Detroit's Senate Theater throwing prom with a 'Carrie' theme to raise money for projector

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28-05-2025

"Carrie" set the bar for prom night scares (not to mention prom dress dry-cleaning bills) when it came out in 1976.
The horror film that made Sissy Spacek a star will be a main attraction May 31 at the Carrie Prom at Detroit's Senate Theater.
In case you're totally unfamiliar with pre-1980s pop culture, "Carrie" was directed by Brian De Palma and based on a Stephen King novel. It's about a high school student (Spacek) with telekinetic powers and a fanatically religious mom (the late Detroit native Piper Laurie) who frequently locks her daughter in a prayer closet.
When Carrie's evening at the prom is ruined by a cruel prank that leaves her drenched in pig's blood, her supernatural powers erupt into a deadly bloodbath. The movie was a box office and critical hit, earning Oscar nominations for best actress for Spacek and best supporting actress for Laurie.
Will those attending the Carrie Prom be encouraged to prom it up? "Oh, please!," laughingly exclaims Lindsay Robillard, treasurer of the Detroit Theater Organ Society, the volunteer nonprofit group dedicated to preserving the Senate Theater.
As the Senate website notes, prom attire is not required, but patrons are strongly advised to "be sure to dress like it's whatever year it is that you definitely didn't peak."
P.S.: For maximum authenticity, you can wear your actual prom outfit from back in the day, if you dare.
The event will feature a live band, non-alcoholic punch at the concession stand (now there's a prom flashback), local art vendors and a photo spot for the taking of prom pictures. According to Robillard, who recently rewatched "Carrie," decorations like streamers and silver stars will evoke the Under the Stars theme of the movie's disastrous dance.
And, of course, there will be an overture just prior to the screening on the Senate Theater's "Mighty Wurlitzer" organ.
A prom court will be crowned during an intermission. "We've got some prizes donated from two of the best places probably to find a prom dress in the city, the Peacock Room and Flamingo Vintage," says Robillard.
The bigger purpose of the party and screening is to raise money for a new projector for the historic theater, one of the few remaining Detroit movie houses from the 1920s. Specifically, the goal is to buy a DCI-compliant projector that meets the quality and security standards of the Digital Cinema Initiatives, a group formed by the major Hollywood studios.
A new projector would allow the theater to "provide a higher-quality experience for Detroit-area film lovers and filmmakers" and "expand the kinds of films we're able to screen," says Robillard.
Older projectors that are not DCI-compliant, like the Senate's current one, are no longer acceptable to distributors of first-run films and numerous classic titles. "We were going to try and play (director Hayao Miyazaki's 1989 animated film) 'Kiki's Delivery Service' last year and they were like, 'Not with that projector, you're not,'" recalls Robillard.
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The Senate Theater is one of several sites helping to fill the gaps left in the region's art house theater scene left by the loss of the Maple Theater in Bloomfield Township and Main Art Theater in Royal Oak.
And for one night during the Carrie Prom, as the Senate description puts it, it's the place to be "whether your prom was a night to remember or just a nightmare."
Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at [e-mail].
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6 p.m.-midnight May 31. Film screening starts at 8 p.m.
Senate Theater
6424 Michigan Ave., Detroit
$15 at SenateTheater.com.
Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit's Senate Theater throwing 'Carrie'-themed prom to raise money