'The Prom' Trailer: The Glitz And Glamor Of Broadway Fights Against Prejudice In Indiana

Even though the United States has made a lot of progress when it comes to giving members of the LGBTQ community the respect and equality they deserve, there are still plenty of places with small town mindsets who need a little push in the right direction. That's exactly what happens in Ryan Murphy's new Netflix movie The Prom when a teenage girl (newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman) wants to bring her girlfriend (Ariana DeBose) to the prom in her small Indiana town, but the PTA board votes against it.

Who will stand up to fight this injustice? It's Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep) and Barry Glickman (James Corden), two Broadway stars reeling from a recent flop who are looking for a way to drum up some attention and give their careers a bit of a boost. With some help from their friends Angie (Nicole Kidman) and Trent (Andrew Rannells), they're off to spark some publicity with a lot of singing and dancing. If there's one thing that will convince Indiana folk to embrace the LGBTQ community, it's the power of musicals, right?

Indiana! It's a nice state to drive through, and that's about it. If you don't believe me, I've lived here for nearly 35 years, and there are still a lot of rough areas with Trump 2020 flags and signs still on display. Ryan Murphy seems to know that, since he's shaking up the Midwest with this Broadway-inspired musical featuring big, glamorous musical sequences.

It looks like something doesn't go exactly as planned, because there's a shot in this trailer of our main character looking heartbroken as the remnants of a prom in the school gymnasium lie in the background. The synopsis notes that the celebrity activism of Streep and Corden backfires, perhaps providing some commentary on the shallow, public support that celebrities give to certain causes just to make themselves look good. But it appears that may result in a much more favorable outcome, which includes an entirely new prom where everyone is allowed to attend, resulting in, you guessed it, a big ol' musical number!

The cast also includes Keegan-Michael Key as the high school principal, Kerry Wahshginton as the head of the PTA, as well as Tracey Ullman, Kevin Chamberlin, Mary Kay Place, Nico Greetham, Logan Riley, Nathaniel J. Potvin, and Sofia Deler in supporting roles. Ryan Murphy directs with a script adapted by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, writers of the original Broadway musical.

Here's the official synopsis for The Prom:

Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep) and Barry Glickman (James Corden) are New York City stage stars with a crisis on their hands: their expensive new Broadway show is a major flop that has suddenly flatlined their careers. Meanwhile, in small-town Indiana, high school student Emma Nolan (newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman) is experiencing a very different kind of heartbreak: despite the support of the high school principal (Keegan-Michael Key), the head of the PTA (Kerry Washington) has banned her from attending the prom with her girlfriend, Alyssa (Ariana DeBose). When Dee Dee and Barry decide that Emma's predicament is the perfect cause to help resurrect their public images, they hit the road with Angie (Nicole Kidman) and Trent (Andrew Rannells), another pair of cynical actors looking for a professional lift. But when their self-absorbed celebrity activism unexpectedly backfires, the foursome find their own lives upended as they rally to give Emma a night where she can truly celebrate who she is.

The Prom arrives in limited theaters and on Netflix on December 11, 2020.