Drug Use in Musicals
Drug Use in Musicals
cul8a
Swing Joined: 6/18/08
#1Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 4:25pmI am doing a project for school on drug use in recent musicals/plays and was wondering if anyone has any good suggestions of shows that would be relevant. I have already talked about Hair and N2N. Any help would be appreciated!
#2Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 4:27pmMimi has a heroin problem in RENT.
#2Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 4:30pmDoes it have to be a *major* problem in a show? I always thought the scene in Spring Awakening was interesting because Melchior "rolls Moritz a smoke" and then his mom walks in like a minute later, and doesn't notice a problem.
PiraguaGuy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/08
#3Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 4:32pm
In the upcoming American Idiot, Johnny, a bored kid from the suburbs, moves to the city and is pursuaded by a Marilyn Manson type named St. Jimmy to take drugs, which initially gains him the admiration of a girl, but...
**SPOILER**
his heroin use spirals out of control until he threatens the girl and himself with a knife. She breaks up with him, and he discovers that St. Jimmy was just another facet of his personality, his dark side. He gives up drugs and gets a boring desk job.
Jon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
#4Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 4:36pm
If HAIR is considered "recent", then you might as well talk about COMPANY (pot) MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (cocaine)and DROOD (opium).
Updated On: 2/15/10 at 04:36 PM
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#5Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 4:43pm
DRS: they are smoking tabacco, nothing more. It is not weed. It was totally acceptable for all to smoke tobacco. Everyone had to roll their own cigarettes.
To the OP:
BARE has quite a bit of drug use and underage drinking as well.
A Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neil deals with alcoholism and herion addiction.
Mystery of Edwin Drood has an Opium Den scene
That's all I"m coming up with on the Fly.....but there are many, many others.
Mattbrain
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/23/05
#6Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 5:04pm
In The Life, one character has a cocaine addiction.
Taboo goes into great detail about Boy George's drug addiction.
#7Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 5:08pm
There's the joint in Jersey Boys.
And does the potion in Jekyll & Hyde count? Ha.
I'm sure there's something in The Who's Tommy, too, although I was so bewildered by what I saw I don't remember.
#8Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 5:11pmCome Fly Away - sounds like a show that should include drug abuse. lol
#9Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 5:14pm
The Wild Party--both Lachiusa's and Lippa's--feature drug use heavily; the former musical has a song, "The Lights of Broadway," during which the character (Nadine) snorts coke intermittently while singing.
Kiss of the Spider Woman has several scenes that heavily feature morphine.
Passing Strange has several scenes involving drug use ("Arlington Hill," "Amsterdam," etc).
Mattbrain
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/23/05
#10Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 5:24pm
"There's the joint in Jersey Boys. "
That's not the only incidence of drug use in Jersey Boys. I'd mention it but if you haven't seen the show, it's a bit of a spoiler.
#11Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 5:27pm
In addition to the pot scene that's written in Company, there was also that 1996 Donmar production directed by Sam Mendes that had added cocaine use.
I believe it's in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28CkdFujKGM
AwesomeDanny
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/30/09
#12Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 5:30pmI think there's a scene in 9 to 5 where they get high. There was a broadway.com article about a year ago listing five musicals with marijuana use. Look it up.
Upland
Stand-by Joined: 1/18/10
#13Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 5:34pmIn Andrew Lippa's "The Wild Party," Idina Menzel's character, Kate, snorted coke in the middle of her song, "Life of the Party."
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#16Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 5:52pm
Bright Lights, Big City. I would assume from the plot summary.
Updated On: 2/15/10 at 05:52 PM
SporkGoddess
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/05
#17Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 6:20pmJimmy ODs in Dreamgirls, IIRC.
ifuweregay93
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/19/06
#18Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 6:30pmBasically all of the "truth" in Fame Becomes Me is about drugs.
ifuweregay93
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/19/06
#19Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 6:31pmBasically all of the "truth" in Fame Becomes Me is about drugs.
nmartin
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/3/05
#20Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 6:41pmMary Tyrone is addicted to morphine in Long Day's Journey into Night, NOT heroin.
#20Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 6:41pm
"Bright Lights, Big City. I would assume from the plot summary."
If it's even KINDA faithful to the novel, there is coke galore.
cul8a
Swing Joined: 6/18/08
#23Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 11:16pm
Frankie's daughter in Jersey Boys dies of a Heroin overdose.
Let's not forget the scene in Wicked where Elphaba cooks meth in the dorm room.
ashley0139
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
#24Drug Use in Musicals
Posted: 2/15/10 at 11:54pm
Most definitely Bright Lights, Big City
Lots of drugs
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