“The Prom” Announces Broadway Closing Date

by Christopher Rudolph

5h ago

Return your rented tux because The Prom is about to be over.

The beloved original musical has announced its final Broadway performance will be on August 11, despite earning critical acclaim and seven Tony nominations.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to bring this original musical comedy, full of heart and humor, to Broadway with this dream cast and creative team,” said producers Bill Damaschke, Dori Berinstein, and Jack Lane in a joint statement. “Since the earliest days in the journey of The Prom, we have known this story was something special. We are beyond thrilled that our story will continue beyond Broadway.”

But The Prom hasn’t danced its last dance just yet.

Prolific producer Ryan Murphy hosted a special performance of the Broadway musical on Tuesday, April 9, and at the end of his introduction of the show he revealed he would be turning the show into a movie musical for Netflix.

“I’m really tired of hearing about bad news and Trump. I want to see entertainment that is optimistic and uplifting,” Murphy told the audience. He recalled seeing the show back in December, knowing nothing about the musical before he took his seat. “I was absolutely blown away by Casey’s work and the incredible cast. I cried at the end from pure joy, which has not happened to me since Patti LuPone was the flower girl at my wedding.”

In addition to a Netflix film adaptation, The Prom will also be hitting the road, embarking on a national tour.

As NewNowNext previously reported: The Prom is written by Chad Beguelin (Aladdin), Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone), and Matthew Sklar (The Wedding Singer). The ripped-from-the-headlines musical “takes place in a small Indiana town, where a prom is canceled after the high school forbids Emma, a female student, from bringing her girlfriend,” according to an official synopsis. “When a group of eccentric Broadway actors hear her story, they travel to the community in an earnest—if possibly misguided—attempt to correct the injustice.”

The Prom already made history last year when the show’s cast performed on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and their musical number featured the first LGBTQ kiss in the parade’s telecast history.