CANNABIS!
A Viper Vaudeville
CANNABIS!
A Viper VaudevilLE
CANNABIS! A VIPER VAUDEVILLE is a theatrical concert exploring the history of cannabis using music, dance, and spoken word grounded in the Hip Hop tradition of the remix and mashup. Inspired by Martin A. Lee’s book Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana, CANNABIS! weaves the music of icons such as Louis Armstrong and Bob Marley with the stories of grassroots activists Dennis Perron and Brownie Mary with personal narratives. From Congo Square to the speakeasies of the jazz age, from the revolutionary happenings of the ’60s to the AIDS activism of the San Francisco buyers club, our time traveling tale invokes a tradition of rebel spaces — sites of music, healing, and resistance.
The team includes Grace Galu as composer/performer, Baba Israel as writer/performer/co-director, Talvin Wilks as dramaturg/co-director, and Nic Benacerraf as environment designer/associate director, in collaboration with hip hop and spoken word collective, Soul Inscribed, and an ensemble of dancers that includes members of the revolutionary Urban Bush Women – Courtney Cook, Chanon Judson and Sam Speis, dance sensation Tatiana Barber, and mesmerizing street dancer Twice Light.
““Cannabis!” is like a party where weed is the guest of honor, thrown by hosts whose ardent, uncritical devotion is about pleasure but also politics.”
CANNABIS! A VIPER VAUDEVILLE had its long-awaited world premiere in July 2022 at the Ellen Stewart Theater (it’s original run was planned during HERE and BMP’s Prototype Festival in January 2022), co-presented by the PROTOTYPE Festival and La Mama.
In addition to the performance, CANNABIS! incorporates curated outreach initiatives including workshops, partnerships with local activists, educational residencies and a dynamic mix of after-show panels, cyphers, DJ’s and community calls to action.
Additional support for CANNABIS! is provided by the MAP Fund; the New England Foundation for the Arts; and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Forbes | "An Exciting New Theatrical Show Is Tackling The Long And Complicated History Of Cannabis"
“…positively captivating audiences with a mix of fun, education, and some pain to remind us of this amazing plant’s polarizing history”