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Young local actors rise to the professional caliber of their experienced cohorts with a performance theater-goers of all ages can relate to. Albuquerque Little Theatre is teaming up with New York-based Devon Frieder Productions to bring a Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical to the stage Jan. 24 through Feb. 9. Featuring an all-local cast and crew, The Prom is a musical comedy that reminds us we all can learn something by modeling the courage of teenagers. Devon Frieder, who grew up in Santa Fe, won’t just be playing the musical’s lead role as Emma, she is producing and choreographing the production as well.
“It has my favorite kind of music, really high energy dancing, it’s very funny. I feel like this is the kind of show that has my name all over it in terms of what I love most,” Frieder says. “But it’s really about these celebrities who get their priorities shifted and get some perspective from this strong young girl who, despite being bullied, just wants to be herself.”
The Prom, which premiered on Broadway in 2018, follows four egotistical Broadway stars in search of some good press who try to use their celebrity clout to help a high school girl facing discrimination at school. The musical is inspired by the real-life story of Constance McMillen, a Mississippi teen who invited her girlfriend to her 2010 high school prom and planned to wear a tuxedo to the big event. The school canceled the dance, McMillen sued the school, and several Hollywood celebrities with questionable motives got involved.
Former New York thespian and ALT Executive Director Rob Armstrong Martin will join a cast of 20 local actors and belt out a few tunes as the school principal in The Prom. About a third of the musical’s cast are new to ALT’s stage, and a handful are new to Albuquerque.
“We’re seeing an influx of talent from all over looking for work in the arts because of the reputation of Albuquerque as a hot spot for artist employment,” said Martin.
Frieder, who works in New York City as a full-time actor and director-choreographer, has partnered with ALT in the past for the 2024 production Something Rotten. In addition to her roles as a teaching artist for Disney Theatrical on Broadway and official choreographer for Straw Hat Auditions in New York, she’s played Ariel in The Little Mermaid, Elle Woods in Legally Blonde and one of her favorite roles as Veronica in Heathers. In 2018 she received a Spotlight Award Nomination for Best Choreography at the 2018 Enchantment Awards.
“We have so much young talent, and they are all rising to the occasion working alongside these older, former professionals,” Frieder says. “I just hope that no one misses their chance to see what these amazing actors and teens have accomplished, because I really think it’s a professional caliber show. It’s something that we don’t always see, and it’s really something special.”
The Prom
Albuquerque Little Theatre
224 San Pasquale SW
Jan. 24-Feb. 9
Fridays & Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.
Sundays, 2 p.m.
Tickets: $35-$38
albuquerquelittletheatre.org/tickets/