It’s not easy to intimidate Ana Gasteyer.
This is, after all, the actress who’s starred opposite silver-screen megastars like Mel Gibson, Danny DeVito and — loath as we are to include her in such esteemed company — Lindsay Lohan; the comedienne who can shift from oversexed radio deejay to former first lady before you’ve even finished watching “Martha Stewart’s Topless Christmas Special;” and the performer who trills, tattles and tokes her way through Showtime’s upcoming “Reefer Madness” (premiering Saturday at 7 p.m.) — without even breaking for munchies.
Yet even the multi-talented Gasteyer, who spent seven years on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” admits she couldn’t dominate the Northwestern musical theatre program. After auditioning for the annual Waa-Mu show as a freshman, the self-described “Mee-ow person” realized she was better suited to comedy — and so did the Waa-Mu cast.
“They all thought I was a freak, I think,” says Gasteyer, who blames the experience on a fellow member of Willard Residential College who told her to audition.
But that was college. Gasteyer has since worked to hone her singing skills, breaking from “SNL”-esque entertainment to pursue a passion for musical theater. After making her Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated “Rocky Horror Show” in 2001, the versatile performer appeared in Eve Ensler’s controversial “The Vagina Monologues” and after an appearance in “Reefer Madness,” she’s slated to play Elphaba in the Chicago production of “Wicked.”
This recent metamorphosis, though, would not have been possible without Gasteyer’s extensive experience with improvisation groups, including the Los Angeles-based Groundlings and NU’s own Mee-Ow.
“There’s no question my sketch background helps everything I do,” the actress explains. “In ‘Reefer Madness,’ even though it’s this incredibly high camp … you have to play situations from a very real point of view in order to elevate the comedy. Sketch comedy gives you a really good foundation in that.”
And so does NU, apparently. Gasteyer attributes much of her success in the entertainment world to her NU education, beaming as she reflects on the “A-worthy” collegiate experience.
“There’s a real professional quality (to NU actors),” Gasteyer explains, citing fellow alum David Schwimmer. “They’re always the actors that keep their headshots current, write their thank-you notes and their postcards and stay on top of it.”
“The Groundlings definitely launched ‘SNL’ for me,” she adds. “But my discipline and motivation were all pure Northwestern.”
Which brings us to Mae Coleman, Gasteyer’s ganja-loving alter-ego in “Reefer Madness.” Inspired by the notorious 1936 anti-marijuana propaganda film, the tongue-in-cheek musical comedy chronicles a group of clean-cut kids (and not-so-wholesome adults) who fall victim to the wacky wonders of good ol’ Mary Jane. Think of it as a cross between “Grease” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” — then take three sizable hits, kick back and enjoy two guffaw-inducing hours of tripped-out cinema.
Lest you be misled by such a doped-up description, though, we should clarify that “Reefer Madness” is not all high times. While Gasteyer does cite one target audience as “anyone who has a relationship with marijuana on any level,” she maintains that the film is far from “Half Baked.”
“It’s not necessarily a drug movie,” Gasteyer explains. “I think it’s a musical, and I think it’s a parody, and I think it’s a social commentary.”
She’s referring, of course, to the public phobia that stems from the almighty cannibis leaf. To emphasize such mass hysteria, director Andy Fickman plays “Reefer Madness” as a movie-within-a-movie.
The central story (a throwback to the film’s propagandized predecessor) depicts a series of grossly unrealistic marijuana-induced side effects, each more outlandish than the last. Virginal Mary Lane (Kristen Bell), for example, transforms into a sex-crazed dominatrix after a singular toke, while her boyfriend, Jimmy Harper (Christian Campbell) is framed for murder while under the influence.
Periodically, though, the story switches to a 1930s “reality,” and a group of horrified suburban parents cringe while watching the fictional exploits of Jimmy and Mary, much in the way America responded to the original anti-pot propaganda — an irony that, for today’s less conservative age groups (read: stoned college students), proves uproariously amusing.
“It helps if you understand that smoking pot doesn’t make you go psycho and murder people,” Gasteyer says, noting that the film comments on “controlling people through fear.”
But make no mistake: “Reefer Madness” is no “Fahrenheit 9/11.” The film embraces its campy side (there is, after all, a musical number that boasts a singing Jesus) and the cast proudly displays their own vocals throughout the production — something that Gasteyer believes makes the film “real, honest and modern.”
Wow. An actress who can link cinematic integrity with marijuana? Now that’s Northwestern.4
Medill freshman Dan Macsai is the PLAY film editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
