MUSICAL ROM-COM PROM IS DA BOMB!
Oh, the high school prom! Has any event, short of one’s wedding perhaps, ever been given more stress-inducing over-attention? Who to bring, what to wear, how to get there, corsages, after-parties, and more—it’s amazing it ever goes well. So, what a great setting for a play where the main student character isn’t welcome at prom because she wants to bring her girlfriend.
Kürt Norby (Barry), Kylie Stucki (Emma)
Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin’s delightful book is a case of “when worlds collide,” starting with two unrelated stories and bringing them together.
PLOT #1: In smalltown Edgewater, Indiana, Emma (Kylie Stucki) just wants to dance in public with her girlfriend Alyssa (Lyric Boothe) but the PTA’s president Mrs. Greene (Sandy Campbell) is having none of that in her town. Emma doesn’t want to make a scene or take a stand; she just wants to enjoy what her peers get to do.
Kylie Stucki (Emma), Lyric Boothe (Alyssa)
PLOT #2: Meanwhile, in NYC, Broadway superstars Dee Dee Allen (Wendy Waddell) and Barry Glickman (Kürt Norby) have just bombed big-time on their new show’s opening night. The press, however, have attacked the pair more personally than professionally, calling them self-absorbed and narcissistic (non-spoiler: The press is right!). Rather than having actual feelings about these attacks, the egotistical duo set out to create a PR response to this assault by doing some kind of public good to show how much they care (which, of course, they don’t). They discover Emma’s plight online and Barry is flamboyantly gay and Dee Dee’s fan base is almost entirely gay. With their three friends, a not-so-successful actor named Trent (Dan Mason), ex-dancer gal pal Angie (Juliet Fischer), and PR consultant Sheldon (E.Y. Washington), the artists excitedly decide, planlessly, to rush off to Indiana and make Emma their cause célèbre to re-boost their public image. They don’t fit into small town life at all and their missteps are the cause of great fun for us, if not Emma.
Wendy Waddell (Dee Dee), Ron Christopher Jones (Mr. Hawkins), Kürt Norby (Barry),
E.Y. Washington (Sheldon), Juliet Fischer (Angie), Dan Mason (Trent)
Interestingly, while The Prom is definitely fiction, it was inspired by something that actually occurred in 2010. Constance McMillen of Fulton, Mississippi wanted to bring her girlfriend to their senior prom and wear a tuxedo. The school board instead banned McMillen from attending the Prom. When McMillen pushed back legally, the board canceled that year’s senior prom. Celebrities—such as Green Day, Cat Cora, and Lance Bass—used social media to back McMillen and were a part of putting on what they called the “Second-Chance” prom, welcoming all, including McMillen.
Beguelin’s lyrics and his script with Martin are full of great zingers that stick in my mind, even a day later. A favorite example is Dee Dee, talking of the Edgewater PTA: “I understand furious town folk; I did Beauty and the Beast!”
The cast
Music behind those lyrics, by Matthew Sklar, is upbeat and the ensemble takes to it well. The outstanding voice is Ms. Stucki as Emma, who is terrific in solo, but at her best when paired for terrific harmonies with Ms. Booth (who was the best Mimi that I’ve seen to date in Wildsong Theatre’s Rent). Although a few of the highest notes challenged her, Ms. Waddell has a powerful voice that is right on target when it’s in her range. She nails the vain lady of the stage, giving great humor to her struggles. Mr. Norby yields big laughs with his grandeur and voice, especially in “Barry is Going to Prom.”
Ron Christopher Jones (Mr. Hawkins), Wendy Waddell (Dee Dee)
The song of the night, though, goes to Ms. Fischer in “Zazz,” where Angie shows that, while not in her twenties anymore, she can still put out a performance that would have impressed Bob Fosse. The song is razor-edge close enough to “All That Jazz” to clearly draw the comparison, and she pulls it off triumphantly with fun choreography by Xavier J. Bush. Bush’s best work is yet to come, though, with a strong full-cast production of the finale, “It’s Time to Dance.”
Kürt Norby and cast
The Prom has so many great moments and director Gerilyn Brault does a terrific job of bringing out the best in her actors with touching moments, never losing sight of the fact that this is a comedy first—even the costumes (Chong Mi Land) and wigs (Monique Hanson) are there to make us laugh. And laugh we did.
Juliet Fischer (Angie), Wendy Waddell (Dee Dee), Kürt Norby (Barry), Dan Mason (Trent)
photos by Karli Cadel
The cast
The Prom
San Diego Musical Theatre
4650 Mercury Street San Diego, CA 92111
Thurs & Fri at 7; Sat at 2 and 7; Sun at 2
ends on June 1, 2025
for tickets, call 858.560.5740 or visit SDMT
