Kaitlyn McQuillan and Kalan McKay Photo by James Arthur MacLean Photography
I tell this story a lot, although I wish that it would stop being so continually relevant: When I was Grade 12 in 2002 there was a prominent news story about a young man in Oshawa, Ontario who was graduating from a Catholic High School there and the school was trying to prevent him from taking another young man as his date. I went to Sacred Heart School here, also a Catholic school, and as the story was in the headlines, just as we were getting organized for our own prom, the Director of the High School came into one of our classes and stood in front of us and assured us that we were allowed to take whoever we wanted to our prom. In the moment I remember it being so awkward, twenty girls looking around at one another to see if anyone would be jumping at this opportunity, and who that might be, but in hindsight this was the most proud I have ever been of Sacred Heart School and Pauline Scott, the then Director of the High School. I will remember this day forever, grateful that this was my Catholic School experience.
Neptune Theatre School’s YPCo Spring production is The Prom, a musical written by Matthew Sklar, Chad Beguelin, and Bob Martin, based on an incident at a school in Mississippi in 2010 where a girl was banned from taking her girlfriend to her senior prom. In Oshawa in 2002 a Superior Court Justice granted Marc Hall the right to attend the prom with his boyfriend, and he did. In Mississippi, however, even after winning her suit against the school district Constance McMillen faced further barriers from an entire community seeking to alienate her and keep her away from her peers at prom, and it is this ongoing homophobic saga that Martin, Sklar, and Beguelin explore in their musical.
The Prom plays at Neptune Theatre’s Scotiabank Studio Theatre until April 28th, 2024.
In real life McMillen eventually received support from Green Day, Cat Cora, and Lance Bass, but in The Prom the creators ask “what if the support that someone in McMillen’s situation received was from fading and obscure Broadway performers just looking for their hook back into the spotlight and into their audiences’ good graces?” Thus, The Prom follows Dee Dee Allen, an aging petulant diva used to always getting her own way, Barry Glickman, if Nathan Lane performed as “Nathan Lane” offstage as well, Trent Oliver, a Juilliard grad in a Non Equity tour of Godspell, and Angie Dickinson, who has been in the chorus of Chicago for the last twenty years, along with their publicist as they crash into a small town in Indiana in a misguided attempt to help seventeen year old Emma take her girlfriend, Alyssa, to their prom.
Like in his earlier work The Drowsy Chaperone Bob Martin has written the book to this musical very specifically for a Broadway audience. It is filled with clever, literate jokes and meta-theatrical references, and while it both skewers stereotypes of the elite selfish neoliberal urbanity of New York City, as well as stereotypes of the bigoted ignorance of the Republican rural masses, the jokes about the former feel safer when they are coming from the mouth of a star like Beth Leavel, who played Dee Dee in the original cast. At the same time, the heart of the show is very much grounded in two of the characters who live in Indiana: Emma and her High School principal Tom Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins was already helping Emma to both survive and thrive in High School well before the hapless Broadway troupe landed on their doorstep, and, in the end, it is Emma who helps herself find the community she is missing, suggesting that, while celebrity culture can be helpful for raising funds, lasting change in the community usually comes from the community members themselves.
The score by Sklar and Beguelin is fun in that it pastiches a lot of different Broadway styles for its Broadway divas. Angie’s song “Zazz” harkens immediately to Kander and Ebb’s Chicago, while Trent’s “Love Thy Neighbour” is a nod to Godspell, and Dee Dee’s “The Lady’s Improving” has a bit of “Rose’s Turn” in it. The music for the High Schoolers has more of a pop- infused feeling, a nod to shows like High School Musical, but my favourite was Emma’s striped-down “Unruly Heart,” which is written to seem like Emma wrote it herself.
The music, as well as the theme, gives choreographer Liliona Quarmyne a lot to play with in terms of Broadway styles, from classic to contemporary, and the YPCo company do a great job at bringing these numbers to life with talent, skill, and enthusiasm. Geordie Brown, the Musical Director who also plays the keyboards, has helped the students navigate through these pastiched styles to really capture the fullness of the meta-theatrical humour at play here. Gina Thornhill directs the students, helping to build the relationships between Emma and Mr. Hawkins, and later Emma and Barry Glickman, which give the show its resonance.
Each of the students are given their moments to shine, and every single person on stage is working together to create an entertaining, sweet, and very funny night for audiences at the theatre. From Conor Pottie’s nerdy hotel receptionist to Alex Annis and Neve Lohnes popular cheerleaders, and Ella Murphy’s wildly overprotective mother, Mrs. Greene, all the characters are brought to life in vivid, three-dimensional, and interesting ways.
Solène Gadbois plays Alyssa, Emma’s closeted girlfriend, with an absolute sweetness that you see extends both to Emma’s feelings but also to her mother’s, however misguided and offensive those may be, and you can see so clearly how therein lies the deep conflict inside her. Louisa Morris, conversely, plays the brash and self centred Dee Dee Allen, with absolute bravado in tramping over everyone else in a very fun over-the-top performance. Samira George plays Angie, the most laidback of the Broadway babes, capturing a nice kind of Brooklyn affability, like if Natasha Lyonne were a chorus girl. Kalan McKay, as Barry, does a great job of ramping his Broadway swagger both up and down as he finds himself being truly touched by aspects of this town in Indiana, and a genuine kinship to Emma. Alex MacDonald plays Mr. Hawkins, a character very reminiscent of Man in Chair from Drowsy, but if he had a steady job and a life beyond his records, and MacDonald gives a really beautiful and nuanced portrayal of this straight middle-aged Broadway super-fan trying to be a fair principal, and to support one of his students against a very powerful and homophobic PTA. Tennessee Toombs really shines as Trent Oliver, who is basically acting out his resumé at every opportunity, giving Toombs so much room to play with hilarious physicality and voices, and to just be a complete joyful ham to excellent effect.
It’s interesting to note that the original actor to play Emma on Broadway in The Prom, was Caitlin Kinnunen, who was almost twenty-seven at the time. I think casting this show with real teenagers does highlight the fact that the show was written to be centred more on the adult characters, and there are certain aspects of Emma’s storyline, specifically, I found, around Barry convincing her to wear a prom dress when she is clear she wants to wear a tux, that are glossed over because they’re not really the point of the show. However, having seventeen year old Kaitlyn McQuillan playing Emma, and playing her as the proverbial “everyman”- reminds us of what the message of this musical is about- treating young people with the basic humanity and respect that they deserve- in allowing them to be who they already know they are, and not gaslighting them about it. McQuillan’s Emma is immediately likeable, easy to relate to, easy to connect with, and while that shouldn’t matter when adults are empathizing with real teenagers, it normalizes Emma’s experience here.
And unfortunately, her experience is normal, from Oshawa in 2002 to Nashville in 2023, LGBTQ+ students are continually being excluded, and in some cases demonized, by the adults in their communities here in Canada, in the United States, in the UK, and around the world.
We know when we are watching The Prom that not every situation will be wrapped up in a tidy bow with a song and dance like in this fictional Indiana town, but Bob Martin knows that laughter can be empowering, and also that it isn’t for “Liberals/Democrats/Progressives” to inflict their “superior morals” onto others, but for us all to find ways to support the progress already happening through the hard work of local individuals and organizations in their own communities. That, in this age of social media activism, is a really prudent reminder.
Neptune Theatre’s YPCo Production of The Prom plays at Neptune’s Scotiabank Theatre (1589 Argyle Street, Halifax) until April 28th, 2024. Shows run Tuesday to Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at both 2:00pm and 7:30pm and Sunday April 28th at 2:00pm. Tickets range in price from $25.00 to $35.00 based on seating.
For tickets please visit this website or call the Box Office at 902.429.7070 or visit in person at 1593 Argyle Street.
This runtime is approximately 2.5 hours, including an intermission.
The show deals with mature content and features strong adult language. The production covers LGBTQ+ topics and deals with bullying, specifically against LGBTQ+ youth. There is brief mention of drinking alchohol, xanax and sex. Mild language is used. This show contains flashing lights and loud noises.
The show is recommended for ages 13 and up. Babes in arms & children under 4 are not permitted in the theatre.
Neptune Theatre is fully accessible for wheelchair users. For more Accessibility Information Click Here.
