A packed theater of smiling fans is the image you are greeted with when you go to purchase tickets on the Missouri State Tent Theatre website. Sold-out shows are the rule, not the exception.
It surprised many, including Tent Theatre Managing Director Mark Templeton, when the announcement of the musical “The Prom” brought up an inflammatory public reaction.
“I can admit I was surprised because we have had other shows that have had gay characters,” Templeton said. “We have had a few reach out to us via email sharing their objections to the content. That it glorifies homosexuality. The show has a much deeper meaning and the message of caring for each other no matter one’s differences is shared throughout the story.”
“The Prom” is based on a true story about a girl who wants to bring her girlfriend to prom in her small, conservative Indiana town. The school decided to instead cancel prom completely, sparking controversy and attracting a swarm of media attention.
“It kind of hurts my heart a little bit that people don’t want to hear this lovely, sweet story,” Madison Young, Assistant Properties Artisan for “The Prom” said.
The selection process for Tent Theatre shows occurs long before the summer months when the productions are put on. The musical “The Prom” was selected in October 2022, according to Templeton, due to student interest and because the show was a “perfect vehicle for the talent we had at Missouri State University.”
“Tent Theatre is a training facility, and being able to do theater that they think has a strong message behind it is important to the students,” Templeton said. “Just because we have this thing going on culturally around the U.S. right now, we weren’t going to change directions on it [the musical]. In fact, it made the students more insistent that we tell the stories of ‘The Prom’.”
Ordinarily, ticket sales for Tent Theatre are blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, with shows normally selling out completely. “The Prom” deviated from that, initially selling only 75 percent of the seats.
Ever since it became apparent ticket sales were not increasing, Tent Theatre representatives reached out to progressive churches, The GLO Center, the AIDS Project of the Ozarks, and PFlag to increase turnout. Ticket sales are now approaching sell out levels.
“Their opinion is valued, yet that does not change what we will present as a theater,” Templeton said of the production’s detractors. “I would encourage people to further educate themselves by at least watching the story, and maybe there’s something in there that might make them think in a different way. And that’s what theater does, it inspires people.”
