Actors speak on Pulse, inclusion — and why ‘The Prom’ matters
The memory of the Pulse massacre is on the minds of actors in “The Prom” this week as the touring Broadway musical performs in Orlando.
Ten cast members from the production spoke to about 80 people who stayed after Tuesday’s opening-night performance for a late-night question-and-answer session.
“The Prom,” with its message of inclusion and gay protagonists, is onstage at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts — about a mile down Orange Avenue from the Pulse site, where a gunman killed 49 people inside the gay-friendly dance club in 2016.
“That tragedy shook me to the core,” said Kaden Kearney, who stars as Emma in the musical. “Being here, I feel it.”
Kearney’s character in the musical comedy is a teenager who wants to bring her girlfriend to her high-school prom — a desire that leads the PTA to shut down the dance before four self-absorbed Broadway actors get involved in the debate.
Sinclair Mitchell, who plays the high school’s principal, said the Pulse tragedy was “an eye opener” for the whole country and led to the disquieting feeling that “no one is safe.”
Mitchell was born in Central Florida and lived here as a child.
The post-show chat was one in a series of talks by the Dr. Phillips Center and Florida Theatrical Association, which jointly present touring Broadway shows in Orlando. The free talks generally take place on the first night of each show’s tour stop, said arts-center spokeswoman Jacklyne Ramos.
Designed to be educational, with the arts center’s teen ambassadors specifically in mind, any ticket holder is invited to attend and hear more about life on the road, the creative process and the show itself.
Taking the message of “The Prom” on the road is a special experience, said Kalyn West, a cast member who also performed in the musical during its 2018-19 Broadway run.
In New York, presenting the show’s theme of accepting love in all forms felt like “preaching to the choir,” West said.
“This show is going to do the bulk — the meatiest part — of its work out on the road, where people need to see it,” she said.
The show’s idea of acceptance needs constant repeating, the actors agreed.
“We’re still very much living this story,” said James Caleb Grice, who plays high-school jock Nick in “The Prom.” “I have family members who I still don’t know if they will come to the show.”
“The Prom” is important because of its comedic, heartfelt and uplifting elements, the performers said — a far cry from the gloom and doom of many “issue” shows.
West described “The Prom” as “drowning in joy and life and love and happiness.”
“Joy is such a crucial part of the journey,” she said.
“It’s healing,” said Keaney, who features in the comic scenes as well as the emotional ones. “I grew up watching queer stories that were tragic and involved pain and hardship, and I thought that was going to be my life. … This show would have changed my life if I had seen it high school.”
‘The Prom’
Where: Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave. in Orlando
When: Through Sunday, Dec. 12 Cost: $49.50 and up
Info: Drphillipscenter.org
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