If you were in drama club in high school and /or you attended sleep away camp, especially one that specialized in a particular interest, like performing arts or sports, then Theater Camp is a movie that is likely just up your alley. Originally presented as a critically acclaimed short film. Theater Camp is the brainchild of Molly Gordon (Booksmart), Nick Lieberman (making his feature film directorial debut), and Noah Galvin (The Real O'Neals). The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2023, was purchased and released by Searchlight Pictures in July and is now available for streaming on Hulu and iTunes.
Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris; Elf) owns a sleepaway camp in the Adirondack Mountains for kids interested in theater. Every year, during the off-season, she and camp manager, Rita Cohen (Caroline Aaron; Edward Scissorhands) travel throughout the country to raise funds and find talent for the camp. However, when Joan ends up in a coma after reacting to a strobe light during a production of Bye, Bye Birdie, her son, Troy (Jimmy Tatro; 22 Jump Street) fills in as camp director. Unfortunately, Troy knows nothing about running a sleep-away camp or relating to theater kids. To make matters worse, the camp, Adirond-Acts, is in financial straights, and the neighboring, rich - kid, theater camp, Lakeside, is chomping at the bit to buy Adirond-Acts, thus adding to Lakeside's land.
Meanwhile, loyal, long-time staff members and best friends, Amos (Ben Platt; Dear Evan Hansen) and Rebecca Diane (Gordon) begin to drift apart as Rebecca Diane seems to be keeping secrets from Amos and is more and more absent for rehearsals of the annual final musical - an original production traditionally written by Amos and Rebecca Diane. At the same time, seeing no way to keep the bank from foreclosing on the camp, Troy signs a contract to sell to Lakeside, which he almost immediately regrets. Luckily, He comes up with a solution and enlists the campers and stage manager, Glenn Winthrop (Galvin), to help him save Adirond-Acts.
While the script is witty and the direction is well done, the real gem of this movie is the cast. Full of veteran, musical theater actors they bring an authenticity to Theater Camp that former drama kids can relate to. Anyone who knows about musical theater knows who Platt is and what he can do and he brings his talent to this film with reckless abandon. Gordon is terrific as well and they make a great team. Tatro offers a level of discomfort as his character is ill-equipped to handle a business he knows little about. The rest of the supporting cast is great, especially Galvin, and the young actors who portray the campers offer a glimpse of the superb, up-and-coming talent that will make up the future of musical theater.
The visuals are wonderful, giving the viewer the feeling of being at sleep away camp, which will be a new experience for some, while nostalgic for others. The ever-important audio is rich and robust as it makes use of multiple speakers throughout. Hulu's streaming offers a number of extras including deleted scenes, bloopers, and cast members discussing their characters.
Theater Camp, of course, has a deeper message encouraging young people to be themselves and be proud of their "quirks". It is a love letter to theater kids stating that it is ok to be different and that there is a group of like-minded individuals out there, much in the same way the television show Glee did. Theater Camp has all the makings of a cult classic and I suspect it will be around for a long time.
I recommend checking it out to see what all the fuss is about.
Grade: B+
