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The Prom Centers Queer Girls in Love in 'You Happened' Promposal Video

The Prom Centers Queer Girls in Love in 'You Happened' Promposal Video

Jo Ellen Pellman and Ariana DeBose

Out stars of The Prom Jo Ellen Pellman and Ariana DeBose propose to each other for prom in a new video from the Netflix movie out today. 

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The Broadway musical The Prom made history in 2018 when it staged the first-ever same-sex kiss at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It ended its run in 2019 with Broadway's first real-life same-sex wedding onstage.

Now video from the number "You Happened," in which various couples perform "promposals," is out, and Jo Ellen Pellman's Emma and Ariana DeBose's Alyssa propose going to prom to each other in an affirming segment of the song.

Ryan Murphy's star-studded movie of The Prom, abig, beautiful tearjerker as theater stalwarts help ensure a queer high school girl gets to take her girlfriend to the prom, is out on Netflix now. The movie stars big names including Meryl Streep, Kerry Washington, Nicole Kidman, Andrew Rannells, Keegan-Michael Key, and James Corden. Heading the cast is newcomer Pellman as Emma, who's blocked by the PTA from taking her girlfriend, Alyssa, to the prom. The casting of Pellman and DeBose is especially notable as both actresses are out and playing a queer couple.

The official synopsis for The Prom reads:

Dee Dee Allen (three-time Academy Award winner Streep) and Barry Glickman (Tony Award winner Corden) are New York City stage stars with a crisis on their hands: their expensive new Broadway show is a major flop that has suddenly flatlined their careers. Meanwhile, in small-town Indiana, high school student Emma Nolan is experiencing a very different kind of heartbreak: despite the support of the high school principal (Key), the head of the PTA (Washington) has banned her from attending the prom with her girlfriend, Alyssa. When Dee Dee and Barry decide that Emma's predicament is the perfect cause to help resurrect their public images, they hit the road with Angie (Academy Award winner Kidman) and Trent (Rannells), another pair of cynical actors looking for a professional lift. But when their self-absorbed celebrity activism unexpectedly backfires, the foursome find their own lives upended as they rally to give Emma a night where she can truly celebrate who she is.

Murphy directs the cast that includes Tracey Ullman, Kevin Chamberlin, Mary Kay Place, Logan Riley, Nico Greetham, Sofia Deler, and Nathaniel J. Potvin.

Chad Beguelin, Bob Martin, and Matthew Sklar created the musical. Martin and Beguelin wrote the screenplay for the film.

Watch the performance of "You Happened" and the promposals below.

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Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.