Dee Dee Allen, a two-time Tony Award winner, partners with Barry Glickman in a musical about First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt which ultimately fails. They each receive “career-ending reviews”, and opt to revive their livelihoods by finding a charity cause to get behind. They're joined in the effort by Broadway theater veteran chorus girlAngie Dickinson, and unlucky actor Trent Oliver. They find a cause in Emma Nolan, a lesbian who is a senior in high school prevented from taking her girlfriend to the prom. The Broadway quartet goes to Edgewater, Indiana, to help the lesbian teenagers.
The film is based on the same premise as the musical of the same name, that uses music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Bob Martin and Beguelin, based on an original concept by Jack Viertel. CNN notes the film project is on “theme with Murphy's advocacy for more inclusivity in Hollywood” including his spearheading the 2017 Half Initiative, to “create equal representation for women and minorities behind the camera”. Murphy announced plans for the adaptation during a charity performance of the musical at New York's Longacre Theatre in April 2019. On June 25, 2019, Meryl Streep, James Corden, Andrew Rannells and Nicole Kidman were revealed to be cast as the four leads with Keegan-Michael Key as the school principal and Awkwafina as publicist Ms. Sheldon. Ariana Grande was initially cast as Alyssa Greene, a popular but closeted cheerleader and Emma's girlfriend, but scheduling conflicts with the Sweetener World Tour forced Grande to exit the project. Kerry Washington was cast in October, with Ariana DeBose joining in November, replacing Grande in the role of Alyssa. Jo Ellen Pellman was also cast as Emma following a nationwide search. The project is the first film under Murphy's $300 million deal with Netflix, and fifth overall. On January 25, 2020, Awkwafina dropped out of the film due to scheduling conflicts and Kevin Chamberlin was recast as Sheldon Saperstein. On June 25, 2020, Tracey Ullman and Mary Kay Place were revealed to star in the film. Filming commenced on December 11, 2019. On March 12, 2020, production was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to this, the principal actors had wrapped filming, with only two days of second unit filming left, which was initially scheduled to resume in mid-April, but was ultimately delayed to summer. Production resumed on July 23.
Release
The Prom will be released in late 2020 by Netflix.
