Also, Kristen Bell and Christian Campbell (Neve's brother), who co-starred as the hilarious star-crossed young lovers in the Off-Broadway production of "Reefer," will reprise their roles in the movie version, as will John Kassir and Robert Torti. In addition, Ana Gasteyer ("Saturday Night Live," Broadway's "Rocky Horror Picture Show") will star opposite Steven Weber. Inspired by the cult 1936 anti-marijuana propaganda film, "Reefer Madness" will be a highly-stylized screen adaptation of the stage musical described by Greenblatt as a cross between "Grease" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." The film begins production in April 2004.
Alan Cumming will star as "The Lecturer," a finger-wagging authority figure who preaches to Smalltown USA parents about the evils of reefer and narrates portions of the film. His award-winning signature role as the Emcee in Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall's long-running revival of "Cabaret" on Broadway catapulted Cumming to prominence on the musical stage and soon led him to Hollywood. He recently appeared in TNT's updated version of "The Goodbye Girl," and he will voice one of the characters in the upcoming "Garfield: The Movie" from 20th Century Fox. He also starred in "The Anniversary Party," "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" and all three films in the "Spy Kids" franchise.
Steven Weber will portray "Jack," the slick and seductive marijuana pusher who runs The Reefer Den and keeps the locals hooked on "the stuff." Jack frequently trolls for youthful new victims to convert to his hopped-up harem of smoke-addled teens. Weber is currently starring as Los Angeles District Attorney David Franks in the mid-season ABC series, "The D.A.," and he is well known for playing quick-witted pilot Brian Hackett on the long-running NBC series "Wings." He also had a recurring role in the critically acclaimed drama "Once And Again," and will be seen in David Ogden's upcoming thriller, "Inside Out." Equally at home in musicals, Weber was recently hand-picked by Mel Brooks to star on Broadway as Leo Bloom in the mega-musical "The Producers," and in Los Angeles he starred as Berger in Reprise's smash hit production of the musical "Hair."
Neve Campbell will appear in the film as "Miss Poppy," the singing and dancing proprietor of the neighborhood five-and-dime, a local teen hangout where wholesome kids indulge in the risqué rhythms of "swing-jazz" music. Once a professional ballet dancer, Campbell recently starred in and produced Robert Altman's ensemble ballet drama "The Company." Next she will appear opposite Christian Slater in Peter Richardson's upcoming film "Churchill: The Hollywood Years." She also starred with Jeremy Irons in SHOWTIME's F. Scott Fitzgerald biography, LAST CALL, and the "Scream" trilogy. Her role as Julia Salinger on "Party of Five" endeared her to audiences for six years.
Kristen Bell re-teams with Campbell as Jimmy's innocent girlfriend "Mary," who tries in vain to save Jimmy from the terrible influence of marijuana. Bell recently starred as the title character in the Lifetime movie "Gracie's Choice," and can currently be seen in theatres in David Mamet's thriller "Spartan." Bell also starred on Broadway as "Becky" in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," and appeared in the workshop of "Hairspray," directed by Rob Marshall ("Chicago").
Christian Campbell will again play "Jimmy," the clean-cut, boy-next-door who falls prey to the demon weed and becomes trapped in a twisted downward spiral of reefer, sex, and mayhem. Campbell's recent credits include the independent film "Trick" and the FOX series "The $treet." He has also recently been cast in "All My Children."
Ana Gasteyer will portray "Mae," the Reefer Den hostess who is abused by her slick, pusher boyfriend Jack. Mae is initially too weak and too dependent on "the stuff" to do the right thing, but she eventually makes a bloody and triumphant stand. Gasteyer appeared for several seasons on "Saturday Night Live," and is known for her Martha Stewart parody. She also starred opposite Penelope Cruz in "Woman On Top," and appeared in Nancy Meyers' "What Women Want." She will soon be seen opposite "Saturday Night Live" castmate Tina Fey in "Mean Girls."
