Theater Camp (12A)

Joan Rubinsky, doyenne of the Adirond ACTS theatre camp for children in upstate New York, suffers a severe reaction to strobe lighting in a student production of Bye Bye Birdie and slips into a coma. Her vlogger son Troy assumes control of camp, applying his "entrepreneurial" spirit to keep debtors at bay. Meanwhile, drama director Amos Klobuchar and music director Rebecca-Diane audition the new intake for this season's productions.

LondonNet Film Review

Theater Camp (12A) Film Review from LondonNet

Expanded from a short film co-written by Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman and Ben Platt, Theater Camp is an effervescent celebration of people who live and breathe life on stage, including the next generation of razzle dazzlers oozing creative flair from every pore. A faux documentary format allows co-directors Gordon and Lieberman to roam the hallways, performance spaces and cabins of a youth theatre camp in upstate New York, witnessing emotional meltdowns and artistic differences without any of the protagonists acknowledging the presence of cameras. When an adolescent actor claims he has no life experience to authentically portray a father, his acting teacher coolly dismisses these concerns by referencing an Oscar-winning performance in the 2014 film Still Alice: “Did Julianne Moore really have dementia?”

The script serves a generous slice of theatrical ham by affectionately lampooning thespians, acting techniques and different facets of stagecraft. There are sporadic big laughs like when one sneaky ingenue is publicly exposed for using a banned substance to help her cry (“Tear sticks are doping for actors!”) but gentle sideswipes of obvious targets are more likely to elicit appreciative smiles. Enduring real-life friendships between writers and co-stars, evidenced by an adorable opening montage of home videos, catalyses delightful on-screen chemistry.

Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris), doyenne of the Adirond ACTS theatre camp for children, suffers a severe reaction to strobe lighting in a student production of a cherished stage musical and slips into a coma. It is “the first Bye Bye Birdie-related injury in the history of Passaic County”, an on-screen caption drolly informs us. Joan’s clueless yet well-intentioned vlogger son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) assumes control of camp, applying his “entrepreneurial” spirit to keep various debtors at bay. He hopes to impress a sharply tailored financial consultant (Patti Harrison) whose hedge fund associates have secured a sizeable interest in neighbouring Camp Lakeside.

Drama director Amos Klobuchar (Platt) and music director Rebecca-Diane (Gordon), who dreamily claim to “share a soul”, audition the new intake for this season’s productions alongside dance teacher Clive DeWitt (Nathan Lee Graham) and costumes master Gigi Charbonier (Owen Thiele). The creme de la creme of students are handpicked for an original musical written by Amos and Rebecca-Diane entitled Still Joan, dedicated to their comatose creative dynamo. Egos inflate to bursting, friendships fray at the seams and shy technical director Glenn Wintrop (Galvin) demonstrates hidden talents that demand he moves from wielding the spotlight to standing proudly in it.

Theater Camp preaches enthusiastically to fans of the stage with plentiful in-jokes but does not exclude mainstream audiences from enjoying a ham-fisted battle to resuscitate Adirond ACTS. A climactic performance of Still Joan is surprisingly moving and almost delivers on Troy’s promise to “blow the roof off” his mother’s ICU. Life is a cabaret, old and young chums.

– Sarah Lee