Taking the high road to comedy

March 28, 2007

By CATEY SULLIVAN Contributor

Think of it as "The Vagina Monologues" gone to pot.

"We basically wanted to do a show talking about marijuana the way they talk about vaginas (in 'The Vagina Monologues')," explains Doug Benson, a member of the trio who created the critically acclaimed "Marijuna-logues" now playing at the Lakeshore Theater. "We don't think people should feel any shame about their marijuana. We want them to feel proud," he said.

Never mind the crucial difference that while vaginas are legal, marijuana is not.

"It's not illegal to talk about marijuana," Benson said. "We cover a lot of ground, and we do it in a non-cliched manner," he added. "This is not just about you forget things and get hungry. We never use the word 'munchies.'"

Please note: Benson is officially licensed to smoke pot in his home state of California. So it's not like he's admitting to any sort of felonious behavior in "The Marijuana-logues."

"To get licensed, you have to see a specialist -- I got mine from this physician on Sunset Boulevard. For a fairly reasonable fee," Benson said, adding that his quest to keep his smoke inside the parameters of the law was precipitated by a car accident.

"Law enforcement has paid very little attention to our show," he added, and then in the sort of non-sequitur that would make Cheech and Chong proud. "You know it's funny how somebody in a rock band can get in all kinds of trouble for taking off their clothes during a show and then you've got Harry Potter naked three times a week on stage in London and nobody minds."

"The Marijuana-logues" is by no means a gateway show, he stressed. "I haven't heard of anybody trying to do like, 'The Heroin-logues,'" he said. "That doesn't even sound right. You need a vowel at the end of the word before '-logues.'"

"The Marijuana-logues" covers a wealth of weed-related topics, including etiquette ("There's a lot of rules that have come up over the years," Benson notes), the significance of the number 420, and the importance of not operating machinery (one exception: "A blender is OK") while under the influence.

Lakeshore Theater is located at 3175 N. Broadway, Chicago. Tickets are available at (773) 472-3492 or online by clicking here.

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