Adults Get Another Crack at the Perfect Prom Night

April Tatelman remembers it all so vividly.

The fancy dinner at a hillside Burbank restaurant with sweeping views of city lights. The hum of her date’s 1957 Thunderbird. He, in a white tuxedo, and she, in a pale pink chiffon confection, cutting a rug to the dulcet sounds of Jan & Dean, the Beach Boys and the Righteous Brothers.

Her first 1 a.m. curfew. Some necking, but no drinking.

Ahhh, prom, sweet prom.

But that was 30 years, two daughters, two grandchildren and two marriages ago. And the romantic photos under the vine-draped gazebo with ol’ what-was-his-name-again? don’t have that much resonance now.

So April, 46, and husband Larry, 49, are doing prom over again. A wiser, more mature prom with better clothes (probably something slinky and black).

The Camarillo couple, who own a travel agency, will be joined by as many as 174 other couples of all ages at the Second-Chance Prom, sponsored by KMLT-FM (92.7) in Thousand Oaks, which also transmits in Los Angeles as KLIT-FM (92.7).

*

“So many of us didn’t go, or have had more than one spouse, and didn’t do the prom thing with this spouse, so we had to go,” April Tatelman said. “This one will be much better than when I was a kid. This one will be even more memorable because it will be with my husband, the light of my life.”

The May 1 Second-Chance Prom--a charitable event that includes dinner and dancing at the Hyatt Westlake in Thousand Oaks, tux rental, corsage and boutonniere for $92.70 a couple--is striking a romantic chord with couples ages 20 and older. About half the tickets for this first-time charity event have already been sold, and the anti-drug DARE program and the affordable housing group Many Mansions stand to gain as much as $3,000 each from the shindig.

But this is not a purely nostalgia-driven fete where people remember their younger, firmer selves.

Instead, participants are reveling in the chance to celebrate mature love in the dappled light of a disco ball.

Quipped one prom-goer, “This time, I might get lucky.”

For a few participants--including Larry Tatelman--it will be their first prom.

“High school wasn’t wonderful,” Larry Tatelman deadpanned. “And the prom--it was a million years ago. I probably didn’t have anyone to take. I know I didn’t have anyone to take.”

“He had his nose buried in a book,” April retorted.

But not this balmy May night. Dancing will be the order of the day, according to radio station General Manager Rick Lemmo, who is coordinating the event.

Music will include slow-dance favorites--from Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” and Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”--plus heavy doses of celebratory disco (think Gloria Gaynor, Chic and KC and the Sunshine Band.)

To make the prom senior-picture-perfect, the Hyatt will be decked out in streamers, balloons and flowers. A savory chicken penne pasta, salads, cheesecake and roast beef are on the menu. And a prom photographer will be on hand to capture those soulful gazes under the gazebo.

*

The hotel is offering a discount room rate for anyone who has a little too much champagne or who doesn’t want to drive home at midnight.

If the festivities sound just a little bit silly, that is OK, Lemmo said.

“There are so many charity events going on in this area, so you want to do something fun,” Lemmo said. “Not to say that other charity events aren’t fun, but it’s the difference between a chuckle and a belly laugh.”

For Camarillo resident Teri Peterson, the event is a chance to recapture teenage freedom--sans neuroses. Peterson will likely be the prom-goer in vintage duds--instead of a scarlet spaghetti-strapped number--and a 1970s center part.

“Back then, you didn’t quite know what to do with yourself,” said Peterson, a safety official with a machining company. “We were such insecure teenagers: ‘Do I look OK?’ ‘Do I dance all right?’ ‘What does everyone think of me?’ ”

This time around, she and husband Kim, a 45-year-old AT&T; Wireless executive, will party into the wee hours with good friends.

“Our prediction is the night will be a 10,” Kim Peterson said.

FYI

Tickets for the May 1 Second-Chance Prom charitable event cost $92.70 a couple and are still available. For reservations, call radio station Lite 92.7 at (805) 497-8511. Secure reservations can also be made over the Internet at https://www.lite92.7fm.com. Proceeds benefit the DARE anti-drug program and the affordable housing group Many Mansions.