Categories

Find Us

Where Love Conquers All

The Prom

Where Love Conquers All

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

January 8, 2022

By: Jordan Wright

Courtney Balan, Patrick Wetzel, Bud Weber and Emily Borromeo in The National Tour of THE PROM. Photo by Deen van Meer.

The Prom, Music by Matthew Sklar, Book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, Lyrics by Chad Beguelin, Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
cast: Kaden Kearney (Emma), Kalyn West (Alyssa Greene), Courtney Balan (Dee Dee Allen), Patrick Wetzel (Barry Glickman), Emily Borromeo (Angie Dickinson), Bud Weber (Trent Oliver),
Sinclair Mitchell (Mr. Hawkins), Ashanti J’Aria (Mrs. Greene) and Shavey Brown (Sheldon Saperstein). Photo by Deen Van Meer.

The Prom, Music by Matthew Sklar, Book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, Lyrics by Chad Beguelin, Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
cast: Kaden Kearney (Emma), Kalyn West (Alyssa Greene), Courtney Balan (Dee Dee Allen), Patrick Wetzel (Barry Glickman), Emily Borromeo (Angie Dickinson), Bud Weber (Trent Oliver),
Sinclair Mitchell (Mr. Hawkins), Ashanti J’Aria (Mrs. Greene) and Shavey Brown (Sheldon Saperstein)

Straight off, I want to say that although The Prom tackles serious subject matter and it handles it with the flat out fun of a confetti bomb. This story of two teenage lesbians forbidden to attend their school’s senior prom is no joke. It is set in Indiana, that bastion of Conservatism where alternative lifestyles are unacceptable and school regulations are governed by the PTA. 

In New York the glamorous Broadway musical star Dee Dee Allen and her co-star Barry Glickman, a prancy-and-proud-of-it queen, are having a bad day. While at Sardi’s, reading the next day’s reviews of their latest show, they learn The New York Times has murderously panned it and tagged them as “aging narcissists”. Hoping to change that perception (in Dee Dee’s case it’s true), they agree to find a social issue to publicly support. Checking what’s trending online – climate change, poverty, etc. – they seize on the viral Twitter issue of the prom. With that as their cause celebre, they head to Indiana with their publicist Sheldon, waiter/actor and Julliard grad Trent, and chorus girl Angie to drum up support for the teens and garner favorable publicity for themselves. Did you know thespian rhymes with lesbian?

Alyssa is still in the closet to her mother who heads up the PTA and is dead set against gay couples at the prom. Yes! We’ve got trouble. Right here in River City! Her girlfriend, Emma, is out and supported by Principal Hawkins who vows to fight the PTA mothers calling it a civil rights issue. How they resolve it, becoming activists in the process, is the hopeful message of this endearing musical.

The young company is absolutely adorable. You just want to hug every last massively talented one of them. And their dancing, thanks to fabulous choreography by Director/Choreographer Casey Nicholaw, is exceptional. Kaden Kearney gracefully embodies the zeitgeist of Emma and is well-bracketed by Patrick Wetzel as the hilarious, gay role model Barry; Courtney Balan as the marvelously ballsy diva Dee Dee; and eye candy handsome Bud Weber as waiter/actor Trent Oliver who squelches the haters with buckets of charm and bible excerpts.

With Emily Borromeo as Angie; Ashanti J’Aria as Mrs. Greene; Sinclair Mitchell as Mr. Hawkins; Olivia Cece as Kaylee; James Caleb Grice as Nick; Jordan Alexander as Kevin; Sheldon Saperstein as Shavey Brown; Ashley Bruce as Olivia Keating; Brittany Nicole Williams as Shelby; and Kalyn West as Alyssa. 

Book by Bob Martin & Chad Begulin; Music by Matthew Sklar; Lyrics by Chad Beguelin; Scenic Design by Scott Pask; Costume Design by Ann Roth and Matthew Pachtman; Sound Design by Brian Ronan and The Kennedy Center Orchestra.

Through January 16th. For tickets and information call 202 467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

Comments are closed.