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Although Broadway may be temporarily closed, fans can still watch some movie musicals, thanks to streaming platforms like Netflix. Here’s what we know about their latest original movie, The Prom, starring Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman.

The cast of Broadway's 'The Prom' perform on Walt Disney Television
The cast of Broadway’s ‘The Prom’ perform on Walt Disney Television | Jeff Neira/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images CAST OF THE PROM

What is ‘The Prom’ about?

This musical first debuted on Broadway during 2018, earning a number of Tony Award nominations since its release. Now, a new version of The Prom will be available for streaming on Netflix, just in time for the holiday season.

It features a similar story to the Broadway musical, with an LGBTQ couple at the center of everything. According to the trailer’s description, there’s a big problem for award-winning Broadway actors Dee Dee Allen (Streep) and Barry Glickman (James Corden.)

Their new and expensive Broadway show is a major flop, derailing their careers. Meanwhile, a small-town, high school student Emma Nolan and her girlfriend, Alyssa have been banned from attending their prom as a couple.

In an effort to fix their public image, Dee Dee and Barry head to Indiana with two other actors, Angie (Kidman) and Trent (Andrew Rannells,) to rectify the situation and make the night a little more special for this young couple. 

Netflix is releasing an original movie musical for the holiday season

This musical is directed by Ryan Murphy, the same person behind the Emmy award-winning FX series, Pose, which features the largest transgender cast in television history. The screenplay is by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin. 

“It kind of summed up my whole existence,” Murphy said during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Because in a weird way, I was both things. I’m from Indiana. In high school, I was not allowed to bring my date to the prom. So, that was personal to me. I ended up taking my best girlfriend. When I saw it, it was so joyful and it was so optimistic, and it was fun, and yet it had something to say.”

“We made it really quickly,” he continued. “I saw it in January [2019], and we were shooting in December. With every passing month you would feel Rome burning more, and more, and more. I had been personally working on a couple of projects that were very dark and kind of gloomy. This was just pure joy.”

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‘The Prom’ premieres exclusively on Netflix during December 2020

The stage production of The Prom has since closed its doors in New York City. However, other musicals still on Broadway are closed until at least May 2021, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and stay-at-home orders.

There are still some ways to watch fan-favorite musicals. Disney+ released a live recording of Hamilton, featuring the original Broadway cast. Now, Netflix has plans to premiere a movie adaptation of the Tony-nominated musical, The Prom.

The Prom premieres exclusively on Netflix on Dec. 4, 2020. To learn more about this streaming platform and to subscribe, visit their website.

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