Thomas Times, Annmarie Macry, Madelyn Davis-Haddad, Samantha Rich, Andrew Ross, Michele Schroeder, and Cast Photo by Stanley K. Dylan

That sequence of hateful discrimination, clandestine plotting by parents, and an uprise of support beyond the borders of the homophobic town became the inspiration for Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin to pen The Prom, with Matthew Sklar contributing the music and Beguelin the lyrics. Their fictional version inserts into the narrative four narcissistic Broadway has-beens who decide that saving a little lesbian in Edgewater, Indiana ("whether she likes it or not") could just be the trick to resurrect their doomed careers and to put them back into the limelight of the Great White Way. And while they proclaim emphatically that it is not about them, the town, the girl, and all of us know that of course it is–and that becomes the key source of the musical's fun.

Sporting stage presence and command almost as large as their hyper-inflated egos, four hilarious and talented actors unabashedly parade their self-import on the Lohman Theatre stage as these Broadway failures. They are joined by a large, enthusiastic cast to stage a highly entertaining, heartwarming The Prom by Foothill Music Theatre.

Former marquee superstars Dee Dee Allen and Barry Glickman have just opened and closed on Broadway in only one night. They learn the harsh truth of their major flop from their agent Sheldon Saperstein (an affable John Mannion): "It is not just the show, it's you two ... You're not likable."

Two of their stage pals have shown up for what they hoped was a celebration. They have their own woes to share. Trent Oliver is so down in his own Broadway luck that he has just accepted being casted in a non-Equity tour of Godspell. Life-long chorus girl Angie Dickinson is finally hanging it up after twenty years of Chicago, bitter having never received the nod to fulfill her dream of playing Roxie Hart.

As they bemoan the bad reviews and their shared demise of failing careers, the four find out about Emma Nolan in Indiana who is being blamed for ruining prom for everyone just because she wants to bring her girlfriend. In Emma the four see possible salvation, singing with pumped-up determination, "This is our chance to change the world, one lesbian at a time" ("Changing Lives").

Arriving in Edgewater just as the sympathetic principal Tom Hawkins (Thomas Times) is appealing to the PTA to change its decision to cancel the prom, the troupe of thespians invade the tense meeting with their own singing/dancing version of pomp and circumstance, to the embarrassment of Emma and the aroused resentment of the entire town. But in the publicity-hungry eyes of this quartet, the show must go on. They proceed to wreak havoc and hilarity as they attempt to force the prom to be reinstated for out-and-bullied Emma and her girlfriend Alyssa Greene, closeted daughter of the gay-bashing PTA president who is determined there will not be such a prom.

Leading the charge at the PTA-meeting fiasco is first Dee Dee doing all she can–but totally unsuccessfully–to declare in a bombastic blast of false denials, "This is not about me." Annmarie Macry is wonderfully believable as this Broadway diva who is used to being in the spotlight. Displaying with every uttered word a ballooned opinion of herself, Dee Dee is the real Broadway McCoy, with a singing voice that time and again belts notes that trumpet with convincing clarity and conviction. Every time Dee Dee enters a scene, it is as if she expects immediate acclaim and applause; but all we can do is laugh while also enjoying her astounding vocals.

Not to be ever upstaged by his co-star, Barry does not just enter a room, he flutters in with full flair and fancy. Twirling his hands in the air while simultaneously fluttering his eyelashes, Barry never fails to pump and pop every available muscle of his hips as he struts about the room. With gowns of flopping silks, six-inch heels that glitter, and dramatic poses dying to be noticed, there is never a doubt that Barry is an out-and-proud old queen. But as he gets to know Emma and to discover they share quite a bit in common–including parents who kicked him out of the home–Andrew Ross' Barry increasingly brings deep-felt heart and caring that belie his surface-level flaunt and flurry. His Barry also sings impressively, with grit and gusto, spark and spunk–always selling his songs and eventually proving to Emma that there is a real human being inside that flamboyant facade.

As part of this fearsome foursome, Jason Mooney's Trent takes it on himself to use his Godspell background to teach Emma's gay-bashing classmates a thing or two. With spirited vocals and personality he leads his fellow touring cast in a delightfully campy number, the stage filling with hippies waving scarves and singing, "Time to make some better choices, drop the hate, raise your voices; Love thy neighbor is the one to trump them all."

While Trent tries to change the hearts of Emma's classmates, Angie takes it on herself to instill in Emma some courage to speak her truth to the world. Employing some of the Fosse hands, footwork, and pizzazz that she learned during all those years of Chicago, Michele Schroeder's Angie sparkles and shines, showing Emma some "Zazz."

For her part and amidst all the hysterics and hubbub of her Broadway advocates, Samantha Rich's Emma often seems to be the only calm one–even the only adult–in the room, lyrically singing to herself with natural and flowing notes, "Just Breathe." Even as kids and adults alike ridicule her and accuse her of being selfish, Emma does not want to make a big scene. As she beautifully sings to Alyssa, "All I wanna do is dance with you ... all it takes is you and me and a song."

But that chance does not happen easily. Even girlfriend Alyssa disappoints Emma in a major way, with Madelyn Davis-Haddad intoning Alyssa's heartrending self-confession, "You're not yourself; you're not what she wants; you're someone in-between" ("Unruly Heart"). Both young actresses portraying are exceptional in their abilities to engender genuine but nicely understated emotions and personas even as all around them are explosions of egos, bigotry and selfishness.

Scene changes happen effortlessly as designed by Yusuke Soi, with emerging and swung-around walls revealing a small-town motel room, a teenage girl's poster-filled bedroom, or the lockers of a high school's hallway. Much of the glamor and glitz of the New York stars' appearances as well as teen excitement of a prom night is highlighted through the wide array costumes so amazingly designed by Y. Sharon Peng. Pamila Gray's lighting fills the stage with pre-prom electricity and puts the spot or shadows on moments of hurt and betrayal, of resolve and action.

Sarah Bylsma's choreography often feels like we are in the middle of a cheerleader convention full of pumping arms, high knees, and occasional somersaults. Overall, the cast delivers as demanded, but the lasting effects are mostly temporary.

More memorable is the score as rendered by the excellent, six-piece band under the direction of Debra Lambert. The keyboards of the director and of Kevin Dong are particularly noteworthy as they meaningfully echo lines of soloists such as Dee Dee in "The Lady's Improving" and Alyssa in "Unruly Heart."

Beyond the six notable and commendable portrayals of the principals, there is some mixture of success in the vocals of the rest of the cast when intoned in solo fashion. However, when the full cast fills the stage, harmonies tend to be full of sound and heart. That is especially true in the finale's prom-for-all party as the now-converted-for-the-better students, townspeople, and even Alyssa's mother, Mrs. Greene, sing, "Build a prom for everyone, show them all it can be done ... Make people see how the world could one day be."

As director of Foothill Music Theatre's The Prom, Milissa Carey finds innumerable ways to ensure laughter from the audience as well as to insert many moments when the seriousness of the subject of anti-gay attitudes is understood by all. The result is a production that entertains, inspires, and more importantly, awakens us to be on alert and ready to act as more Edgewater, Indianas occur in our own neighborhoods.

The Prom runs through March 16, 2025, at Foothill Music Theatre, Lohman Theatre, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills CA. For tickets and information, please visit https://foothill.edu.