The Prom is a party with too many guests -- but at least everyone's invited by Mabel Weismann

Who looks at a news story about a girl whose high school prom was canceled because she wanted to bring her girlfriend as a date, and thinks “This would make a great musical!” The creators of “The Prom” did just that, proving theater magic can transform anything into a new, immersive world.

The 2020 Netflix original movie based on the 2018 Broadway musical, “The Prom” is a fun romp that theater lovers young and old will enjoy. With references to plenty of Broadway shows, a star-studded cast with names you’ll certainly recognize, and a score full of catchy songs, “The Prom” is delightful, but too many main characters make it confusing and a bit hard to follow at times.

“The Prom” centers around two stories: a small town Indiana lesbian, Emma Nolan, who just wants to bring her girlfriend to prom; and a quartet of down-on-their-luck but very self-absorbed Broadway stars who are looking for good press. When Emma’s school PTA freaks out and cancels prom rather than make it inclusive, it hits the national news. When the Broadway actors hear about it, they improbably decide to hop on a bus and try to save Emma and the whole town-- to get the attention for themselves they crave. 

Based on real events, the story is one of terrible discrimination and bullying. And how the theater, a place of escape, teaches about inclusivity and love. The theater community is known for being inclusive to all, and members of this community have been important figures in supporting human rights movements, including LGBTQ+ rights. This movie, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, made the lesbian relationship in the story seem really normalized, which I hope becomes more common.

The casting is great-- Emma Nolan and Alyssa Greene are played by actresses who identify as queer. But unfortunately they hit one sour note, by having the very talented but straight James Corden play a role more appropriately filled by a gay actor. Corden plays the over-the-top stereotypically gay actor Barry Glickman for laughs. And isn’t the message you want from a movie that’s supposed to be inclusive toward everyone to be, well, inclusive?

The costumes and lighting go hand in hand with color palette and emotion in each scene. At the very beginning, a dance sequence outside Broadway theaters takes place with flashy, jewel-toned, formal costumes, but in Indiana, the color palette is muted and regular (but adorable!) clothes, until the last prom scene, where the color palette reflects back to the same jewel tones we saw on Broadway. 

With this movie I definitely saw the creative team’s vision, with direction by Ryan Murphy (known for directing Glee), knock-your-socks-off choreography with giant ensemble numbers by Casey Nicholaw (director/choreographer known for so many Broadway hits, from “Mean Girls” to “Something Rotten”), but the choice to record the songs then have characters lip sync, rather than blend a studio recording with on-set singing, was off-putting and took me out of the story. 

Meryl Streep gives it her all in every role, and it’s a great choice to have her play the self-centered Broadway star Deedee Allen. She has high and low moments where the audience is shown how her troubles have affected her life. And her character undergoes one of the biggest changes of anyone in the show as she transforms from narcissist to caring friend. 

Andrew Rannels, a star theater fans know from ‘Book of Mormon,’ portrays desperate actor Trent Oliver, bartending and out of work after a role on the TV show ‘Talk to the Hand.’ The running joke, that he makes sure everyone knows he attended Julliard, is a great touch, and that he’s always the actor who’s recognized for his bad sitcom role, never the big Broadway stars. Nicole Kidman delivers a funny performance as the forgotten chorus girl, but her character is gone for so long in the middle of the movie, you almost forget she exists. Keegan Michael Key gives a sweet performance as the kind principal and the only one in Indiana who seems to be on Emma’s side. He develops a relationship with Streep’s character and is the catalyst for her transformation, teaching her to think of others' needs before her own. This dynamic is rarely seen on TV- a younger man falling in love with an older woman- which I think was important to represent as well.

But the truly breakthrough performance is Jo Ellen Pellman, playing Emma Nolan, in her screen debut. Pellman is cute and likable, with a lovely clear voice, and goes through ups and downs so seamlessly you forget that she isn’t actually the character. Unfortunately, she is overshadowed by the overwhelming number of big ‘stars’ in the film. Hamilton veteran Ariana DeBose plays Alyssa Greene, Emma’s girlfriend, who has plenty of baggage: she hasn’t yet come out to her overbearing mom, who also happens to be the president of the PTA and the anti-gay activist leading the movement to cancel prom. 

Overall, the songs are catchy and I couldn’t help but dance along, even in the few moments where I questioned lines (a K-Mart joke is set up that never pays off) or character choices (James Corden… take a chill pill), they hope you’ll forget after another fun dance break smooths things over.  I think this show transferred well to the small screen, unlike many musicals that only make sense live on stage. The huge ensemble, varied lighting choices and real sets shot in schools and malls were incredible and spectacular (which aren’t quite Indiana-like, but ssh).

Most people have access to a Netflix subscription so The Prom offers an affordable way for more people to see a Broadway show. While the Prom may not be for all typical Netflix audiences, filled with theater references and jokes, and lots and lots of songs and dance numbers (I’m not complaining!), it is a heartwarming and super enjoyable show to watch. And everyone should get to go to this Prom.