The Prom is Broadway’s newest feel-good show. The story: Washed-up Broadway stars want better publicity, so they become activists and lead the protests against a small town’s objection to a lesbian from attending the prom with her girlfriend. The end result? A delightful musical with SO. MUCH. HEART. You are a literal monster if you don’t walk out of The Prom with a smile a mile-wide on your face.
5 Reasons You Gotta See It:
1. Caitlin Kinnunen. She plays our high-school lesbian hero and simply sparkles up on that stage. Caitlin is pure magic and you won’t be able to keep your eyes off her in every single scene she’s in. It’s impossible not to root for her character. Take that, GOP!
2. Casey Nicholaw’s direction and choreography. This is Casey’s FOURTH show that is currently running Broadway, no big deal. He’s the genius director behind The Book of Mormon, Mean Girls, Aladdin, and now The Prom. If you haven’t seen those shows, know that you can always expect a lot of energetic dance numbers when Casey is at the helm. Casey’s shows are usually the very definition of “bright” and “fun”!
Photos: Deen Van Meer
3. Brooks Ashmanskas. This Broadway veteran has more credits than shows you’ve seen, so you’ve probably seen and loved him in something, including Sunday in the Park with George, Shuffle Along…, and Something Rotten! He’ll keep your heart racing from the moment the lights go up all the way through to the curtain call. It’s going to be hard for Tony Award nominators to ignore Brooks’ performance in The Prom.
4. It’s hilarious. Bob Martin, Chad Beguelin, and Matthew Sklar have written a riotous show that is both Broadway insider-y and accessible at the same time. The show’s upbeat show tunes are easy on the ears and the book makes the audience straight-up LOL for two and a half hours straight.
5. #Dreamcasting. The show is so perfectly cast you’ll want to petition The Broadway League to create a Tony® for Best Casting and give the first award to Telsey + Company. Broadway favorites Beth Leavel and Christopher Sieber are both playing roles that suit them to a P, er…a tee! Ensemble members Vasthy Mompoint and Joomin Hwang (the badboy from KPOP!) also shine. Oh, and Michael Potts’ (Brother Mouzone from The Wire!) delightful school principal is the kind of dude you want on your side when fighting for gay rights!
Muster up enough courage to prompose to your crush and take them to see The Prom on Broadway!
Runs through August 11.
Bonus: click here to read about one of the producers Nelda Sue Yaw in our #WomenOnBroadway series!