You might think, ‘Prom!’ What a fitting musical for the end of the year, as prom season at LZHS rolls in. And while that is true, this musical is about much more than just a dance.
Based on a true story, Prom, according to Amanda Lagerlof-Perez, junior who plays Alyssa Greene, is about a teenager named Emma Nolan, who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom.
“The whole community is very against it, especially the mother of her girlfriend, and [they are] kind of keeping their relationship secret,” Lagerlof-Perez said. “It kind of blows up, the courts are involved, and so these four Broadway stars decide to come and help her out and give her a voice.”
Beyond just giving Emma Nolan a voice, Lagerlof-Perez finds that the themes Prom touches on are an important story to tell, saying that although “our school is very privileged [to be] very accepting of all types of people, homophobia and bullying still happens.” Drew Kuntz, junior in the ensemble, agrees with this sentiment, and is one of the reasons she enjoys the musical.
“I really like that the Theater Department feels comfortable to take on such an important theme, a modern theme that has had a lot of controversy in the past few years. I think that’s a really cool thing that we get to share that message [of acceptance],” Kuntz said.
While Prom does touch on heavy topics, the overall genre of the musical is a comedy, which Kuntz says will “resonate with a lot of people.”
“It’s a show [with] very infectious energy. There are a lot of really funny moments, and I think a lot of [the cast] had fun playing around with the humor of different situations, especially the leads who have really big character parts. There are a lot of really funny lines,” Kuntz said.
“It pokes at things that are very relevant to modern day issues, but kind of does so in a light hearted way.”
Though Prom will display an outwardly fun and lighthearted performance with upbeat music, preparing for the show has not been easy. Lagerlof-Perez says that she has faced some obstacles while learning to really channel her character.
“I think the role for myself and a lot of other people involved is challenging because in order to relate to the role, I have to touch on some parts of myself that are more difficult to access and harder to face and the show is about stepping out of your comfort zone and accepting other people, and I think it can be challenging to be accepting of yourself,” Lagerlof-Perez said.
However, with two months of rehearsals behind them and tech week coming up, Kuntz says that they have “made a lot of progress and rehearsals have been really productive.”
Opening night of Prom will be on Thursday, April 24 at 7 p.m., and people can also come watch on Friday, April 25 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 26 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
But if the message of the musical and the promise of comedy has not convinced you to come already, a sneak peak might. LZHS Theatre will be performing at the spring assembly on April 17.
“We will be performing the dance break part of the finale,” Kuntz said. “It’s one of my favorite choreography sequences in the show, so I think it’ll be fun.”
For tickets, click this link.
