Music by Matthew Sklar. Lyrics by Chad Beguelin. Book by Bob Martin & Chad Beguelin. Australian Premiere. Teatro in association with On Your Feet Australia. Teatro at the Italian Forum. 24 Mar – 19 Apr, 2026.
I don’t know how many branches of Spotlight they had to ram-raid to make the sequin-clad set of The Prom at Teatro, but it was worth it. This new theatre is putting its most sparkly foot forward with a killer cast and irrepressible charm.
When newly out high-school lesbian Emma (Sophie Montague) is denied the right to attend prom with her girlfriend by the homophobic PTA, a group of narcissistic Broadway performers swoop into her small Indiana town to preach love and acceptance to the locals — and rehabilitate their own rancid reputations.
You’d think the plot twists in The Prom were too ridiculous — and too cruel — to be anything but fiction, but the story is adapted from real events. In 2010, high-schooler Constance McMillen was first banned from attending her own prom, then watched the school board cancel it entirely when she objected. When a court order forced them to proceed, local parents secretly threw a second prom and didn’t invite her.
Homophobes really are awful humans.
The Prom tweaks the story around the edges, throws in some high-energy pop tunes, and piles on the over-earnest messaging, laced with a healthy dose of Broadway self-mockery. Think modern-day Hairspray or queer Bring It On — bitchy students, stern parents, and sundry stereotypes played broad and bright.
The book is full of deep-cut Broadway references that won’t always land in Leichhardt, but will delight the MT fans. It’s camp pantomime as morality tale, and it leaves absolutely no room for subtlety. It’s the kind of thing I’d normally cringe at (I’m no fan of the Netflix film adaptation for exactly that reason) but here I found myself falling for its unrelenting technicoloured assault on my faculties.
Headlining the show is the pitch-perfect Caroline O’Connor as self-absorbed Broadway diva Dee Dee Allen. O’Connor’s physical comedy is dialled up to all-time highs and it’s an absolute delight to watch up close in this intimate space.
She’s joined by Brendan Monger as Barry Glickman, Allen’s middle-aged gay co-star, Bella McSporran who elevates the role of the forever chorus-girl Angie, and Thern Reynolds as the pompous ex-Juilliard alumni Trent Oliver. At the centre of it all is Sophie Montague as the shy Emma, whose stunning voice stands out even among this strong cast. The leads are surrounded by a talented, enthusiastic young ensemble who attack Nathan M. Wright’s excellent choreography with real gusto.
Designer Nick Fry pulls off some clever tricks to transform Teatro’s awkwardly shaped stage into a multifunctional space. The sequins — and there are so many sequins, cascading across both Cornelia Cassimatis’s costumes and seemingly every available surface — add up to something like a gay teenage fever dream. Shiny things + show tunes = fun in my book. Some early sound issues had me worried, but things settled as the night progressed and the band were pumping out the tunes.
By the final curtain I was cackling at O’Connor’s gags, marvelling as each costume somehow became more bedazzled than the last, and shedding a quiet tear at the happy ending. The Prom is exactly as silly and as spangly as it sounds — and if you give it half a chance, this high-powered, joyous ensemble will put a big ol’ grin on your face.
Cultural Binge 
Leave a comment