Theatre Camp: Campy Theatrics Not to be Upstaged by ‘Barbenheimer’

By Thom Ernst

Rating: B+

Theatre Camp is a crowd-pleaser if you happen to be part of the crowd. That doesn’t mean theatre outsiders are excluded, but they might feel upstaged by the good-natured “Gosh, I hope I get it” push towards everything Fosse, Weber, Sondheim, Larson, and Miranda.

There’s nothing stopping anyone from rooting for these Babes on Broadway—all played by exceedingly talented young performers—and their borderline delusional acting coaches, namely Amos (Ben Platt) and Rebecca (Molly Gordon), alumni since the camp’s beginning.

The kids who return yearly to Camp Adirond ACTS, a ramshackle Upper New York summer camp for young thespians, are the kind who belt their voices to the heavens and dance with the precision of an Olympic gymnast. They’re fulfilling their fantasies of being Broadway angels, even if just for one more summer of auditions, rehearsals, and performances.

But the camp is hit with myriad problems threatening to forever slam the cabin doors shut. The camp founder, Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris) a brassy, beloved New Yorker, falls into a coma during a performance of “Honestly Sincere” from Bye, Bye, Birdie, leaving her son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) in charge.

Troy is about as bro as a bro can get. He is all good intentions but without his mother’s knack for running the camp and even less ability to connect with the campers and the staff, Troy is on his own to keep the footlights burning. That task becomes harder when the bank threatens to foreclose on a loan. Enter a charming—and somewhat conniving—young woman (Patti Harrison) who vaguely offers a way out.

Meanwhile—because Theatre Camp is packed with side plots and minor characters—Amos and Rebecca set about to write a musical tribute to their fallen leader called Joan, Still. The play is awful, but that’s a moot point when Rebecca uncharacteristically shirks her responsibilities by missing rehearsals and failing to write the play's finale.

Other notable performances come from Ayo Edebiri as an acting coach with zero experience. Noah Galvin plays an under-appreciated set-designer with talent that exceed expectations, Kyndra Sanchez is a young girl verging towards success outside of camp perimeters, plus a scene-stealing performance from Alan Kim as a pint-size talent agent in waiting.

There’s a lot of crossover in this Meatballs-ish take on Summer Stock. Nick Lieberman and Molly Gordon co-direct, as well as share screenwriting credits (although much of the dialogue is unscripted) with Platt, and Galvin. Gordon, Platt, and Galvin also star. A few share producer credits as well.

Enough goes on in Theatre Camp that frequent use of title cards explaining who is who and what is what becomes a necessary intrusion, but it hints at an imperfect script with no way to thread the story (stories?) together.

But then there is this: A story that builds toward a worthy and satisfying climax. While so many movies lack a decent wrap-up, Theatre Camp goes out on a high note.

You might not walk out humming show tunes, but you will leave smiling. After all, no one does curtain calls better than theatre people.

And in the spirit of Joe Gideon, Bob Fosses’ famed counterpart, “It’s showtime, folks!

Theatre Camp. Directed by Nick Lieberman and Molly Gordon. Starring Molly Gordon, Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, Ayo Edebiri, Kyndra Sanchez, Alan Kim, Patti Harrison, and Amy Sedaris. Now playing in selected theatres.