college scholarship. With the help of her best friend, Jane joins forces with the class degenerates and builds the “greatest cannabis edible empire ever run by high-schoolers,” according to the release. Jane’s parents, of course, are clueless of the endeavor while struggling to keep their Chinese bakery afloat.
According to Tony honoree and NAAP Co-founder Baayork Lee, “’Baked!’ tells an inter-generational story which will resonate with both parents and children. We’re thrilled that this cast features young artists who have participated in NAAP’s educational programs and are now taking the stage as emerging professionals.”
Prospect Producing Artist Director Cara Reichel highlighted the renewed partnership with NAAP, “to support the development of original new musicals which uplift creative voices from the AANHPI community.”
The musical was developed at the Village Theatre’s 2023 Festival of New Musicals in Seattle and the 2022 National Alliance for Musical Theatre Festival of New Musicals in New York City, according to Broadway World. “Baked!” is also currently part of a developmental production at Theo in Chicago and had previously been developed at the Den Theatre in the Windy City.
Cannabis theater productions and musicals are still somewhat few and far between, though “Baked!” surely isn’t the first to tackle the plant.
Last year, “Cannabis! A Vipe Vaudeville Musical” saw its Off-Broadway debut, inspired by Martin A. Lee’s book “Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana.” The production explores the history of cannabis with music, dance and spoken word, according to Playbill.
Co-director Baba Israel met Lee in Amsterdam and started talking about cannabis, and after receiving his book, Israel said he was inspired by the expiration and history of cannabis through culture, politics, artists and activism to tell the story in an artistic and musical manner.
“There are so many important stories to tell,” Israel recently shared with Grow Magazine. “And, as legalization rolls across the country, I really felt it was important to document what the story of prohibition was so that we could artistically advocate for more equitable cannabis rollout in terms of legalization and the cultural, artistic, and political values that have often been associated in cannabis, so that they wouldn’t be completely lost in commercialization.”
Fans of cannabis and musicals can also enjoy the combination at home, as a musical version of “Reefer Madness,” first released in 2005, is currently available to stream free on services like Tubi, Vudu and PlutoTV. The film is a musical satire of the 1936 propaganda film of the same name and evolved well before the modern-day era of cannabis reform, with origins spanning back to 1998.
The original Off-Broadway production ran from Sept. 15 to Oct. 28, 2001 at the Variety Arts Theatre. The made-for-television musical comedy film premiered on Showtime in April 2005, and it also received a limited theatrical release overseas.
As cannabis continues its journey into other industries, seeping into the restaurant industry, music, apparel, immersive museums and more, perhaps theater is the next big boom for our favorite plant.
