The Prom – Music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Chad Beguelin. Book by Bob Martin and Beguelin. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw. Scenic design, Scott Pask; costumes, Ann Roth and Matthew Pachtman; lighting, Natasha Katz; sound, Brian Ronan; wigs and hair, Josh Marquette; arrangements and orchestrations, Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Larry Hochman and Glen Kelly; music direction, Chris Gurr. Presented at the Hanover Theatre through May 1.
by Mike Hoban
The Prom, now playing at Worcester’s HanoverTheatre through Sunday, is a show that really accentuates the ‘comedy’ in musical comedy. This witty send-up of celebrity activism hits its comic mark far more often than not, as a quartet of chronically self-absorbed Broadway actors try to rehabilitate their reputations by embracing a cause célèbre, with painful but often hilarious results.
It’s opening night of Eleanor!, a new play on the Great White Way celebrating the life of iconic First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and Broadway legends and narcissists on steroids DiDi Allen (Courtney Balan) and over-the-top queen “I’m as gay as a bucket of wigs!” Barry Glickman (Patrick Wetzel) are basking in their own self-congratulatory glows. Then the brutal reviews come in. They’re straight out of the Frank Rich-at-his-most-caustic school of theater criticism (Didi’s performance is described by one critic as “an aging drag queen shoving a syrup-soaked American flag down my throat.”), shredding the delicate egos of Didi and Barry, much to the delight of the audience.
The humiliating takedowns of the stars focus on their bloated narcissistic personalities (“So talking about yourself nonstop is now narcissism?” asks Barry), and they decide to embark on a disingenuous image makeover by taking on the plight of Emma Nolan (Kaden Kearney), a senior at James Madison High School in Edgewater, Indiana, who wants to take her still-closeted girlfriend Alyssa (Kaylen West) to the prom. The head of the P.T.A., Mrs. Greene (Ashanti A’Jaria) – who is also Allyssa’s mom – is trying to put a stop to it by cancelling the dance entirely, making Emma the subject of scorn by the student body. Didi and Barry, along with two long-time but now struggling Broadway actors Angie (Emily Borromeo) and Trent (Bud Weber), commandeer a bus of a touring production of Godspell and head to red-state Indiana to allegedly “Change the World” in a desperate attempt repair their soiled but accurate reputations.
The potential cancelling of the prom appears about to resolve itself when the Broadway stars burst into the meeting. In the evening’s most self-aware line, Trent announces their arrival, declaring, “We’re liberal Democrats, and we’re here to pry open your tiny little minds!” The scene erupts into chaos, setting the stage for Emma’s attempts to get what any high school kid might want, a chance to dance with their date at the high school prom, and “Dance with Me” sung Emma and Alyssa, is one of the handful of touching duets sung by the teen lovers.
The cast is able if unspectacular, led by good performances by Balan and Wetzel, particularly Wetzel’s “Barry is Going to the Prom” and Balan’s “The Lady’s Improving”, which is a bit of a show-stopper. Kearney’s Emma grew on me as the show went on, and her rendition of “Unruly Heart” – an anthemic take on the modern musical’s dominating trope of “being who you are” – was the evening’s best number. The musical numbers in general are a bit generic, but delivered with heart, and production numbers, including the choreography, are energetic and fun. The Prom delivers an optimistic message about coming together to make the world a better place, but essentially it’s cotton candy for the brain, and I mean that it in a positive way. It’s a solid show, guaranteed to take you away from the COVID-induced hangover we’re still experiencing. For tickets and more information, go to: https://thehanovertheatre.org/
