Meryl Streep has been tapped to star in Ryan Murphy’s adaptation of the Tony-nominated musical “The Prom” for Netflix.
Deadline reports that Streep will be joined by other big names such as Ariana Grande, Nicole Kidman, James Corden, Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key and Andrew Rannells.
The story follows Emma, a lesbian teen who is banned from bringing her girlfriend to prom at a high school in a small Indiana town. Streep will portray Dee Dee Allen and Corden will play Barry Glickman, a Broadway playwriting duo whose latest play about Eleanor Roosevelt was a failure. Kidman has been cast as chorus member Angie Dickinson and Rannells will play actor Trent Oliver. Awkwafina will play publicist Ms. Sheldon.
The Broadway group hears about Emma’s plight and travel to the Indiana small town to help with the goal of receiving good press along the way.
Grande will portray the popular daughter of the PTA and Key is Principal Hawkins, the principal of the school who is on Emma’s side and a love interest of Streep’s character.
A nationwide search is underway for an unknown actress to play the lead role of Emma.
Filming is scheduled to begin in December with plans for a fall 2020 release on Netflix.
