3B Productions presents The Prom, performing the Tony Award-nominated musical Friday, Oct. 11 at 8 pm, Saturday, Oct. 12 at 8 pm and Sunday, Oct. 13 at 2:30 pm at the Maumee Indoor Theatre, 601 Conant St.
The joyful and campy musical brings light to serious topics.
The Prom follows fading Broadway stars who decide to do some good in an attempt to revamp their careers. They come across the story of Emma Nolan, played by Marian Petrie, a high school student who faces backlash after attempting to bring her closeted girlfriend, Alyssa Greene, played by Toledo City Paper Editor Riley Runnells, to the prom. The Parent-Teacher Association then cancels prom to prevent what they call a “homosexual prom.” Driven to assist Emma, the Broadway stars rush to the small Indiana town, which further complicates the situation.
“The comedy of the show is that these four liberals from New York City come in and they try to save the town,” Joe Barton, director and founder of 3B Productions, said. “When, in reality, it’s the kids that end up saving themselves.”
Important themes of acceptance and equality are the cornerstones of the show.
“I hope that’s a message people come away with,” Barton said. “Just love your neighbor, love your friend, love your daughter, love your son, no matter if they love another man or if they love another woman.”
Songs like “Dance With You,” “Unruly Heart” and “Love Thy Neighbor” highlight these themes by celebrating love and challenging preconceived notions.
“I think this is just such an important story, especially in the times that we’re in right now with political divisiveness, and I’m really excited for the opportunity to just tell the story,” Petrie said. “I’m hoping that if I can change one person’s mind, I will have been successful in this show.”
The show is scene heavy, with 19 scene changes during the musical, taking you to various locations including New York and Indiana, making this production more complicated than traditional musicals.
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“That’s kind of the beast of this show. I wasn’t worried; I knew Toledo is so full of amazing talent,” Barton said. “I knew I would have the people to do this show, especially because the arts community in Toledo is so open and welcoming and amazing.”
“This is a show that has a message that we need to have right now. And our biggest thing was talking about how we could do this show on our stage, which is not the most technical stage, and still make it a good show,” Barton added. “And I think we’ve accomplished that.”
To keep the musical seamlessly flowing, the company uses simple set pieces to suggest the location of the scene.
“We’ve kept set pieces very minimal, so that we’re not relying so much on big set pieces,” Barton said. “We’re just using tables and chairs and a bed and stuff like that, to symbolically show us where we’re at in the show, and that keeps the show moving.”
Although The Prom has been done recently with some theatre companies in the area, this will be the first time a mix of both adult and high-school aged cast members will come together to perform this iconic musical in the area.
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“Unfortunately, a couple other groups beat us to the punch of being the first ones to do it, but we’re the first group to do it with adults and teens,” Barton said.
“(The cast) is full of fantastic people,” Petrie said.
The cast and crew have been working around the clock to get ready for their performances.
“Everybody’s worked their tails off. The production staff just worked so hard, my music director, my choreographer, our dance captain,” Barton said. “Everyone has just worked so hard to put the show together that I can’t wait for people to come and see it.”
“The show is just pure joy,” Barton added.
Tickets for The Prom can be purchased on 3B Productions website for $20 a ticket.
For more information on 3B Productions The Prom or other upcoming productions, visit 3bproductions.org.
