In 2018, when DreamWorks’ & Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power came out, a legion of queer fans, myself included, felt our jaws collectively drop during the iconic eighth episode of the first season. Since then, I’ve only noticed more cases of queer proms within the media. Honestly, it was because of this very kiss that I attended the show myself, and I was blown away by its incredible music and touching storyline that validated my own and many other people’s queer identity. On Thursday, November 22, 2018, The Prom broke the internet, premiering the first LGBTQ+ kiss in the history of the Thanksgiving Day Parade ( and you’ll be able to catch the whole thing yourself on Netflix later this year, with a star-studded Ryan Murphy adaptation).
As per the show’s eponymous title, the musical centers around a young teenage lesbian from Indiana named Emma, who is denied access to her school’s prom after wishing to bring her girlfriend as her date, and the simultaneously well-meaning and fumbling efforts of Broadway stars/hacks attempting to get her to the prom.Ī campy and heartfelt tale, the show features the usual song-and-dance familiar to Broadway while breaking new ground everywhere else. In October 2018, a musical titled The Prom made its Broadway debut at the Longacre Theatre in Manhattan, New York.