THE PROM Previews- Page 7

[kelsey1389]

Posted: 10/28/18 at 4:28pm

This is probably a super weird/random question to put on here but here we go. Can I bring my mom to this show? I hesitate to use the word homophobe but my mom will (I think) not be excited that the main plot stems from a lesbian couple. Can't think of the right way to word this, but ... how much is the (for lack of a better term) "gay stuff" part of it/how in your face is it? (For reference, my mother refused to see Head Over Heels because "it just is too gay"

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 10/28/18 at 4:33pm

kelsey1389 said: "This is probably a super weird/random question to put on here but here we go. Can I bring my mom to this show? I hesitate to use the word homophobe but my mom will (I think) not be excited that the main plot stems from a lesbian couple. Can't think of the right way to word this, but ... how much is the (for lack of a better term) "gay stuff" part of it/how in your face is it? (For reference, my mother refused to see Head Over Heels because "it just is too gay""

My moms the same way. I would skip this one with her since the entire plot has a gay theme to it. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/28/18 at 4:43pm

kelsey1389 said: "This is probably a super weird/random question to put on here but here we go. Can I bring my mom to this show? I hesitate to use the word homophobe but my mom will (I think) not be excited that the main plot stems from a lesbian couple."

Pick another show.

[Mike Costa]

Posted: 10/28/18 at 4:50pm

CoreyRyan3 said: "Look, this show is not perfect. It’s hokey, it chews the scenery, it wears its little bleeding heart on its sleeve and it loves every damn minute of it. But that’s exactly what makes this show so special. It achieves exactly what it sets out to do, which is to beat us over the head with heart and a message of acceptance and tolerance. And I know some people don’t go to the theatre to “preached” at, but this one finds new ways to make this journey fun, quick, enjoyable, and downright hysterical.

Beth Leavel and Brooks Ashmanskas are giving next level “scenery chewing performances” and should be in the running for their respective Tony Awards regardless of whether this closes before the award season. They bring this show to the next level. If it weren’t for them, I fear that this show would fail to do a lot of what it does best, but they are so exceptional that you can’t help but love them (love to hate them/roll your eyes at them?) from the very beginning.

I totally disagree with the sentiment that Whizzer has stated about this show being “so bad it’s good”. I love Whizzer and his reviews and I wholeheartedly agree with him that you should see this show but I do disagree here. This show is NOT bad. It’s actually very cleverly written and performed, and while it’s sentiment is different from most shows on Broadway, as I’ve said before, it is doing exactly what it’s trying to do. I think saying this show is “so bad it’s good” takes away from what this show was meant to be when it was written. It’s not a Sondheim-ian mental and emotional analysis of a small town in Indiana, it’s not some grand statement on the state of our country, it’s not a nuanced socio-political play about a young lesbian, it’s an old-fashioned (and hokey) musical, meant to make you smile, dance in your seat, and leave with joy and pride in your heart for the story it tells. And for the first time in a long while, I left the theatre with a smile plastered across my face that I wasn’t able to remove for the rest of the night.

See this one. It’s special."

Cory is spot on with this. Everyone here is at the top of their game. Have you forgotten The Drowsy Chaperone, camp is what Bob Martin does... And he does it better than anyone. This is a first rate cast, you will not find a better cast on Broadway now. The roles were actually written for the performers to show their strengths-it makes a difference.

I hope the marketing campaign can somehow catch up to match the quality of what is in the theater.The original Sideshow closed because of bad marketing choices. This may suffer the same fate.

Yes, the plot sounds convoluted on paper but it is how they move theatrically from one ridiculous plot point to the next that  keeps you engaged.

If you like the Forbidden Broadway or Something Rotten or Charles Busch you will love this.

 

[Mike Costa]

Posted: 10/28/18 at 5:02pm

For the poster who asked if they should see King Kong or The Prom, there is no comparison. King Kong has the most astonishing puppet ever put on the stage but the book, music and lyrics fall entirely flat.

 

The Prom is probably the best honed musical-comedy since The Producers... Okay, it's no Mel Brooks, but it is that kind of professional, tight fun with an A- list cast that rarely happens.

[JBC3]

Posted: 10/28/18 at 6:52pm

I am now having fond flashbacks to the joyful bundle of cotton candy that was the Drowsy Chaperone, particularly the laughs Danny would get whenever he proclaimed "I am Adolpho."

[romain2]

Posted: 10/28/18 at 6:55pm

Saw the show on Sunday October 28. What a total delight. The leads are all excellent, the dancers terrific. The performance received an enthusiastic response and deserved it. Lovely.

[downhillskier]

Posted: 10/29/18 at 4:30pm

Thanks so much to all who recommended this great show! Was visiting for the weekend and trying to decide what else to see. The Prom was not on my radar previously. Saw it Sunday due to reviews on this board and my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed, as did the entire audience. Definitely a crowd pleaser. We are passing on the recommendation to all we know in NYC and visiting. Thanking those who post thoughtful reviews. This is a great resource. Wishing this show success!

[robskynyc]

Posted: 10/29/18 at 4:55pm

downhillskier said: "Thanks so much to all who recommended this great show! Was visiting for the weekend and trying to decide what else to see. The Prom was not on my radar previously. Saw it Sunday due to reviews on this board and my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed, as did the entire audience. Definitely a crowd pleaser. We are passing on the recommendation to all we know in NYC and visiting. Thanking those who post thoughtful reviews. This is a great resource. Wishing this showsuccess!"

love this! So happy you enjoyed it!!!

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 10/29/18 at 11:18pm

I thought this was cute, but not as great as everybody has been saying. 

The good: 

- Beth Leavel is something else. Tony nomination for sure. The entire cast is delivering very good work, but Leavel is on her very top game.

- Caitlin Kinnunen is very endearing.

- Scenic, lighting, and costumes are good (except for the wigs, which are noticeable and bad on almost every ensemble member wearing one). 

- The message is, of course, lovely. It’s a very upbeat, sweet show with a takeaway that hopefully everybody can rally behind. 

The not-so-great:

- Casey Nicholaw delivers exactly the same overdone, insane, and meaningless choreography that he did in Mean Girls. I don’t think he’s heard the words “purpose” or “restraint” since Book of Mormon.

- The book is only decent. Act I is actually very good (with a long song at an Applebee’s, though), and the climax/twist at the end of the act is earned dramatically very well. Act II, however, felt very methodical and clearly laid out on a whiteboard before they put pen to paper. I also thought most of the writing was very on the nose and without any nuance.

- The score is kind of forgettable, except for the “Dance with You” song. Sorry.

- I could’ve done without the political references/“jokes.”

I feel bad criticizing a show that clearly has a lot of heart, but like Whizzer, I just kept feeling like I’ve seen it all before. 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 12:39am

Well, there were lots of very positive reactions on here, so perhaps it’s because of that hype, but I liked it and didn’t love it. Beth Leavel stoke the show and truly was something else. Her voice was top notch and the hamminess was perfection. The others were all good but not on the same level (Leavel ??).

Songs were very tuneful which I didn’t expect when I saw that they were written by the same guys behind Wedding Singer. Pleasant surprise.

Choreography was nothing new. Yup, everyone is very in sync, but it does nothing for the story and felt stale.

The book had too many moments of political or religious negativity. There’s literally a whole plotline about how theater is special because it’s an escape from our world and then I heard lots of modern aggression being mirrored on that stage. Oh well.

Overall it was good and I can see it doing very well in schools. Wish them well!

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 11:14am

Two more songs were released in this Times article.
I love this show!
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/theater/the-prom-broadway-brooks-ashmanskas-beth-leavel.html

[Sincerely Werk!]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 12:58pm

A few of my friends have been telling me about this musical and I've been thinking about getting tickets but I have question: Do you think they'll ever release a cast album? I've been DYING to listen to "The Acceptance Song" 

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 1:01pm

Cast Album comes out Dec 14!

[Elegance101]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 1:03pm

Sincerely Werk! said: "A few of my friends have been telling me about this musical and I've been thinking about getting tickets but I have question: Do you think they'll ever release a cast album? I've been DYING to listen to "The Acceptance Song""

They already recorded it!

[downhillskier]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 1:28pm

billyelliotfan123 said: "Cast Album comes out Dec 14!"

Yay!

 

[Sincerely Werk!]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 1:30pm

Thanks! I did a lil research and I could only find "Dance With You", so I assumed it was just a preview.  

[dukehead]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 11:01am

Elegance101 said: "Sincerely Werk! said: "A few of my friends have been telling me about this musical and I've been thinking about getting tickets but I have question: Do you think they'll ever release a cast album? I've been DYING to listen to "The Acceptance Song""

They already recorded it!"

Actually, no - they are recording it 11/12-11/13. 

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 11:49am

dukehead said: "Elegance101 said: "Sincerely Werk! said: "A few of my friends have been telling me about this musical and I've been thinking about getting tickets but I have question: Do you think they'll ever release a cast album? I've been DYING to listen to "The Acceptance Song""

They already recorded it!"

Actually, no - they are recording it 11/12-11/13."

Well if that’s the case, they already recorded 4 songs. 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 12:08pm

IdinaBellFoster said: "dukehead said: "Elegance101 said: "Sincerely Werk! said: "A few of my friends have been telling me about this musical and I've been thinking about getting tickets but I have question: Do you think they'll ever release a cast album? I've been DYING to listen to "The Acceptance Song""

They already recorded it!"

Actually, no - they are recording it 11/12-11/13."

Well if that’s the case, they already recorded 4 songs."

 

Yup.  They're called demos.

 

[Talyn]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 12:10pm

JSquared2 said: "IdinaBellFoster said: "dukehead said: "Elegance101 said: "Sincerely Werk! said: "A few of my friends have been telling me about this musical and I've been thinking about getting tickets but I have question: Do you think they'll ever release a cast album? I've been DYING to listen to "The Acceptance Song""

They already recorded it!"

Actually, no - they are recording it 11/12-11/13."

Well if that’s the case, they already recorded 4 songs."



Yup. They're called demos.

"

Y'all are ruthless... sheesh.  <shakes head>

[robskynyc]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 12:20pm

saw again last night.

no changes to songs, but a bunch of changes to the dialogue

SPOILERS

Most notably: Emma and Alyssa during their little prom posal talk. its more light hearted/fun. Alyssa doesnt freak out about a "big gay prom posal"

and Alyssa's mom when Alyssa comes out, she gives her a more meaningful talk "i just dont want you to have a difficult life" to which alyssa says "it already is mom"

[lucillefrank]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 2:50pm

I really really enjoyed this. I liked act 1 (in the way that I liked Mean Girls but didn't love it) and then act 2 made me fall in love. I think the score is wonderful. It's so funny too (BETH LEAVEL!!!!!). I could do without the eating disorder joke and the usage of "dyke" from Brooks' character though. And I just have to say Isabelle McCalla is incredibly talented (Caitlin too). I shouldn't be shocked/impressed that she's such a good actress but there are a few younger performers these days who can SING but couldn't act their way out of a paper bag, so it was nice to see her. 

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 3:09pm

JSquared2 said: "IdinaBellFoster said: "dukehead said: "Elegance101 said: "Sincerely Werk! said: "A few of my friends have been telling me about this musical and I've been thinking about getting tickets but I have question: Do you think they'll ever release a cast album? I've been DYING to listen to "The Acceptance Song""

They already recorded it!"

Actually, no - they are recording it 11/12-11/13."

Well if that’s the case, they already recorded 4 songs."

Yup. They're called demos."

Yeah - I'm aware of the concept. Just seems odd to record 4 songs from your show and post them as pre-downloads on various streaming sites when they're simply demos. But however the producers choose to spend their money is up to them.

[dramagoer]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 4:12pm

On the one hand it's enjoyable... on the other hand, it's..... um...... this is Broadway?