The Prom
Book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguel
Lyrics by Chad Beguel
Music by Matthew Sklar
Directed by Carl Andress
“Give ‘em some Zazz!
I like “The Prom.” it is a show about show people and high school students and their adult supervisors. The four actors are self-centered, ego-centric, self-involved egotists who don’t deserve the accolades they demand. They are very funny characters. The Indiana adults are a mixture of misguided and well-intentioned people who don’t live in the actual present day as we know it. The teen-agers are typical kids with their parents’ ideals. Stock characters in a unique situation. I love it. Oh, and the songs are terrific.
The actors are led by musical comedy star Dee Dee Allen, played with honesty and style by Kate Baldwin, and her co-star Barry Glickman (FDR to her Eleanor) played by John Scherer.
Juilliard graduate, actor and waiter, Trent Oliver, played by Danny Drewes and chorus girl Angie, played by Savannah Stevenson, make up the quartet of super-egos. Their goal, to support a beleaguered High School senior in Indiana, and combat the anti-lesbian barrage she suffers is really only a ploy to get some good personal publicity to counter a string of bad reviews for “Eleanor, the Musical.” Their plot backfires when they actually get involved. That’s the plot in a nutshell. It’s a funny premise and it works.
Emma, the girl in the picture, is played by Hannah Jane Moore. She is a wonderful talent with a beautiful voice and a sense of personality that is just great. Emma wants to take her girlfriend to the prom but is denied access to the dance instead. Moore plays the immature emotions of her character to excellent effect, especially when Alyssa, played well by Sophie Nassiri Morville, seems to reject her.
Alyssa’s mother leads the assaults on homosexuality, actors and any and all interference with her personal wishes. She is nicely played by Tracy Liz Miller. Principal Hawkins, Erick Pinnick, a Dee Dee Allen fan adds a lovely romantic, though judgmental, aspect to the show. The entire company does well in their roles, making for an excellent production. Baldwin and Scherer are especially fine as egotists who cannot be diminished by mere criticism.
Director Carl Andress and choreographer Krystyna Resavy keep the show constantly in motion and it works well for the dynamics of the story. A secondary tale of Barry Glickman’s own high school rejection plays well and gives the finale a little something extra to appreciate.
Andress is aided by a superior set designed by Christopher & Justin Swader, perfect lighting designed bt Jamie Roderick and beautiful costumes created by Kathleen Deangelis. Graham Stone’s sound design needed some readjustment.
Thanks to all the skills involved this is a very worthwhile production of “The Prom.’ I would happily repeat the experience and enjoy it again, if I could.
The Prom runs on the Olsen Mainstage at the Sharon Playhouse, Sharon, Connecticut through August 11. For information and tickets go to https://www.sharonplayhouse.org/boxoffice or call 860-364-7469 (ext. 200 & 201).
