KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — The great American tradition of going to prom can be a joyous rite of passage or a nightmare, depending on which group you belong to.
That notion is spotlighted in the new Netflix movie The Prom, a musical comedy about a group of theatre performers who rally behind a queer high school student when she and her girlfriend are banned from attending prom.
Directed by Ryan Murphy, the film features a stellar lineup including the likes of Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, James Corden, Kerry Washington and newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman.
Actress Ariana DeBose, who plays Alyssa, recalls her prom night vividly.
“I went with my best friend Jonathan who is a white, straight male and he knew at the time I was in my questioning phase,” said the actress who came out publicly a few years ago.
“This girl I had a crush on came up to me and asked me to dance with her and he was like ‘Go for it, live your dreams’ and so I did.”
But the sheer joy was cut short when DeBose realised she and her female dance partner were being stared at — not in a nice way.
“It was the first time I had experienced that sort of judgment or prejudice in a public space and I remember going really red in the face and I backed away from her because I felt ashamed.
“That put a damper on the evening, on what was pretty much a great night,” the Broadway star said recently through Zoom.
DeBose added the unfortunate moment came full circle for her in her new film where two queer girls get to dance together at their prom and be cheered on and empowered.
The Prom cast share their own prom night stories:
Kerry Washington
The Django Unchained actress had a fun prom experience which she attended with her high school sweetheart whom she was madly in love with.
Washington even designed her own dress.
But in hindsight, the Scandal star said the special night really was a privilege not afforded to many.
“It was really one of those moments where I think ‘Oh, this is what privilege looks like’ because I didn’t have to worry when I was in high school about the fact that the love of my life was a girl and what that might mean and how that might complicate my world and cause frustration and difficulty and fear.
“So I loved being a part of a film that also asks us to question our assumptions about what’s normal for young people,” the mum of two said.
Jo Ellen Pellman
The rising star who plays Emma in the movie attended a progressive high school so she was fortunate enough to bring anyone she wanted.
“I remember wearing a really pretty red dress which I rented and I was so proud of how I looked and I danced the night away with friends.
“It was really about friends for me and I mean, even then it still has nothing on the inclusive prom that Ryan threw for all of us.”
James Corden
Proms might not be a popular tradition in Britain and the Carpool Karaoke host couldn’t be more relieved because he believes he wouldn’t be able to get a date.
“I didn’t realise how much of it was about who you ask to prom or who you get to go with.
“I think for me at that point in school it would just have been a litany of rejections so I would have just ended up being in a park drinking cider which is what I was doing anyway,” Corden said.
Andrew Rannells
The seasoned Broadway star who has been in Hamilton and Hairspray attended an all-boys Catholic school and wasn’t fully out at the time so he took his best friend.
“She was 20 and I was 17 so it was a little bit of a scandal with the priests at my school because I brought a grown a** woman to the prom, or at least it felt like that,” said Rannells who plays Trent Oliver.
“Nothing happened, we were singing show tunes in my car on the way to prom — there was no sex.”
The Prom starts streaming on Netflix from December 11.
