Book, Music and Lyrics by Scott Miller
Nov. 30-Dec. 16, 2023
Grandel Theatre
Grand Center Arts District
Jesus & Johnny Appleweed's
Holy Rollin'
Family Christmas
Buy Tickets!
Featuring the Songs:
“The Elves Get Stoned”
“Heteronormative”
“Mary Jane and Mary Jane”
“Hoo-Hoo of Steel”
“Man in the Gray Flannel Life”
“Don’t Look at Me! I’m Sandra Dee!”
“That Stick Up Your Ass”
“Better Living Through Chemistry”
“Have Another Toke and Have a Merry Christmas”
and more!
It's 1959 and there's pot in the Christmas cookies. What could go wrong?
What happens when a family’s secrets are all revealed on one outrageous, pot-fueled Christmas Eve in 1959?
Poor Harry Goodson is about to find out, as he’s visited overnight by his dead 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 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.
The New Line cast includes Terrell Thompson (Harry), Kay Love (Bess), Tony L. Marr Jr. (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 L. Marr Jr., with choreography by Marr, music direction by Mallory Golden, costume design by Lauren Smith Beardon, scenic design by Rob Lippert, lighting design by Matt Stuckel, and sound design by Ryan Day.
Want to explore more?
We recommend:
The published script, and the piano-vocal selections for Miller's other stoner musical Johnny Appleweed, which New Line produced in 2006.
The original 1936 scare film Reefer Madness.
The excellent book Reefer Madness: A History of Marijuana by Larry "Ratso" Sloman.
Miller's blog post "Reefer Madness Madness" about the evolution of this show's title
TICKET INFO
HOLY ROLLIN' FAMILY CHRISTMAS runs Nov. 30-Dec. 16, 2023, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, all at 8:00 p.m., at the Grandel Theater, just one block North of the Fox Theatre (and three blocks west of the Marcelle), at Grand Blvd. and Grandel Square, in the Grand Center Arts District. Nov. 30 is a preview.
Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for students/seniors for the preview; 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. All programs subject to change. New Line Theatre receives funding from the Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council.
