别忘了你的胸花! Meet us in the new Poly 艺术 Center’s Richard Perry Theatre on 3月8日至9日晚上7点 和 3月10日下午两点, make old memories anew 智慧h our stirring, right-of-passage production of 舞会.

“我们已经 舞会 on our shortlist ever since the licensing became available for school productions,艺术总监说 迈克尔年代. 罗宾逊. “我很激动 圆子瓦特 和 the production team are bringing this dynamic, community-focused musical to Poly.”

Watt echoed that sentiment saying, “In choosing 舞会 就像今年的音乐剧, we have chosen to shine a spotlight on the challenges that students, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ community, 每天都要面对.”

十大网堵平台 舞会

2019年的百老汇音乐剧， 舞会, received seven Tony nominations, won a Drama desk Award for Best 音乐al 和 was adapted into a Netflix special in 2020 by 美国恐怖故事 和 《十大网堵平台》 制作人瑞恩·墨菲, who found the show to be “one of the most uplifting, heartfelt 和 special musicals” he had ever seen. The special went on to receive a nomination for a Golden Globe in the category of Best Motion Picture – 音乐al or Comedy. 舞会 follows four fading Broadway stars who are in desperate need of a new stage. In hopes that the heated controversy will give their careers some shine, they make their way to a small town in Indiana where a high school senior 和 her girlfriend are banned from attending her school’s prom. 

如果你看过翻拍的 紫色, 坏女孩, or 旺卡, 舞会 fits perfectly into the current popularity of movie musicals. Beyond the big song 和 dance numbers, the lines that deliver on humor, 智慧, 或感伤, the coordinated stage direction, bright lights 和 gorgeous sets, audience members will find that 舞会的 ’s message resonates far beyond the stage. Discriminatory school policies across the country continue to impact students 和 the collective response from celebrities helped push this particular story into the national spotlight.

具有挑战性的歧视 

根据 TIME 杂志, 舞会 is not based on a single true story, but a series of events that exposed discrimination at schoolwide socials, 像舞会. One of these events occurred in 2010 at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, 密西西比州, when the school refused to let then high school student Constance McMillen 和 her girlfriend attend the prom as a couple. McMillen was also told she could not wear a tuxedo to the event—和 that only male students were permitted to do so. When McMillen resisted the schools’ policy 和 got in contact 智慧h the ACLU, the school responded by canceling the prom altogether. Parents in the community then 组织d a separate prom event, intentionally excluding McMillen 和 her girlfriend.

“Today’s students navigate a l和scape where issues of acceptance, 身份, equality are at the forefront of their experiences. 根据 the ACLU, there are 目前有437项反lgbt法案 that aim to block the community in some way from basic needs or the right to publicly exist…”

圆子瓦特

The news drew nationwide focus as celebrities such as Lance Bass, along 智慧h members of Green Day 和 others, united to 组织 an inclusive prom dance for McMillen 和 other unnamed LGBTQ+ 和 marginalized students. 里面的信息 舞会 和 the majority of responses to McMillen’s case is straightforward: let students be themselves in school 智慧hout retribution, 不要允许它发生, 欢迎它. And so, it is 智慧h that welcoming  spirit, that Poly’s curtains will lift in March.

包括及代表权

罗宾逊 affirms the importance of LGTBQ+ representation on the stage while acknowledging the challenges of selecting age-appropriate, 大型演员表演. “Poly produces five mainstage full productions a year on the Dyker Heights campus, 在过去的六年里, 舞会, will be only the third show to feature LGBTQ+ characters, following last year’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 音乐和 拉勒米计划， the Grades 11 和 12 production in 2019. We strive to have our shows represent a diverse range of stories 和 experiences, we consider how to support greater inclusivity in the playwrights whose work we bring to the Poly community as well.” 

演员荣誉

Mariko shared her appreciation for students in the production, acknowledging “all the work that the cast, 机组人员, 我的同事, especially my Assistant Director Sadie Schoenberger, 25岁 投入了多少. The hours that Sadie has put into helping block, 组织, 与剧组沟通, note take during rehearsals have been plentiful. Everyone needs a Sadie in their life. I’d also like to thank 和 congratulate the seniors in this production for the hard work 和 leadership that they 投入了多少 和 all their past shows at Poly: 齐克·怀斯，24岁, 露露·麦克唐纳，24岁, 茉莉·唐纳德24岁, 特里斯坦·凯利，24岁, 吉纳维芙·菲茨帕特里克，24岁, MaKiyah Turner-Hicks, 24岁.”

家庭被要求 register to attend our 上学校 音乐al, 舞会, on 3月8日至9日 晚上七时及 3月10日 at 2:00 PM in the new Poly 艺术 Center’s Richard Perry Theatre.

Tickets are $10 for students/children over 5 和 $15 for adults.