The Importance of The Prom Musical

When you think of mainstream LGBTQ cinema, what films come to mind? I’m talking about movies your every day person has probably heard of. So let’s think. Brokeback Mountain. Milk. Moonlight. Love, Simon. The Birdcage. Rocketman. Dallas Buyers Club. Carol. Of all those movies, only one is about lesbians. While all LGBTQ individuals are underrepresented in media, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals have significantly lower representation than gay men. Oftentimes, it seems like the film industry only focuses on the G in LGBTQ. That’s one of the many reasons I was excited for the movie adaptation of Broadway musical, The Prom.

When I was in NYC in the summer of 2019, I asked friends what shows I should see. Obviously I was going to see Laura Benanti in My Fair Lady because she’s Laura F***ing Benanti, but I was torn about what else to see. I’d heard great things about Beetlejuice and Be More Chill. I didn’t know much about The Prom, except that it was about lesbians. And, lets be honest, that’s all I needed to know to go see it. 

There aren’t many queer coming-of-age stories that have a happy ending - or even much comic relief. The closest Broadway has come is Fun Home, the Tony-winning adaptation of cartoonist Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel about her own childhood as an ambitious and curious queer girl, but with dark themes of suicide and loss woven throughout.

The Prom follows the story of 17-year-old Indiana high school student Emma, who wants to take her girlfriend to prom; some of the vocal parents in the PTA disapprove and threaten to cancel the dance altogether. A couple of Broadway actors who, upon getting bad press for being narcissistic, take it upon themselves to help Emma rage against the PTA and let Emma have the night she dreams of with her girlfriend. Her girlfriend, it is revealed in the first half of the show, is Alyssa Greene, the daughter of the PTA mom most vocal in the crusade against same-sex prom dates.

The message throughout the show about acceptance and learning to listen to one another is desperately important. It’s universally transformative musical theater, in all of its cheesy, eye-roll-inducing glory, can be. Star of the Broadway show, Caitlin Kinnunen, had this to say about it; “It ends with a kiss and joy and positivity instead of saying, ‘Your life is going to be hard for the rest of your life.’ You have enough of that in the world; let’s have some light.”

This show is a joy! Hell, I loved the show so much that I stood outside the stage door and met the cast and then I saw it again a few days later, dragging my younger sister along with me. I figured, she’s a teacher, she has queer students, she has to see this.

So when the movie version came out, I was excited about it. I knew it wouldn’t live up to the Broadway show, movie versions rarely do, but I firmly believe this story needed to be told. Upon its Netflix release, a friend on Facebook posted this:

“I watched the Prom. Theater friends, y’all liked that? I thought it was dumb. A white girl being bullied for being a lesbian in 2020.”

As an out lesbian woman, that comment reeked of privilege. Do my straight counterparts not realize that, despite all the progress we think we’ve made, kids are still being bullied in schools for being gay? LGBTQ youth face a far greater risk of violence and suicide than their straight counterparts. Don't believe me? Here are some stats for you:

• 43% of transgender youth have been bullied in school.
• 29% of transgender youth have been threatened or injured with a weapon, compared to 7% of cisgender youth.
• The suicide rate for LGBTQ youth is 3 times higher than for straight youth.
• 29% of transgender youth, 21% of gay and lesbian youth and 22% of bisexual youth have attempted suicide, compared to 7% of straight youth.
• LGBTQ youth represent 40% of the homeless youth population due to things like family rejection.

And that’s just a small glimpse into a much larger problem. LGBTQ youth as a whole are not getting the support, affirmation and safety they need and deserve.

Is The Prom perfect? No. Is the movie version anywhere near as good as the stage version? Definitely not. It’s a little more campy. It strays from the stage version some. And I would have loved if the character of Barry Glickman was played by a gay actor, such as original Broadway cast member Brooks Ashmanskas. (Let’s be real, the movie cast was fine, but I would have absolutely loved it if all of the OBC was in the movie. The chemistry between Caitlin Kinnunen and Izzy McCalla is palpable from the beginning, whereas in the movie version, it takes some time to grow and be believable.) 

But is the story relevant? Absolutely.

I remember being a closeted high school student, so afraid of what I might lose by coming out. While I came out to myself in college, and started coming out to others shortly thereafter, it took me until I was almost 30 to come out to my parents. As a high school student, even though I knew I was gay, I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined taking a girl to the prom. (I did go with the best guy friend though!) I'm incredibly lucky that when I did come out, my family has stood by me, but I know that's not true for a lot of people.

(My great prom date and I in our chucks)

I wish everyone could have gotten to Broadway and seen the OBC in all of their glory, but I know that’s not realistic. So this movie can bring this important story to everyone. It can be a conversation starter and open some previously unopened doors. 

In honor of this incredible show, here are videos of me singing two of my favorite songs from the production.