Save the Dates: Quad City Music Guild's “The Prom,” at the Prospect Park Auditorium through July 20

Consider this a "prom-vitation" to enjoy Quad City Music Guild's tuneful, touching, terrifically funny The Prom, its music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and book by Beguelin and Bob Martin.

It's not just me who thinks so highly of this show; in 2019, it won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical, and earned seven Tony nominations. I saw Augustana College's production of The Prom in March, and at Thursday's invited preview, I returned to James Madison High School, this time at Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium. Director (and set designer) Mike Turczynski, alongside assistant director Vea Vavrosky and music director Bailey Connors, made this sad story a cheery good time. The dialogue is clever, the jokes just right, the songs appealing, and the cast tremendous.

In this tale, one town goes to extraordinary lengths to exclude gay teens from the prom. More extraordinarily, this happened in real life, albeit with different names and particulars. A school canceled its 2010 prom rather than let a lesbian couple attend, and then, parents planned a replacement dance – plus a second, secret, "straights-only" prom.

In Music Guild's production, Addison Jorgensen portrays the central character, Emma, with a strong, lovely voice and a wonderfully steady presence; even when she despaired, I sensed steel behind the tears. Jorgensen plays both drama and comedy with skill and great timing, and although I later learned she was fighting a cold, she didn't sound sick on stage. (There was a slight throaty quality to her vocals – but I enjoyed hearing it.) Emma's girlfriend is Alyssa, played by Shay Schehl; she has hidden their relationship, and her sexuality, from everyone. Schehl has another fine voice, as well as a tentative, yearning demeanor – I could sense Alyssa wanting to run to Emma on sight, but holding back – and her recitation of Alyssa's mother's outrageous, controlling expectations in the song "Alyssa Greene" is beautiful, yet one of The Prom's saddest scenes.

Now, a rewind to this musical's odd beginning, woven from whole cloth, with four New York City-based actors and a publicist concocting ways to boost their has-been or never-were careers. Emma's story has gone national, so they decide to rally behind her in a large-scale, virtue-signaling ploy. Award-winning but falling star Dee Dee is played by Shana Kulhavy, and along with her killer voice and funny line readings, she flaunts both subtle and overblown reactions. Late in the show, after Dee Dee has made a sizable, permanent, personal sacrifice for their cause, her offering is declined, and Kulhavy's series of brief, quiet vocalizations ("Ah … oh … kay …"), culminating in an enraged, screaming Roadrunner-speed attack, is a comedic highlight.

Tim Dominicus portrays Barry, another biggish name in this fictional theatre world. Dominicus has a magnificent voice and abundant energy, and his Barry, though egotistical, dives enthusiastically into helping Emma. The character's wistfulness and vulnerability make him exceptionally lovable. Melissa Anderson Clark plays Angie, a wannabe star stuck in the chorus for 20 years, and her Bob Fosse-inspired pep-talk number with Emma, "Zazz," is especially fun. During it, two mysterious personages, presumably the Spirits of Zazz To Come, materialize – the ensemble's wildly talented dance captains Ella Hansen and Kaden Micklos (the latter of whom, incidentally, played Barry in Augustana's production). Choreographer Tori Hofer gave them, and the whole cast, something to hoof about.

Daniel Williams plays Trent, a Julliard grad touring the hinterlands as Jesus in Godspell, who entertains almightily with the gospel-style rouser "Love Thy Neighbor." He schools two mean-girl cheerleaders, Kaylee (Mia Ward) and Shelby (Rayeln Bjorkman), their baes Nick (Eli Swailes) and Kevin (Chase Coussens), and their classmates on the hypocrisy of their ostensibly "Christian" views, considering their own Biblical transgressions. The students' faces, as they contemplate execution by stoning for fornication, or an eternity in Hell for a tattoo, are priceless. Meanwhile, Michael Van Belle plays principal Tom Hawkins, who's gravely concerned about his students, yet charmingly giddy around the Broadway stars. He expresses thanks to actors everywhere in his touching "We Look to You."

Turczynski's other delightful performers include Luke Vermeire as harried publicist Sheldon, Julia Hummel as grim mom-boss Mrs. Greene, Myka Walljasper as dogged reporter Olivia Keating, and the rest of the talented, hard-working ensemble: Alex Pappas; Brittany Anderson; Drew DeKeyrel; Izzy Dudek; Kassandra Miller; Mackenzie Volkert; Michele Lefler; Paulla Houston; Sophie Seamer; Tatum Kilburg; Viv Eberhardt; and Xander Sharp. On Thursday, the 14-musician orchestra performed impeccably, although unfortunately, sound-balance issues with the music and the actors' mics made many lines and lyrics incomprehensible.

Distinctive choices abound in this production. After one scene, actors make a strikingly frantic yet slow-motion-film-style exit. One well-conceived, devastating moment at the close of Act I was excruciatingly drawn out (in a good way) – Turczynski let the impact hold and reverberate in near-silence as the curtain came down. On Thursday, though, the literal show-stopper was the tornado warning, late in Act II, that necessitated cast, crew, and audience sheltering in the Costume Shoppe. I wound up standing so close to Jorgensen that I may have caught her cold.

While The Prom's script contains cursing, we only see two kisses and a little hand-holding, and everyone's naughty bits are covered with Halley Price's attractive costumes – the only shocking thing here is the hate and its aftermath. However, everyone in Music Guild's latest gets a happy ending, and along with joy and music, I got a little hope to sustain me in the real world.

Quad City Music Guild's The Prom runs at the Prospect Park Auditorium (1584 34th Avenue, Moline IL) through July 20, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-6610 and visiting QCMusicGuild.com.