“The Prom” tells two tales in one: the redemption of four narcissistic Broadway actors, and the shunning and bullying of a high school girl whose prom was canceled when she wanted to take her girlfriend as her date. The second tale is based on the true story of lesbian teen Constance McMillen of Mississippi who was barred from attending her school’s prom with a date in 2010.
The upbeat musical comedy was written by Bob Martin (“The Drowsy Chaperone”) and Chad Beguelin (“The Wedding Singer”), along with composer Matthew Sklar. “The Prom had a nine-month Broadway run in 2018 and was adapted into a Netflix film in 2020.
Tonight, San Diego Musical Theatre opens its own production of “The Prom,” directed by Gerilyn Brault.
“There are two storylines to this piece,” Brault said. “One of them is a love letter to theater artists and the other a celebration of self-expression that I think will resonate with a lot of theater patrons.”
The musical begins with four faded Broadway stars looking for a cause they can publicize to boost their careers. Kürt Norby, Wendy Waddell, Juliet Fischer and Dan Mason play these theater has-beens who decide to , in their own self-interested way, a high school student named Emma played by Kylie Stucki.
“It has that love letter to theater (‘We Look To You’) at its core,” said Brault, “and there’s a quote that our musical director (Van Angelo) and I were talking about: ‘We look to you, as strange as it seems, when reality goes to scary extremes.’ The time we are doing this musical is scarier and more fraught with uncertainty than when they originally published it.”
Brault says the show is about “queer joy and resilience.” It’s not a story told in anger.
“If anything the anger is performative activism,” she said. “There’s that secondary theme through the piece with the New York characters. These people start out as aging narcissists with selfish intentions who try to navigate when each of them gets grounded in their own vulnerability. Their experience with Emma changes them.”
For 22-year-old Stucki, “This show has been on my radar for several years. Emma is such a reluctant hero. She’s the opposite of the New York characters — she does not want the publicity but she still wants that end goal of making a difference. She also represents the frustration that most of the rest of the world feels, which is ‘Why does she have to do this? Why has it come to this?””
Stucki cited a personal connection to a prom in her own recent past.
“When my senior year came around we weren’t supposed to have a prom (because of COVID restrictions) but some of the parents put one on anyway,” she recalled. “I had my first gay kiss at that senior prom. It was one of those moments where time stood still. So it’s cool to be in ‘The Prom’ right now telling another queer love story.”
Stucki — an experienced dancer turned fledgling musical theater performer — itted that her childhood aspiration was to be “a Disney Channel star.” Now?
“I want to be like the Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson of the acting world,” she said. “Where do we go when we need someone with muscles in this jungle setting? Who do we call? They call ‘The Rock’ every time.”
‘The Prom’
When: Opens tonight and runs through June 1. 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays
Where: San Diego Musical Theatre, 650 Mercury St., Kearny Mesa
Tickets: $65-$75
Phone: 858-560-5740
Online: sdmt.org
