Whether the response is one of fond reminiscence or half-forgotten horror, hardly anyone is neutral on the subject of the high school Prom. Was it the pinnacle of your youth or its humiliating underbelly? Can you hardly wait for it to arrive or could you hardly wait for it to be over? Whatever your experience, you are guaranteed to find at least a glimpse of it mirrored in "Prom: No Turning Back," a fascinating and visually stunning collaboration between the Children's Theatre Company and Philadelphia's New Paradise Laboratories.

"Prom" is CTC's second foray into programming geared specifically for teens (following last year's "Antigone") and for this production they have teamed up with movement-based New Paradise, an Obie Award-winning experimental company. NPL's artistic director, Whit Mac Laughlin, and a cast of CTC members and teen actors have created a piece that layers movement, sound and striking visual images to provide a dynamic commentary on that unique social phenomenon, the Prom.

This is a production that really begins off-stage. Upon arriving at the Franklin Art Works space, audience members are directed to three "exhibits." The first consists of videotaped reminiscences by company members of their own Prom experiences. Next is a witty parody of an art installation in which Prom rituals are acted out in stylized fashion while tour guides interpret them from a lofty, anthropological viewpoint. The final exhibit takes place in the theater and launches seamlessly into the performance as the actors give concrete form to their Prom memories.

What ensues is the playing out of the Prom as a sporting event, a game of "Chaperones vs. Students." The rules are constantly evolving while the goal remains the same: getting possession of the keys that will unlock the future. New Paradise company member Jeb Kreager is the Referee who, with the aid of a whistle and increasingly frenetic hand signals, directs the action of the "plays" and calls penalties for such infractions as "improper hand placement" during slow dances.

From the newly crowned Prom king and queen who literally float through the air to the hilarious image of teens in Prom gowns, high tops and knee pads tackling their chaperones in an elegantly choreographed dance as they make a break for the locked door of the future, "Prom" takes apart the familiar images of this rite of passage and puts them back together in startling and refreshing ways.

While some scenes verge on the oblique, the energy and vibrancy of the performances keep this production driving forward at a headlong and infectious pace. From the blaring wall of sound that slaps the audience in the face in the first scene, to the principal's poignant solitary waltz into the past at the end of the show, "Prom" will challenge your assumptions and linger in your memory long after it's over.