PARK CITY – Listen, we’re not going to sit here while you read this review and pretend that we’re a musical theater expert. Sure, we may be The Playlist’s default gay/queer/LGBTQ+ critic, but “the stage” usually isn’t our thing. And, yes, we did see the revival of “Dreamgirls” on Broadway as a child, but we certainly can’t rattle off last year’s Tony Award winners without a second thought. The good news is you don’t need to be saving your Playbills in a collector binder like my young niece does to eventually fall for Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s “Theater Camp,” which premiered this weekend at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
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An adaption of the pair’s 2020 short film of the same name, “Theater Camp” is a partial mock documentary (partial as in barely) that centers on the summer session at Adiron Act, a sleep-away camp for kids who live and breathe the theatrical arts. The film begins by introducing us to the longtime founders of the camp, Joan (Amy Sedaris) and Rita (Caroline Aaron, who strangely disappears toward the end of the movie). While pitching the camp at a local middle school production of “Bye Bye Birdie,” Joan has a seizure caused by the show’s strobe lights and collapses. With Joan in a coma, running the business falls to her social media-obsessed business influencer son, Troy (Jimmy Tatro), who is as far from a theater fan as possible. Not a good mix, right?
As the kids arrive, we meet the adults who are to guide them on a magical four week journey of creative expression. There’s the head of drama, Amos (Ben Platt, nicely self-deprecating), his best friend, the head of music, Rebecca-Diane (Gordon), the head of dance, Clive (Nathan Lee-Graham, appropriately regal), scene-stealis please), scene-stealing costume instructor Gigi (Owen Thiele, much more please),and Glenn (Noah Galvin, pitch-perfect), the shy third-generation tech lead who may be hiding a secret or two. In order to save money, Troy fires a ton of other longtime instructors and in their place hires newcomer Janet (“The Bear’s” Ayo Edebiri, fantastic with the kids) who is expected to teach numerous disciplines including mask and fight instruction. Fields she has absolutely no experience in.
To be frank, the film barely hangs on by two fragile narrative threads. First, Troy has to save the camp from foreclosure and a potential sale to the rival camp next door without any real business sense of how to pull that off. Patti Harrison helps keep this storyline alive as a seductive business rep who has nefarious intentions. Second, Amos and Rebecca-Diane’s 15-year friendship comes to a melodramatic head when the latter has a real-world opportunity she can’t turn down. Amos may see the pair as theater instructors who aspire to perform, but Rebecca-Diane doesn’t. At least not anymore. As conflict ensues, the entire camp attempts to pull off the summer’s original musical about Adiron Act’s still-in-a-coma co-founder, “Joan, Still.”
According to Gordon and Lieberman’s comments at the premiere, much of the film was improvised. That’s certainly not a bad thing. The talent is there to pull it off. However, there had to have been issues in the editing room when title cards are needed to keep the story moving and to provide much-needed punchlines that didn’t appear on camera. And while there are some good inside baseball, er, theater jokes, there are also enough funny bits to keep even the most casual ally chuckling here and there. The best news is that the songs, by Galvin, Gordon, Lieberman, Platt, and Mark Sonnenblick (“Spirited,” “Lyle Lyle Crocodile”) were written beforehand. Those compositions contribute to the one-time-only musical performance that practically saves the movie. The songs and staging of the show are simply hilarious.
The movie also has an incredible young performer cast who make it all work (and you may recognize “Minari’s” Alan Kim as an aspiring agent, too). Their energy and impressive talent often keep the movie from coming to a screeching halt. Throw in a third-act showstopper from Galvin (the movie’s secret weapon) and, well, it’s hard not to break out and smile at the end. And, while this film is probably destined for cult status, you may want a return visit to “Theater Camp” sooner rather than later. How about next summer? [B-/C+]
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