Auditions Monday and Tuesday for hit musical 'The Prom'

The Illinois Valley Community College Theatre Department today announced the recent Broadway hit “The Prom” will be its spring musical playing April 13-23.

Auditions are at 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 6 and 7 in the Dr. Mary Margaret Weeg Cultural Centre.

The high-energy musical requires a wide range of performers, and auditions are open to both students and community members.

Those auditioning should prepare a song and provide accompaniment tracks, and be prepared for dance auditions and script readings. For information, email Don Grant Zellmer, IVCC director and choreographer of musical theatre, at dongrantzellmer1@yahoo.com.

“Obtaining this new title is very exciting for our department,” Zellmer said. “We’re always looking for something new and challenging, and The Prom hits all the right notes with an extremely funny book, terrific music, and a sizeable cast with many parts aged from high school through adults.”

In 2018 and ‘19, The Prom played to sold-out houses on Broadway, followed by a successful national tour. In 2022, it became a popular movie musical starring Meryl Streep on Netflix.

The story centers on four eccentric Broadway stars in desperate need of a new stage. When they hear trouble is brewing around a small-town prom, they know that it’s time to put a spotlight on the issue … and themselves.

The town’s parents want to keep the high school dance on the straight and narrow — but when one student just wants to bring her girlfriend to prom, the entire town has a date with destiny.

On a mission to transform lives, Broadway’s brassiest join forces with a courageous girl and the town’s citizens and the result is love that brings them all together.

Production staff also includes Dr. David Kuester, producer and costume coordinator, Alex Guerrero, music director, and Chad Brokaw, technical director. Tickets go on sale in early March.