Grace Galu likes to joke that Cannabis! A Viper Vaudeville thrives on adversity. She, along with Baba Israel and the rest of the team, started working on the theatrical concert before marijuana was legal in New York. After tackling that hurdle, the show premiered while COVID-19 was still running rampant across the world. Now, in 2025, Cannabis! is coming back, and in a landscape of raids and political uncertainty, this run is perhaps more needed than ever.
Cannabis! A Viper Vaudeville is returning to New York, performing at Joe’s Pub on July 9th and 10th. The shows will focus on the theatrical concert’s songs, but the group is in the process of returning for a full-fledged revival of the show, complete with the set, dancers, and video elements.
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The show is the brainchild of Israel, who grew up around the plant. His father was a member of Living Theater, a political theater company that used cannabis as part of its creative process. After reading Smoke Signals by Martin Lee, Israel began to write the lyrics to the song that would eventually become “Plant of the People.” From there, he got the word out about the show; soon after, Galu arrived at the studio (in the middle of a snowstorm, no less) and “brought the song to life.”
As the name suggests, Cannabis! A Viper Vaudeville is a multi-medium experience, weaving music, speech, and dance to tell the long story of cannabis in this country.
“Hip hop has this kind of rebellious tradition…it has this impulse to mix things that aren’t normally mixed,” Israel told GreenState.
The show mixes the music from greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Bob Marley with Mexican folk music and hip hop groove, aiming to “make you feel like you’ve traveled to a certain location in the world—a certain time period,” Galu explained. “Music is kind of our magic device that lets us travel…thousands of years.”
Viper was a code word for stoners in the 30s jazz scene. Louis Armstrong, one of the show’s focuses, was apparently a huge one. To Galu, this juxtaposition of the Armstrong that America loves versus the use of cannabis that is so condemned creates powerful potential to destigmatize the plant.
Who’s the show for?
According to Galu and Israel, Cannabis! is for cannabis connoisseurs and skeptics alike. The latter recalled a showgoer who previously held a lot of stigma towards the plant: they were dealing with significant health issues and, after seeing the performance, ended up becoming a medical user and seeing promising results. The crew saw many parents bringing children to the show, in part because of its robust roots in history and direct quotes of policy.
Israel (writer/performer/co-director) and Galu (composer/music director/creator/performer) worked alongside Talvin Wilks (dramaturg/co-director) and Nic Benacerraf (environment designer/associate director) to create Cannabis! A Viper Vaudeville, in collaboration with Soul Inscribed, Urban Bush Women, and many more.
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Tickets are available here.
The cannabis industry has always been tied to activist and creative spaces, and the creators of Cannabis! A Viper Vaudeville show, especially in times of unrest, the plant is always a good place to look.