Review: THE PROM at New Stage Theatreworks

What do you get when you mix four washed-up Broadway actors and a small Indiana town hell bent on saving their community from big government and a teenage lesbian’s lifestyle choices? A musical number at the PTA meeting, three whole proms, and a viral Youtube video later, we have our answer: New Stage Theatreworks production of The Prom, which is, without a doubt, a musical worth seeing. 

The Prom is a show with music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Beguelin and Bob Martin. It follows four New York actors in the midst of a PR crisis traveling to the small conservative town of Edgewater, Indiana to help a high school girl whose Prom was canceled because she wanted to bring her girlfriend to the event.  

The first major character the audience is introduced to is Dee Dee Allen (Chelsea Ealum), a two time Tony Award winning Broadway star and raging narcissist. From the first moment Ealum appears onstage, she captures the audience’s attention with her stage presence and phenomenal voice. There was not a single moment on the stage where she was not selling this role, but I fell in love with her performance during her second show-stopping musical number, “It's Not About Me,” where Ealum took to the floor mid-PTA meeting and knocked the audience’s socks right off. Ealum’s partner in all things showbiz, Barry Glickman (Robert Stuart), give a similarly fantastic performance; Stuart tapped into both the comedy and the heart of his role with ease, giving the audience a three-dimensional look at the over-the-top character that is Barry Glickman. The quartet of Dee Dee Allen, Barry Glickman, Trent Oliver (Joshua Simon), and Angie Dickinson (Ashleigh Littlefield), had amazing chemistry and a dynamic that kept the audience on the edge of their seats. Their playful banter worked especially well because their individual characters were so strong. 

But, this show is not about the Broadway divas who come to Edgewater, Indiana, despite what they might want you to think. This show is about Emma Nolan (Emma Pastula), a high school student who just wants to bring her girlfriend, Alyssa Greene (Hannah Ripley), to their school’s prom. Pastula’s Emma can best be described as an awkward teenage girl in way over her head. Pastula’s Emma, from start to finish, felt like a real person with real stakes in the outcome of the show’s events. Some highlights from her performance include her rendition of Emma’s Act 2 song "Unruly Heart" and her performance in the Act 1 finale. Pastula has great chemistry with most of her scene partners; her scenes with Stuart provided one of my unexpected favorite dynamics in the show. However, her relationship with Ripley’s Alyssa is a place both of them get to shine. The two play off of one another’s energy whenever they interact, easily selling the idea that this is a couple that’s been together for a year and a half. Their easy connection makes Ripley’s Act 2 number, “Alyssa Greene” and their subsequent breakup all the more heart-wrenchig for the audience. 

The leads were not the only place this company shined; the entire cast had phenomenal comedic timing and, for the most part, filled the stage with energy, excitement, and enthusiasm. The ensemble’s chemistry with each other created a sense of reality in such an outlandish show, grounding the production with human behaviors. The production, directed by Naomi Rose-Mock, uses the space on the stage effectively and in numerous clever ways and the choreography by Taylor Whittle brought the musical numbers, under the musical direction of Conner Fabrega, to their fullest potential. 

There will be a kickass prom in Edgewater, Indiana the rest of this weekend! New Stage Theatreworks production of The Prom runs one weekend only, January 18-21, at Quincy Music Theatre. It’s not one to miss!