Emma Nolan is a high school senior in Edgewater, Indiana. She wants to attend the prom with her girlfriend, Alyssa Greene, but the parent group cancels the dance instead. Alyssa is hiding the relationship from her mother, who leads the group and controls the school event. Four struggling Broadway stars arrive from New York and turn the fight into a bright, loud musical comedy.
The film makes a lesbian romance its main story, not a side plot. Emma faces bullying, Alyssa fears coming out, and the girls finally attend a prom made for every LGBTQ student. Several songs argue for acceptance and use Christian language against people who reject the couple. The film also presents local parents and church-going students as barriers that must change, while it pokes fun at the Broadway stars’ shallow public activism.
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Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Prom.
Woke representation / casting
The film puts two teenage girls at the center of the romance. Ariana DeBose, a queer actor of Puerto Rican descent, plays Alyssa opposite Jo Ellen Pellman. The film also gives major parts to a flamboyant gay Broadway character and another gay theater worker. Press coverage presents queer women, especially a woman of color, as the romantic leads and visible role models. The setting can support a mixed cast, but the repeated identity focus makes the casting choice strongly visible.
66%
Woke political dialogue
The film repeatedly calls the school’s policy homophobic. The story argues that everyone should be free to bring the person they love. The Broadway group openly calls itself liberal and turns the fight into a public cause. Trent’s “Love Thy Neighbor” number uses Bible language to challenge Christian students who reject the girls. The story also mocks celebrity activism, so the political message is clear but mixed with satire.
58%
Identity-driven story themes
The film’s central conflict is a lesbian student being punished for bringing her girlfriend. Emma and Alyssa’s love, coming out, and fear of family rejection drive the main story. The Broadway stars organize an inclusive prom for LGBTQ students. The ending celebrates public queer joy and treats acceptance as the answer to the conflict.
94%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The PTA cancels a school event rather than allow a same-sex couple to attend. The film presents the PTA leader, church-going students, and other local adults as using faith and tradition to block the girls. Trent’s mall song argues that Christian ideas about love should support the couple instead. The movie later softens Alyssa’s mother. The story also mocks the Broadway stars’ shallow activism, so the critique is not total.
52%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The film adapts its own 2018 Broadway musical with fictional characters. The screen version changes scenes and songs, but it does not change an established character or real historical figure for identity reasons.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
The Federalist called the movie an extreme liberal message and objected to its treatment of small-town Christians. Movieguide called it politically correct and anti-Christian because the story uses Bible language to support same-sex relationships. The separate X pass found only a few small accounts calling it anti-Christian or PC propaganda. No major right-leaning campaign, boycott, or review-bombing effort was reported.
18%
Creator track record context
Ryan Murphy has a cached creator score of 84/100 and a long record of identity-focused shows and diversity efforts. Chad Beguelin has a cached score of 60/100 and has written queer-centered work. Bob Martin and Jack Viertel have low cached scores, while the listed producers have mixed or low scores. The strongest creator context comes from Murphy and Beguelin, and it matches the movie’s subject.
76%
Production
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