Over the summer, 32 students from across the Pikes Peak region spent their days learning the ins and outs of live theater at the Colorado Springs Conservatory.

Now, the students will present “The Prom” at the Ent Center for the Arts this weekend, showcasing their work from the Summer Musical Theatre Intensive.

Written by Chad Beguelin, Bob Martin and Matthew Sklar, “The Prom” follows four eccentric Broadway stars who read about a local town cancelling a prom because a student wants to take her girlfriend as her date. When they arrive to try to help, wackiness ensues, said director Nathan Halvorson, CEO of the Colorado Springs Conservatory.

Described as a classical musical comedy, the production opened on Broadway in 2018 and won the Drama Desk Award for best musical.

“We chose the show this year so that students in the Pikes Peak region know that there is somewhere where they can go where they will be accepted that is inclusive and lifts them up for who they are,” Halvorson said.

The students have been hard at work this summer. After auditioning in April, they’ve spent the last several weeks rehearsing the musical in the afternoon and taking acting classes in the morning. For Halvorson, seeing the students learn and grow makes the program one of his favorites.

“It’s just so hopeful to be surrounded by the next generation of not just artists, but change-makers,” he said. “Watching the light bulbs go off when you share an idea, and then watching them run with that idea, is truly magical.”

While education is at the center of the summer intensive, the performance is a fun way the students can show what they’ve learned with the community, Halvorson said. Ultimately, he hopes the audience comes out to not only support the young artists, but share a laugh.

“The show really, at its core, is about kindness, and I think that we all could be reminded to enter the world with a little bit more kindness,” he said. “It’s a silly, silly show with a timely message, but it mostly is a laugh-out-loud comedy.”