I’m sure we’re all aware of the stereotypes that come with being a “theater kid”; they’re loud, dramatic, always singing, etc. Obviously, these are stereotypes; they don’t represent every person who has ever done theater, but we’d all be lying if we said there wasn’t a bit of truth behind them. However, while most try to stray away from the theater kid title, the film “Theater Camp” wears the label with pride and leans into the ridiculousness we all know theater can be at times.
“Theater Camp” follows the AdirondACTS summer theater camp as they work to have a successful summer without their director, Joan (Amy Sedaris), who fell into a coma during a production of “Bye, Bye, Birdie.” In Joan’s absence, her YouTube vlogger, jock-like son, Troy (Jimmy Tatro), who knows absolutely nothing about theater, takes her place. It becomes apparent quickly that Troy is in over his head and while he attempts to make an impact, we find him doing more harm than good throughout the film.
Along with Troy, there are several returning staff members who are working to make the summer run smoothly, including Amos (Ben Platt), head of drama, and Rebecca-Diane, head of music (Molly Gordon), both of whom attended AndirondACTS as children. Amos and Rebecca-Diane decide to honor their fallen leader by creating “Joan, Still” an original musical based on Joan’s origin story. Over the course of the film we watch the creation and production of “Joan, Still,” Troy single-handedly run AdirondACTS into the ground, and the ensemble cast of mainly children pull us into the world of musical theater.
“Theater Camp” is hands down one of the funniest films I’ve seen in years. While there are
several scenes that demonstrate the pure comedy this movie is, one that sticks out the most is the tear stick scene. In this scene, one of the young actresses is rehearsing a scene where she needs to cry and she does so beautifully. But, in the midst of everyone celebrating her performance, Rebecca-Diane sees signs that the girl was using a tear stick. “She’s using,” Rebecca-Diane states before storming the stage to confront the girl. Equating tear sticks to “doping for actors” Rebecca-Diane and Amos completely freak out. Tears are pouring from Rebecca-Diane and Amos as they exclaim “get off the stick!” as if they caught the girl doing drugs in the camp cabins.
It wouldn’t be a film about a musical theater camp if there wasn’t original music to go along with it. The soundtrack of “Theater Camp” doubles as the soundtrack for “Joan, Still” and it’s safe to say the songs are comical. However, although the songs are written to be humorous, many are unironically good. One of the songs that fits this bill would be “Camp Isn’t Home,” the finale number of “Joan, Still.” Championed by the chorus “camp isn’t home/but is it kind of/kind of it is/I think it kind of is,” the song is a reflection of the children’s experiences during their time at camp. It’s also a complete bop and I’m not ashamed to say it.
“Theater Camp” doesn’t take itself too seriously which is why it’s great. Despite its name and plot, you don’t have to be a theater person to enjoy this film. If anything, “Theater Camp” will probably confirm the preconceived notions you had about theater and how ridiculous it can be. After all, Gordon and Platt, who also helped write the film, modeled it based on their experiences as young theater kids, so while things may be exaggerated there’s definitely some truth behind what’s shown on screen. I’d also be remiss if I ended this review without mentioning the phenomenal performances of Noah Galvin who plays Glenn, and the child actors seen throughout the film. They were definitely the stand out performances in my opinion and more eyes should be on them.
You can find “Theater Camp” on Hulu or purchase it on Video On Demand, it’s definitely worth the watch.
