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
“What if Seth Rogen, Charles Dickens,
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cheech and Chong,
Christopher Hitchens, Hunter S. Thompson,
and John Waters decided to have a baby?”
– KDHX
"A pot-laced, Dickensian, Cheech & Chong-esque
holiday spoof that is reminiscent of when
Saturday Night Live was in its heyday."
– BroadwayWorld
“Surreal nostalgic fun… a hilarious and
upbeat musical for mature audiences.”
– The Riverfront Times
“A wacky, if pungent, new look... a snarky
(and oddly charming) holiday event.”
– TalkinBroadway
"A fun-filled lampoon of Christianity, middle America
and the straight-laced culture of the 1950s."
– Ladue News
“If you like crass humor, and especially stoner jokes,
this show should be a fun ‘alternative’ holiday production.”
– Snoop’s Theatre Thoughts
"Resembles the audacious dark comedy material that
John Waters and Charles Busch specialize in."
– PopLifeSTL
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 original 2023 New Line cast included Terrell Thompson (Harry), Kay Love (Bess), Tony L. Marr Jr. (Chip), Shane Rudolph (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 was 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 vocal selections for JJHRFX
The published script for JJHRFX
JJHRFX and "Hoo-Hoo of Steel" merchandise
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
