– Editors Update: Jan 2014 – 80's Prom will have several special showings throughout 2014, see the show link for dates.
Arguably the most commercially successful improvo-tainment since “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding”, “The Awesome 80s Prom” will be turning off its lights, Nov. 2. The show, which opened back in summer 2004, eventually moved from Webster Hall on the East Side to The Wall (recently opened and also owned by Webster Hall) on the West Side. However, the owners of The Wall want theirs to be a more concert-and-club oriented venue, so out goes the Prom.
Said producer and show creator Ken Davenport in a statement, “To quote one of my favorite 80s tunes, 'I've had the time of my life.' We're still hopeful that we'll find another NYC venue and will be able to reopen soon. But in the meantime, I'm going to start working on `The Phat 90s Prom.’"
“The Awesome 80s Prom” takes characters from 1980s high-school genre movies and has them compete for Prom King or Queen. All the while, they dance and interact to hits from the era. The audience can also dance, listen, interact and be part of the event.
Other Awesome Proms have already been mounted regionally as well as in high schools across the country. New Yorkers craving this sort of entertainment once “Prom” passes can at least take comfort in the current runs, in repertory, of “My Big Gay Italian Wedding” and “My Big Gay Italian Funeral”.