Pop quiz: When the press calls you a narcissist, causing your new Broadway show to close on opening night, and you need to find a do-good thing to save your career, should you: a) build houses with Habitat for Humanity, b) end world hunger, or c) “help” a lesbian high-schooler in Indiana go to prom?
If you are Broadway diva Dee Dee Allen (Daniela Innocenti Beem), fading star Barry Glickman (Tim Setzer), chorus girl Angie Dickenson (Chelsea Smith) and Julliard-trained ex-sitcom star turned waiter Trent Oliver (Jeremy Berrick), there’s only one answer. Hitch a ride with a touring production of Godspell (non-equity, of course), as you’ve got a PTA meeting to crash!
Based loosely on the real incident where a small-town PTA canceled prom rather than allow same-sex dates, The Prom (music & lyrics by Chad Beguelin, book by Bob Martin, music by Matthew Skylar, directed/choreographed by Jonathen Blue and music direction by Dr. Christina Howell), now playing at Sonoma Arts Live through July 28, is a chaotic trainwreck of funny silliness with a surprisingly non-schmaltzy heart that’s impossible not to smile at.
Sure, on opening night, there were a few foibles, such as inconsistent sound levels and some sloppiness in the large production numbers. Every time the lights in the house went up or down, the audience was blinded, and there was a disconcerting moment when the cast sang behind the audience, which was overwhelming in that space. But the cast seemed to be having so much fun that those things didn’t matter much.
Beem’s Allen was spot-on, and it was oddly logical for Smith’s Angie to be wearing a Roxy Hart costume offstage. Julia Holsworth’s PTA president, Mrs. Greene, was surprisingly nuanced, and Emma Sutherland’s Kaylee’s overt confidence was compelling. However, the standouts of this show were Hannah Passanisi’s Emma (the aforementioned high schooler) and Setzer’s Barry.
Passanisi plays Emma with a grounded stability and quiet dignity that allows her to avoid any of the angsty pitfalls the script could easily fall into.
Setzer’s Barry could have been just a stereotype. However, the truthfulness of the pain Setzer displays when Barry’s emotional scars start to show and the honesty of his performance lends his big fabulousness a poignancy that keeps it from becoming kitschy.
If you’re looking for a fun night with big songs, big laughs and big egos, order a corsage and call a limo—you’re going to The Prom.
Sonoma Arts Live presents ‘The Prom’ through July 28 on the Rotary Stage at Andrews Hall in the Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Thurs – Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $25 – $42. 707-484-4874. sonomaartslive.org.
