What is "The Smoker"?

The Plot: From Scooby-Doo to Scooby-Flu

Scooby-Doo is a classic animated mystery-comedy franchise about a group of friends and their talking Great Dane, Scooby-Doo. The Mystery Gang - Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby - travel in their van, the Mystery Machine, solving supernatural mysteries. In most episodes, the group investigates ghosts and monsters only to reveal that the "supernatural" threat is a person in disguise, using the ruse to further their schemes.

Scooby-Flu tells the story of Michigan Medicine in turmoil when a computer virus (the Scooby-Flu) infects all the hospital technology after someone clicks on a phishing email. Follow the Medical Mystery Gang - Justin Dimick, Paige Myers, Laura Mariani, Matthew Wixson, and Jorge Iniguez-Lluhi - as they solve the mystery of who sent the phishing email, save Michigan Medicine, and learn a thing or two about themselves along the way.

A Message from the Czars

Since 1918, Michigan medical students have been producing "The Smoker." In 1962 the Smoker became a musical due to the genius of Bob Bartlett, also known for inventing "ECMO," whatever that is. For over a century, the show has been conceived, written, performed, directed, and produced entirely by medical students. It is one way that we say both “Thank you” and “We love you” each year to not just our educators, but medical school itself.

Before anyone gets their white coat in a twist, producing comedy in a professional medical environment can be challenging. Comedy is all about making people laugh, but few enjoy being laughed at - particularly when they work long hours and devote themselves sacrificially to such a noble profession (with, totally unrelatedly, a large and steady paycheck). The Smoker takes inspiration from comedy greats before us - Monty Python, Key and Peele, Yo Gabba Gabba - to highlight the silliness, individuality, and ridiculousness present in ANY environment and ALL people, attendings and medical students alike. We laugh at ourselves, too!

Because the Smoker is a comedy show, some characters will be exaggerated or have features or personality traits invented for the sake of the plot and the show. As we came up with the characters for the Mystery Gang from Scooby-Doo, for example, we needed a Daphne character (a pretty, self-absorbed person) and a Shaggy character (a stoner). We chose to align these characters with a medical specialty, rather than an individual. So, the "Daphne" character would be a specialty focused on looks: Plastic Surgery. The "Shaggy" character would be a specialty focused on drugs: Anesthesiology. As you enjoy the show, keep in mind that what you see on stage are characters whose words, actions, and motivations do not reflect the real physicians whose names we use. This includes our "bad guys." Any good piece of theater needs conflict, but since no villains exist at Michigan, we take liberties. 

Finally, we are excited to showcase the diverse faculty, staff and students that we have at the University of Michigan Medical School. We realize that the race, gender, ethnicity, ability, and/or sexual orientation of our individual cast members may not match that of the characters that they are portraying. While challenging, we hope that our portrayals will highlight the awesomeness of those who work here at the University.

So, dear faculty, if any of our jests cause a chuckle or raise an eyebrow, rest assured it is all in good spirit. After all, laughter is the best medicine. We appreciate your willingness to approach our show with a sense of humor. Enjoy!