Last Saturday, my journalism adviser invited my friend, Heather, and I to see The Prom at the Alliance Theatre in Midtown Atlanta. The musical was very meaningful to me, not only because it is the first musical I've ever seen, but also because the story has a powerful message about a hot topic today: LGBT+ rights.
As most Americans know, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court decided on a case that effectively legalized same-sex marriage. Since then, those who lie on the LGBT+ spectrum have become more widely accepted in society, and this has helped some people become more comfortable coming out on National Coming Out Day. There are still many conservative individuals, however, who struggle to accept transgenders, gays, and lesbians, as demonstrated by The Prom.
The musical focuses on a young girl, Emma, who wants to go to prom with a cheerleader at her high school but is shut down by parents in the community, who then cancel prom. Emma's classmates blame her for this and constantly harass her for being a lesbian. Her case makes it onto the news and catches the attention of a group of failing Broadway stars who hope to reach some level of success again. The actors arrive at Emma's high school in her small Indiana town with the hopes of bringing back her prom.
At first, the Broadway stars are unwelcome in the community, but as they find ways to resolve the case, Emma forms close relationships with the actors who are truly trying to help her. With the help of the actors who make this case a national headline, prom is back on and Emma prepares to go with the cheerleader. Emma enters the gym, however, to find that no one is there. Parents in the community had planned a separate prom for the other students to attend.
As you can imagine, this musical highlights existing discrimination against lesbians, gays, transgenders, and bisexuals- essentially any woman who doesn't want to be with only men and any man who doesn't want to be with only women. Even though LGBT+ community has become more accepted by society, there are still many Americans who will not accept it and choose to harass those who do. The musical shows that the recent SUpreme Court case is not a safety net for the LGBT community in regards to freedom from discrimination and harassment.
Knowing that discrimination against the LGBT+ community continues and actually seeing examples of it on the stage were really difficult. There were scenes when the high schoolers harassed Emma, and I had to mentally tell myself that they are just some really talented actors: they don't actually believe what they're saying, or else they wouldn't be a part of this musical that so strongly advocates LGBT+ rights.
The musical combines its influential message with comedy that had me laughing nonstop. It's just one of those pieces that you have to see live. My cheeks hurt afterwards from smiling in amazement at the dynamic and outstanding actors on the stage.