Caitlin Kinnunen and Isabelle McCalla, lead actors in Broadway’ The Prom musical, made Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade history on Thursday by sharing its first same-sex kiss, broadcast to millions of viewers across the U.S.
Said the musical’s producers Bill Damaschke, Dori Berinstein, and Jack Lane to EW: “Broadway’s The Prom is grateful to Macy’s and NBC for their acceptance and inclusivity of a community and a story that is about acceptance, tolerance and love. These are some of the themes reflected in our musical comedy and we are very proud to be the very first LGBTQ kiss on the Thanksgiving Day Parade.”
REVIEW: Feel-Good New Musical ‘The Prom’ Wears a Big Heart on Its Puffy Sleeve – REVIEW
Here’s what Towleroad’s theatre critic Naveen Kumar had to say about The Prom – from his review: “It’s easy to look around at the theatre and think, “What are we doing here?” — together in the dark, ignoring news alerts piling up on our switched-off phones. It’s always the foremost question on my mind when the lights go down. The Prom’s answer — to help us understand that everyone, regardless of who they are, wants to be happy — is deceptively simple. As we’ve learned the hard way, it’s also all too easy to forget. If you skipped prom the first time around, or simply pretended to enjoy it, trust me — you deserve another chance.”
Read his full review here.
A few reactions from Twitter:
So proud. So thankful. pic.twitter.com/DGTYNsJhxB
— Josh Lamon (@JoshLamon) November 22, 2018
But like… can we talk about how many lives @ThePromMusical just changed?!? We STAN forever. #ThanksgivingDayParade
— Ryan Bloomquist (@ryanbloomquist) November 22, 2018
2 women just kissed on the Macy’s parade and 20gayteen is alive and strong. Also I need to become obsessed with the musical The Prom
— 👩🏻🦰 🎁 Birthday Kat!!! 🎁👩🏻🦰 (@GingerKat222) November 22, 2018
So, the Thanksgiving Day parade just showcased the musical The Prom, which culminated in two women sharing a kiss. Even ten years ago, that wouldn’t have happened. Despite everything terrible in the world, that progress like that can happen gives me hope love can still win.
— Starla Huchton (@starlahuchton) November 22, 2018
Thanksgiving Morning kiss from #Broadways THE PROM. #MacysDayParade pic.twitter.com/2mS9eq0WXQ
— Kevin Galliford (@KallMeKG) November 22, 2018
#macysthanksgivingdayparade The parade is beaming into millions of homes across America. The musical number from Broadway play The Prom was great, and featured gay couples, ending with a lesbian kiss. How to normalize what is normal, but not for too many closed minds. Thankful.
— Carol Harrison (@PuppyPudding) November 22, 2018
