“The Prom,” March 13 through 16

Thursday, March 13, through Sunday, March 16

Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, 3750 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL

Nominated for seven 2019 Tony Awards including Best Musical, to leading to a popular 2020 Netflix film starring Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman, the Broadway hit The Prom makes its area debut with a March 13 through 16 run at Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, the show inspiring the New York Times to rave, "With its kinetic dancing, broad mugging, and belty anthems, it makes you believe in musical comedy again."

With its music and lyrics by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, and its book by Beguelin and The Drowsy Chaperone Tony winner Bob Martin, The Prom finds the careers of four eccentric Broadway stars struggling, the near-has-beens realizing that they desperately need a new stage upon which to shine bright once more. Seeking out a cause, they head straight to small-town Indiana. Through social media, they have heard of trouble brewing around a school prom. Local girl Emma Nolan wants to take her girlfriend to prom, but the homophobic PTA are on a mission to keep the high school dance on the straight and narrow. Determined to transform lives and put themselves back in the limelight, the Broadway celebrities muscle in to change the town and give Emma the prom she deserves, resulting in a glorious musical comedy that inspired Variety magazine to call it "a joyous, funny, and sweet production that should appeal to several generations of musical fans."

Directing and choreographing The Prom's Quad Cities debut is Shelley Cooper, the assistant director of theatre arts whose previous musicals for the college have included Nine, Cabaret, The Threepenny Opera, and Into the Woods. Becca McNamar serves as production stage manager with AJ Friel as stage manager, and additional members of Cooper's creative team include: vocal music director Maureen Holmes; assistant music director and pianist Rob Elfline; scenic and lighting designer and technical director Mike Turczynski; costume designer Becki Arnold; sound designer Joe Burck; assistant director Lydia Benesh; assistant stage manager Phoenix Martin; props master Ben Adams; makeup designer Ludovica Chiovini; wardrobe head Arler Ohlmiller; dresser Christian Gonzalez; assistant props master Will McIver; deck captain Natalie Platt; deck hands Kal Boswell, Angela Georgakis, and Ella Conrad; light board operator Myles Smith; sound board operator Haven Perdomo; head and deck sound operators Chris Celius and Caley Larkin; and associate lighting designer Ande Poffenberger.

Portraying the four fish-out-of-water Broadway stars are Julie Tarling, Kaden Micklos, Kallik Ewen, and Anya Giordano, with Emma portrayed by Maggie Caliendo and Emma's prom hopeful Alyssa by Jensen Stoneking. Additional members of the featured cast include: Max de Buys; Dash Crow; Brennan Hampton; Sylvia Hughes; Elijah Morton; Audrey Siblik; and Maya Smith. Understudies who will perform in The Prom include Ava Coussens and Jean Tegtmeyer, and the show's gifted ensemble is completed by: Fiona Brady; Aniyah Davis; Avery Denius; Madeline Hutchinson; Francesca Mastrangeli; Emma Miller; Max Montgomery; Joshua Nelson; Maddie Overstreet; and Stephanie Skrabacz.

The Prom runs in Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center from March 13 through 16, with performances on Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Admission is $10-15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)794-7306 and visiting Augustana.edu/tickets.