Review: THE PROM at MSUM Hansen Theatre

Act Up Theatre, Straw Hat & Wheelhouse Theatrical Present The Prom

Everyone is invited to attend The Prom! That's right it's the regional premier of the hit Broadway Musical comedy and you only have 3 chances to see it.

The story follows four Broadway performers as they head to a small Indiana town to fight for a cause and change the world and help a girl named Emma attend her Prom.

Co-directors Craig Ellingson and Kathy Hanson do triple duty and co-choreographers and also each have a role in the show. These guys assembled an all-star cast to bring this show to life. You will, you will cry, and you probably laugh many more times.

When this show was first announced I was so excited. I recognized so many talented names in the cast. My daughter has talked about this show so much, so I knew it had to be good. I purposely did not watch the Netflix movie before coming to this. There are so many laugh out loud moments throughout. I will say this, any show that features a song about acceptance being performed at a monster truck show is worth watching.

I think the one that blew me away the most is one of the names I didn't recognize. Adrianna Kelly as Emma was absolutely amazing. Her beautiful voice and vocal range were absolutely wonderful. Some of her notes actually gave me chills. I could probably list every song she sang as a highlight, but a few of my favorites were “Dance with You”, “You Happened”, “It's time to Dance” and “Unruly Heart”. I really hope to see Adrianna on stage again soon.

Next up we have Katie Hanson giving another stellar performance as Alyssa. Katie lights up the stage every time I have seen her over the years and this was no exception. Katie and Adrianna were perfectly cast and worked so well together. Katie got to treat us with her beautiful vocals on songs like “Dance with You”, “It's Time to Dance” and the powerful “Alyssa Greene”.

Craig Ellingson as Barry was brilliant. This may be my favorite ever role for Craig. He was having a blast and it really showed on stage. A few of his scenes with Adrianna were performed so beautifully. Craig is a great actor and really got to show off his singing and dancing tonight. A few of my favorites were “Changing Lives”, “It's Not About Me”, “Tonight Belongs to You” and of course “Barry is Going to Prom”.

I don't know anyone else who could have played the role of Dee Dee as well as Angie Schulz. Angie has such an amazing voice and her comedy chops really get to shine in this show also. Not to give anything away but her scene about the house in the Hampton's had me falling out of my chair. Some of her standout vocals were on “Changing Lives” and “It's Not About Me”.

I was so excited to see David Triptoe on stage again, it's been way too long. He definitely did not disappoint as Trent. David is another one that has the whole package, acting, singing, dancing and he got to bring every once of his talent to the stage. His character makes we want to watch a show called Talk to the Hand. Some of my favorites of David's performance were on “The Acceptance Song” and “Love Thy Neighbor”.

Tony Peterson was superb as Mr. Hawkins. I have had the pleasure of getting to know Tony over the past few years as the musical theatre director at West Fargo Sheyenne. You know that old saying “those who cant... teach”? Well Tony definitely can. He is such a talented guy and I really enjoyed him on “We Look to You”.

Kathy Hanson, the other half of our triple threat team, was wonderful as Angie. Kathy is another that I haven't seen on stage in a while and it's always great when I get to. Not only did she do a amazing job helping to choreograph the show, we also get to see her amazing dancing and singing skills. I loved her performance on “Zazz” with Adrianna.

I definitely have to mention the rookie of the show. Rachel Horan as Mrs. Greene making her stage debut. I don't think anyone would guess that she has never done this before. If you know Rachel at all, you know that this character is about as far from Rachel as you can get, which makes her performance that much more impressive. We also get to hear her beautiful vocals on “Tonight Belongs to You”.

I also want to be sure to mention Jim Luchsinger as Sheldon. Jim doesn't get any featured solos in this one, but he is such a talent and I have really enjoyed every time I see him in a show. Jim was great as Sheldon!

Rounding out the main cast are Macy Sharmer as Shelby, Olivia Landsverk as Kaylee, Lucas Burr as Nick, Ayden Smith as Kevin. These four each had some great moments, especially on “You Happened” and “Love Thy Neighbor”. Then you add in ever more talent and round out this amazing Ensemble with Jack Libner, Grace Magstadt, Gabrielle Mowery, Jett Swanson, Ryan Stangl and Miranda Peterson Taylor.

Put all of these super talented people on stage together and we get one hell of a show.

Congrats to the whole cast and crew on bringing this wonderful and important show to life.

I can't recommend this enough. Like I mentioned earlier, you only have 3 chances to see this, so don't wait to get your tickets.

***Photo credits to Dennis Krull

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