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Marijuana' Role Perfect For Tommy Chong
Ed Bradley | MLive.com | 07/31/2006

Starring in a show called "The Marijuana-Logues" would seem like a natural for Tommy Chong.

"I've been associated with pot so much," says the actor-comedian. "So if you're going to do anything about pot, you come to me."

Chong, who came to fame as half of the drug-adoring comedy duo of Cheech and Chong, has been a solo since 1985. But his career is on the upswing, and not just because "The Marijuana-Logues" is on a North American tour after enjoying a successful off-Broadway run last year. (It plays in two shows Saturday at the Royal Oak Music Theatre.)

Chong also has a book, a memoir titled "The I Chong: Meditations From the Joint" (Simon & Schuster), coming out Aug. 8. A documentary about his recent travails, "a/k/a Tommy Chong," has been playing the film-festival circuit. There's even talk about a Broadway musical based on the 1970s Cheech and Chong stoner-classic movie, "Up in Smoke."

A semi-regular on the recently canceled sitcom "That '70s Show," Chong admits he doesn't smoke much at all anymore because of his age (68), but maybe it's also because he's too busy.

"My plate's a little full," Chong said in a recent interview from Los Angeles. "I'm on a book tour. There's a movie they want me to direct, a TV show someone wants me to star in."

He doesn't elaborate on those projects, but he readily brings up his book, which he calls "meditations from the joint, what I went through in jail. ... You learn to appreciate your freedom."

Chong spent nine months in "the joint" after a 2003 conviction for conspiracy to distribute drug paraphernalia. His company had sold a high-end bong to what turned out to be a federal agent.

"I'd been working on another book before prison, a story about Cheech and Chong, for five years," Chong said. "But I was inspired to write the new one when I got out (in 2004) and it only took a couple of months."

Chong provides the same personal touch in "The Marijuana-Logues," a parody of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues." Written and initially performed by Arj Barker, Doug Benson and Tony Camin, it has retained the latter two actors to go with Chong on stage.

"It's essentially about three guys sitting around talking about pot," Chong said, laughing.

"Those (other two) guys are a lot younger than me, but I'm there to add my take. I've got my own outlook on things that's unique and very recognizable. It's really validated the play."

Not surprisingly, "The Marijuana-Logues" comes with a "disclaimer": "This production does not glorify drug use. Rather, it illustrates that cannabis culture is a thing of substance, humor and creativity."

"I think if you google 'pot,' you get my name," Chong quips. "The producers definitely found that out. We went from packing a little off-Broadway theater to filling bigger 3,000-seaters."

 

gabster1

way to go mr chong