Audiences can escape to ‘The Prom’ at Lost Nation Theater through Aug. 4
July 24, 2024 | By Waterbury Roundabout 
The cast of Lost Nation Theater's production of 'The Prom.' Photo by John Snell
Local theater fans have an upbeat summer musical comedy to check out at Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier where “The Prom: the Musical” is running Thursdays-Sundays, through Aug. 4.
Marking its 35th anniversary, Lost Nation Theater chose the show inspired by real-life events and created by Tony winners Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin (book and lyrics), composer Matthew Sklar and Jack Vietrel (original concept).
The story? Lost Nation puts it this way: “Worlds collide when brassy Broadway divas descend upon a small town in Indiana to champion a teen who just wanted to take her girlfriend to the prom and got banned.”
The plot is hardly all fiction. In 2010 a Fulton, Mississippi, high school senior sued her school district after the school board cancelled the prom that year rather than allow her to attend with her girlfriend. Although the court found her rights had been violated, the judge did not order a prom to go on, according to the show announcement.
That’s the slice of real life in the story.
The fictionalized part of “The Prom -- the Musical” plays out as four eccentric Broadway stars in need of a new stage and a new image search for a cause to help reinvent themselves and their careers.
With the help of Twitter, they find trouble brewing around a small-town prom in Indiana where Emma just wants to wear a tux and take her girlfriend but the town’s parents want to keep the high school dance on the straight and narrow.
The Broadway characters dive in to take up the cause and put the spotlight on both the issue and themselves. They manage to team up with a courageous teenager and the story’s sympathetic principal.
Lost Nation’s show announcement contains a spoiler, but we’ll refrain from sharing it here.
“The Prom” is the winner of the Drama Desk Award for Best Musical. The Lost Nation production features the expected song and dance treatment and it also manages to poke some fun at musicals.
Director is Eric Love and choreographer is Taryn Noelle are back together after leading the company’s 2023 summer production of “The Addams Family.” On stage is a cast of 22 actors from around the U.S. and from Lost Nation Theater’s regulars including Kim Bent, Kathleen Keenan, Orlando Grant, Liz Gilmartin, Coyah Mosher and Mark Roberts.
Musical director is Tim Guiles, lighting designer is Samuel Biondolillo, scenic designer John Devlin, Jessica Della Pepa Clayton is on costumes; sound engineer is Andrew Vachon and Kim Ward is stage manager. The orchestra features some of Vermont’s busiest pit orchestra musicians, too.
Showtimes through Aug. 4: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays–Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. A livestream is available for ADA access given that the Montpelier City Hall elevator is still out of commission since the 2023 summer flood. Masks are recommended but not required for in-person audience members.
Tickets: Prices range from $10 to $31 based on location and ticket type (student, senior, general admission). Guaranteed seating is available for an additional fee. Purchase online at lostnationtheater.org or in person at Montpelier City Hall (clerk’s office) Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. More information: 802-229-0492 or info@lostnationtheater.org.