Caitlin Kinnunen, currently starring on Broadway in The Prom, took the stage at the 30th annual GLAAD Media Awards May 4 to sing the musical’s second act anthem “Unruly Heart.” Watch the performance, also featuring composer Matthew Sklar, the Youth Pride Chorus, Broadway Babies Choir, and Broadway's Ambassadors, above.
Kinnunen earned a Tony nomination for her performance as Emma, a lesbian teenager who unwittingly starts a diva-fueled media frenzy by wanting to bring her girlfriend to her high school prom. After facing rejection from her peers Emma grabs a guitar and computer to sing the anthem about remaining true to one’s self for any other LGBTQ youth facing similar hardships.
“Emma may be fictional, but every LGBTQ person can relate to what she’s saying,” professional wrestler and LGBTQ activist Anthony Bowens says during the performance.
The musical, currently playing at the Longacre Theatre, received seven total nominations: nods for Kinnunen and her co-stars Beth Leavel and Brooks Ashmanskas, Best Musical, Best Original Score for Sklar and Chad Beguelin, Best Book for Beguelin and Bob Martin, and Best Direction of a Musical for Casey Nicholaw.
A YA novel based on the musical—as well as a Netflix adaptation from Ryan Murphy—are also in the works.
READ: Broadway's The Prom to Become Netflix Movie Event
The full ceremony, hosted by drag star Shangela, will air on Logo May 12 at 8 PM. Honorees included the cast of Murphy's Pose, Janelle Monáe, Andy Cohen, and Madonna.
