The Prom follows a group of failed actors (plus a non-union touring cast of Godspell) who rush from Broadway to Indiana to the aid of a teenage lesbian named Emma who’s been told she can’t attend prom with her girlfriend. They mean well, sort of, but they’re ultimate Liberal Buffoons — clumsy, overly ambitious, and out of touch with life in small-town America. While each of them eventually figures out how to really help (be it with money, fashion advice, or dance lessons), it’s Emma who brings her school to her side by being truly, honestly, perfectly herself.

Each of the characters we meet in the first number are fun, perfect instances of “actors”: there’s Dee Dee Allen (Meredith McCall), two-time Tony winner now panned by critics; Barry Glickman (Ryan Everett Wood), one-time Drama Desk winner with a big, soft heart; Trent Oliver (Gabriel Bernal), a child star who wishes he’d be remembered for something else; Angie Dickinson (Tracy Jai Edwards), who’s been in the chorus of Chicago for twenty years and has the legs to prove it. McCall was, unfortunately, the most plastic of the bunch; I’m not sure what it was exactly, but she didn’t match the energy of the rest. McCall clearly is not comfortable with much dancing, and though her vocal performance was impressive, her physical performance was lackluster. One of her big numbers, “The Lady’s Improving”, features her in a sparkly jumpsuit standing on a desk, but I found myself watching her backup dancers instead of her.

At the very center of the whole plot is Ellie Loudermilk as Emma Nolan, the teen lesbian the Actors have come to help. Loudermilk has a killer voice with an impressive range (who writes such a range for a teen?) and flits between speaking and singing as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It’s Loudermilk’s candid performance that gives the whole show its heart. Loudermilk is sometimes thrilled, sometimes heartbroken, and at all times self-assured, despite her less-than-accepting community. “Nobody out there ever gets to define,” she sings, first alone on the stage, then surrounded by life and color and dance, “The life I’m meant to lead/With this unruly heart of mine.”

(Yes, I did cry at the end.)

Jamie Goodwin as Emma’s principal Mr. Hawkins has playing a leading man down to a science; he’s genuine, handsome, and the only adult that seems to actually care about Emma’s wellbeing. Amber Quick is delightfully Karenish as Mrs. Greene, the head of the PTA that originally cancels the titular prom, to the chagrin of her daughter Alyssa (Blakeney Mahlsedt). Other folks that round out the cast include Kenny Williams as Barry’s agent, Sheldon; Samari Davis, Chloe Van De Graaf, and a whole host of a student ensemble filling the stage in bedazzled costumes (Jeffrey Meek) amid an impressive set (Michael Raiford).

Choreography by director Cassie Abate is incredible, high energy, modern, powerful, non-stop…I could go on! It doesn’t just go with the show; it adds to and makes the show in many ways. It is a school dance, after all. Students are constantly moving! They are doing backflips! And there is not one tap shoe in sight! It’s just so fun to watch.

I only wish the ZACH didn’t use tracked music. A production company this big and well funded and backing tracks? Sure, there’s no orchestra pit in the venue, and in this particular show, the whole stage is really needed. They aren’t bad backing tracks, either, and the cast are well-practiced in their timing. Maybe it’s a personal preference. Maybe I’m missing the connection, no matter how rehearsed, that’s present every time an actor and conductor work together.

Photo by Suzanne Cordeiro

The Prom runs through May 12, 2024 at The Topfer at ZACH. For info and tickets, visit the ZACH online here. Wear your sparkliest outfit!