Las Vegas’ Majestic Repertory Theatre has long been one of our favorite companies to watch, whether it is for their experimental immersive work or their inventive movie musical parodies. Now they’re doing the whole “you got your chocolate in my peanut butter” thing in the form of Prom Night ’99 which is billed as “the ultimate immersive throwback to the golden age of late-90s teen movies.”
Look, if you’ve ever loved a movie where the lead couldn’t land her dream date because had glasses and a ponytail, where the ice queen antagonist had cruel intentions, or just wanted to see what happens when the comic relief manages to spike the punch the promise of this premise is for me. Uh, we mean you. Yes. Totally what we meant.
It’s exciting to see the Majestic gang mix their two signature styles together to create something where they pledge that “every choice shapes the outcome, from Fairy-Tale Endings to Total Social Meltdown.”
We checked in with writer/director Troy Heard to get the hot gos on what’s happening at the biggest dance of the year, which opens July 23rd and runs through August.
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NO PROSCENIUM: Tell us a little bit about your experience! What’s it about? What makes it immersive?
Tory Heard: Prom Night '99 drops you directly into the graduating class of William J. Clinton High School's Class of 1999 on what is supposed to be the Best Night of Your Life. As you arrive, you’re treated as fellow classmates attending prom, complete with dancing, punch, and all the drama you'd expect from a late-'90s teen movie.
But beneath the mirrorball, heartbreaks are brewing, secrets are unraveling, and the carefully orchestrated evening is heading toward disaster—befitting the night’s Titanic theme: “My Heart Will Go On.”
What makes the experience immersive is that you aren’t just watching the story unfold; you’re part of the class. You’ll hang with characters, influence relationships, and ultimately help determine how the night ends. With multiple possible endings and character arcs that shift based on audience interaction, no two proms are exactly alike.
NP: What was the inspiration for your upcoming experience?
TH: The idea grew out of something we were already seeing with Majestic audiences. Our musical parodies of Scream, The Craft, and Showgirls tapped into a deep well of '90s nostalgia, proving there's a generation of theatergoers eager to revisit the pop culture that shaped them.
I've always loved the late-'90s teen movie boom, and many of the films that defined that era arrived within a remarkably short window between 1998 and 1999. My biggest inspiration was Can't Hardly Wait. Around it were films like She's All That, 10 Things I Hate About You, Election, and Cruel Intentions, each offering its own archetypes, conflicts, and high-school mythology.
Rather than parodying a single movie, I wanted to create a world that felt like stepping inside all of them at once.
NP: What do you think fans of immersive will find most interesting about this latest experience?
TH: I think immersive fans will appreciate that Prom Night '99 embraces participation without making audience members feel like they're being put on the spot. You can dive deep into the story, chase gossip, campaign for your favorite prom king or queen candidate, and help shape the outcome of the evening—but you never have to become the center of attention if you don't want to.
At its heart, Prom Night '99 isn't about solving a mystery or completing a quest. It's about inhabiting a moment.
NP: Once you started designing and testing what did you discover about this experience that was unexpected?
TH: Going in, I expected nostalgia and comedy to be the biggest draws. After all, the show lives in the world of over-the-top teen movies.
What surprised us was how quickly the characters revealed a genuine emotional core. While Prom Night '99 follows in the tradition of interactive classics like Tony n' Tina's Wedding and The Awesome 80s Prom, the cast and I found ourselves less interested in parodying these characters than understanding them.
Beneath every prom queen, activist artist, jock, and stressed-out overachiever is someone desperately trying to figure out where they belong. The stakes may seem small from an adult perspective—who wins prom king and queen—but to these characters, it's the culmination of four years of hopes, fears, and expectations.
NP: What can fans who are coming to this, or thinking about coming to this, do to get into the mood of the experience?
TH: The easiest answer is: spend a weekend revisiting the late '90s. Throw on Can't Hardly Wait, She's All That, and 10 Things I Hate About You.. Those films were huge inspirations.
Music is just as important. Build yourself a playlist with songs from Third Eye Blind, Smash Mouth, Blink-182, Sugar Ray, The Goo Goo Dolls, Sixpence None the Richer, Len, and Vitamin C. If hearing one of those songs instantly transports you to a school dance, you're on the right track.
And don't be afraid to dress the part. Dust off that old prom look or come as the person you wish you had been in high school.
Most importantly, come ready to play. Vote. Dance. Cheer for your favorites. The more you lean into the fantasy that it's April 1999 and tomorrow doesn't exist yet, the more rewarding the experience becomes.
Because for one night, we're all seventeen again—and this is absolutely, positively going to be the Best Night of Our Lives. Or at least that's what Vice Principal Blaine keeps reminding us.
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