The next best thing to being a good person is appearing to be one, which is why four Broadway stars—well, two Broadway stars, one chorus member, and one actor-turned waiter—decide to find a cause to take on.
Poverty’s too big, so they nix that idea. But reforming a small Indiana town that canceled prom rather than let a lesbian attend with her girlfriend? Easy as Hoosier pie.
So they think, anyway, in The Prom, onstage at Circle Theatre, May 15-31. The musical takes a warm-hearted, funny look at the trouble we can get into when trying to do good, and the good that can result from it anyway.
It’s an ensemble cast—rather, it’s two ensembles. The first is made up of Dee Dee Allen (Kathy Gibson), an “older but not old” Tony award-winning belter; Barry Glickman (Michael Coon), a sparklingly gay man clinging to his Drama Desk award; Angie Dickinson (Elizabeth Barry), who’s been in Chicago’s chorus for three decades, dreaming of playing Roxie Hart; and Trent Oliver (Matt Hartman), former Juilliard graduate, current waiter, and incurable bore.
This first ensemble, battered by bad reviews and dwindling opportunities, travels to Indiana. “We’re going to help that little lesbian/whether she likes it or not,” Barry sings in “Changing Lives,” a great comic number.
In contrast to this narcissistic troupe is Emma Nolan (Paige Lord), a sincere, hurt high school kid who only wants to attend prom like everyone else. Her girlfriend, Alyssa Greene (Hailie MacKay), is loving but closeted; she’s also under the thumb of her homophobic mother, played as a sort of PTA Nancy Grace by Emily Diener.
The celebrity do-gooders descend onto a meeting led by the school’s principal (Mr. Hawkins, played by Ryan Blok) like a rainbow flag brought to twirling life. Their attempts to shame the community into compassion fall hilariously flat, setting up questions that will drive the rest of the play: will Emma get her prom? Can love conquer bigotry? And is there overlap between Broadway fans and monster truck rally enthusiasts?
Dee Dee, Barry, Angie, and Trent are both written and played broadly, allowing for the kind of gleeful sendup of self-involved theatrical performers that comes from affection and first-hand knowledge. The book is deft enough to permit them humanizing moments, too, especially toward the end; suddenly, these characters, so over-the-top, have become real.
Less of a satirical approach is taken with Emma and Alyssa (although a good pickup truck joke manages to slide in). That’s probably because gay kids, even today, are subject to enough ridicule as it is. What that risks, though, is exactly what Emma says she doesn’t want: to be turned into a symbol rather than a person.
That Emma retains her personhood is due in large part to Lord herself, who plays the character with a winning combination of vulnerability and joy. She’s got a great smile, and she manages to lose herself in dancing. When you’re young, there are moments of happiness so uncomplicated by anything else that your cares melt into nothingness. Lord conveys those moments well. Just as believable are her songs “Dance With You” and “Unruly Heart.” You can imagine her repurposing the lyrics from entries in her diary.
Musically, The Prom picks up and sets down musical influences without much fuss. “Zazz” is particularly good. In it, Elizabeth Barry’s Angie shows Emma how to dance like she’s in a Fosse show. Other standouts include “The Lady’s Improving,” “It’s Time To Dance,” and the comically bad “The Acceptance Song,” which could easily have been penned by a Ricky Gervais character.
The dance numbers range from small and intimate to big and bold; in the latter, Mikki Robinson, as Kaylee, could often be seen dancing her heart out; Circle should add her to as many casts as her schedule permits. Mieke Moll, choreographer, arranged the dancing with an eye toward revealing character, sometimes comedically, sometimes movingly.
Near the end of the opening night performance, several audience members’ phones went off at once, announcing a severe thunderstorm and tornado watch. After the final bows, a crew member advised that audience members were welcome to shelter in the big, solid theater. Welcoming and solid: not a bad way to describe The Prom.
The Prom
Circle Theatre
May 15-31
https://circletheatre.org/production/the-prom/
