Ever have a prom in a library? Penguin Young Readers' Viking Children's Books imprint will release a young adult novel adaptation of the new Broadway musical The Prom September 10. The musical’s three writers—Chad Beguelin, Bob Martin, and Matthew Sklar—have adapted their show alongside Saundra Mitchell, author of the teen anthologies Defy the Dark and All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages.
The comedy officially opened in November and continues to play Broadway’s Longacre Theatre. The show, directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, tells the story of Emma, a high school student in Indiana who becomes the center of a media scandal for wanting to bring her girlfriend to the prom. When her plight catches the attention of some Broadway eccentrics, Emma’s story goes from small-town scandal to theatrical, jazz hand-laden frenzy.
The show is poised to leap from the stage not just to the page, but also to the screen. Ryan Murphy recently revealed that he is at work on bringing the musical to Netflix as a "movie event." (He's doing the same with The Boys in the Band, which he produced on Broadway earlier this season with David Stone).
READ: Broadway's The Prom to Become Netflix Movie Event
The current Broadway company includes Caitlin Kinnunen as Emma, with Isabelle McCalla as her girlfriend Alyssa, and Tony winner Beth Leavel as (fictional) Tony winner Dee Dee Allen, with Brooks Ashmanskas, Christopher Sieber, Josh Lamon, and Angie Schworer as her Broadway cohorts.
Another teen-driven musical was also recently released in book form: the Tony-winning Dear Evan Hansen. Similar to The Prom, the 2018 novel was penned by the show’s creators (Steven Levenson, Justin Paul, and Benj Pasek) with the addition of Val Emmich.