When I used to perform in high school and college — and I use the word "perform" here extremely loosely — one item I always considered a necessity was a bold red lipstick. In fact, lots of performers do, though if you tuned into Netflix's all-new movie musical, The Prom [1], and took note of every character's hair and makeup, you'd probably notice that cherry red lips seldom made an appearance unless it was a scene featuring Meryl Streep [2], who stars in the film as down-on-her-luck Broadway star, Dee Dee Allen.
"Meryl had the most glamorous makeup [3] — she had the red lips," the movie's lead makeup artist, Eryn Krueger [4], told POPSUGAR. "We stayed away from any other character having red lips. A lot of the inspiration from the makeup comes from the basic tones of the movie, which are purple and pink and turquoise and a jade colour. So there were no reds represented in any of the makeup — that was left for her character."
The Prom made its debut on Netflix on Dec. 11. It's a glitzy, Ryan Murphy-directed adaptation of the 2016 stageplay of the same name, telling the story of four Broadway actors rallying behind a lesbian high school student in a small town after the PTA bans her from attending the prom with her girlfriend. Along with Streep, the film stars James Corden as Barry Glickman [5], Nicole Kidman [6] as Angie, Andrew Rannells as Trent, Jo Ellen Pellman as Emma Nolan, Ariana DeBose as Emma's girlfriend Alyssa, Kerry Washington [7] as head of the PTA and mother of Emma's girlfriend Alyssa, and Keegan-Michael Key as the high school principal.
With such a large, outstanding cast, you could probably guess that there's a lot that went on behind the scenes hair-and-makeup-wise — and you'd be right. Ahead, we're taking you through all the details on the biggest backstage transformations on set.
Why the Beauty Looks Take Inspiration From the 1990s
The most exciting part about participating in a film about a high school prom is taking inspiration from your own experience at the prom when conceptualizing the characters.
"I went to prom in 1991, and the '90s are full-on back with the kids," Chris Clark [8], the film's lead hairstylist, told POPSUGAR. "I did reference some '90s stuff with a couple of the characters and just what that meant for the prom and what that meant for me as a gay person, and what that felt like in the early '90s and taking that as inspiration."
Clark mostly referenced '90s themes in characters like Shelby (Sofia Deler) and Kaylee (Logan Riley Hassel), which he noted was "kind of a juxtaposition to Emma, who's very naturalistic."
The Symbolism Behind Ariana DeBose's Transformation
Of all the lead actors on set, Ariana DeBose had one of the biggest behind-the-scenes transformations, tucking her naturally curly hair away under a straight, full lace wig. According to Clark, this was intentional and based on the fact that her character is constantly under pressure from her mother to be perfect.
"I think if you look at her character from head to toe, it's all these little tiny details that are polished about her, and Ariana is a super laid back, chill, delightful human being, but she has a magnifying glass of a mother looking over her and every single detail about her has to be perfect," Clark said.
Krueger added, "It's very opposite of who she is in real life. She's very natural, and she had to be incredibly put together for her character, almost to the point of overperfection. So she had this beautiful wig and beautiful makeup and I think she was the most extremely different."
On the Film's Most Impactful Scene
Over 100 people manage to show up to Emma's queer prom at the end of the movie, a scene that the hair and makeup team was the most emotionally invested in for a touching reason.
"I didn't have a queer prom when I was in high school, so watching those kids come into that number with perfect polished skin and whatever makeup they wanted that day just meant a lot to me," Clark said. "There were some trans actors that we wigged just to make them feel extra special for the day, and I would say that I was very emotionally invested in that entrance scene."
What's even more special is that the prom attendees were given control over how they wanted to look while filming the scene. "If they just wanted to have lipstick on or if they wanted to have full glamour — whatever they wanted to look like, that was what they got. It was so cool to see all these amazing makeup looks and hairstyles come through that light tunnel. The prom was probably the best part — seeing everybody so happy and the dancing and everything was great."
The 1 Hairspray That Literally Held Everything Together
"I'm a big fan of R+Co," Clark said. "I think they have a brilliant line and their Outer Space Flexible Hairspray [9] ($32) is probably one of my favourite products. I probably went through that the most [on set]."
A Note On Meryl Streep's Red Pixie Cut
One transformation that surprised us the most was that of Meryl Streep [10], who played her part wearing a deep red pixie cut. It's a stunning change, though it's one that the actress and her own personal hairstylist came up with on their own.
"Meryl has this amazing gentleman, Roy, who's looked after her for many, many, many years, and he does her hair and makeup," Clark said. "He's responsible for Meryl, and that's a decision that Ryan and Meryl and Roy came to. He's been her hair and makeup designer for decades, and they do brilliant work."
Other Wigs on The Prom
Throughout the show, you might be surprised to learn that every single actor wore a wig for the film. The one exception? Jo Ellen Pellman. "We liked her [natural] hair," said Clark. "It just made sense for the character."