The Prom (2020) on Netflix
An Indiana PTA cancels prom rather than let Emma Nolan attend with her girlfriend. Two Broadway actors whose show closed after one night head to the town to take up her cause.
- Netflix2.8/5
- IMDb5.9/1030,834 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes54%
Trailer
Plot summary
In Edgewater, Indiana, Mrs. Greene, who heads the PTA at James Madison High School, calls off the prom rather than allow a lesbian student, Emma Nolan, to bring her girlfriend Alyssa Greene. Alyssa is Mrs. Greene's daughter, and has not told her mother she is gay. Principal Tom Hawkins supports Emma but holds no power over the PTA. In New York, the Broadway actors Dee Dee Allen and Barry Glickman see their show about Eleanor Roosevelt shut on opening night after a negative review. The sitcom veteran Trent Oliver and chorus performer Angie Dickinson commiserate, and Barry argues the group needs a cause. Emma's story on Twitter takes them to Indiana with publicist Sheldon Saperstein and the touring cast of Godspell. Classmates Kaylee, Shelby, Nick and Kevin blame Emma for the lost prom.
Cast
Show all 15 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Prom (2020)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Production on The Prom was suspended on March 12, 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, with only two days of second-unit filming left after the leads had wrapped. Shooting resumed on July 23, 2020.
- Ariana Grande was initially cast as Alyssa Greene, the closeted cheerleader and Emma's girlfriend, but scheduling conflicts with her Sweetener World Tour forced her to drop out; Ariana DeBose replaced her in November.
- James Corden, who is straight, was criticized for playing a gay character, with some saying his performance perpetuated and capitalized on stereotypes of gay men.
- Jo Ellen Pellman was cast as Emma following a nationwide search; Madelaine Petsch also auditioned for the part.
- Awkwafina dropped out of the film on January 25, 2020 because of scheduling conflicts, and Kevin Chamberlin was recast as Sheldon Saperstein.
- The film is loosely based around the 2010 Itawamba County School District prom controversy, the real event also behind the Broadway musical it adapts.
- The Prom was the first film under director Ryan Murphy's $300 million deal with Netflix, and his fifth overall project.
