I was so hooked by Theater Camp’s self-assured elan that I scrawled three pages of notes in the darkened cinema without noticing that my pen had run out of ink. But as they say in the biz: “The show must go on.”
No one actually says that in this warm-hearted, very witty mockumentary. But when the AdirondACTS summer camp in upstate New York is threatened with closure while its young attendees are rehearsing for their final big performance, in true thespian spirit everybody pulls together and forges ahead.
This straight-faced and often hilarious film presents itself as a serious doco, following the stage directors and creatives who come together every year to see the performative dreams of precocious upstarts come true. These kids sure can sing, and the musical scenes are actually impressive. In this regard, Theater Camp delights not so much in mocking the performers (whose lung capacity and musical tone are staggeringly professional) but in gently sending up an industry which may seem frivolous to those on the outside, but is deadly serious to those within.
Principal among them are theatre kids-turned-camp leaders Amos (Ben Platt from Dear Evan Hansen) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon, here in her co-directorial debut). These long-time besties are a great team, as the uncompromising pair coax superstardom from their amateur cast through high expectations, unforgiving criticism and adult-pitched teaching. “Acting is remembering, and then choosing to forget,” Amos says to one group of bemused pre-teens. “This show will totally break you,” Rebecca-Diane warns others.
Treading the standard plot trajectory of auditions, rehearsals, then the rocky road to opening night, Theater Camp delivers humour of Spinal Tap-like giddiness and has more than a whiff of Christopher Guest’s 1996 backstage classic Waiting for Guffman. It’s hard to know if the in-jokes and relatable nods will amuse those less familiar with Bob Fosse references, or those with no love of improv. But as a former drama teacher with twitching jazz hands myself, I found Theater Camp to be a treasure from curtain-up to lights-down.
Rating out of 5: ★★★★½
Theatre Camp directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman is in cinemas now.
