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Theater Camp

You don't need to know your Wicked from your Waitress  or your Lerner from your Loewe to enjoy the earnest humor of "Theater Camp"—but it helps.

The mockumentary is by, for, and about hardcore theater nerds, but there's enough infectious, let's-put-on-a-show energy to entertain casual fans—for a while, anyway. Because for all the zippy audition montages and clever turns of phrase that propel the first act, "Theater Camp" eventually drags in the midsection before picking back up again for the big finale. It's based on a 2020 short that directors Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman made with their co-writers Ben Platt and Noah Galvin , and you can feel the strain of stretching this concept to feature length. Eventually, the movie abandons the fake documentary structure altogether, which makes it seem unnecessary in the first place.

The filmmakers' affection for the material, this setting, and each other is evident; they're all close friends who've grown up and worked together for years. That footage at the beginning of the movie of cute kids performing on stage? That's Gordon and Platt, long before TV's " The Bear " and the musical " Dear Evan Hansen " would make them famous, respectively. Galvin also starred in "Dear Evan Hansen" on Broadway and is engaged to Platt. Gordon and Galvin both had key supporting roles in Olivia Wilde 's " Booksmart ." Lieberman, the only one of the four who does not also appear on screen, has been friends with Platt since high school and directed several of his music videos. It's clear how much they love this world of hammy, misfit kids who thrive within their tribe in this bucolic location, hours outside New York because they lived it themselves. But the execution doesn't always match the power of their emotions.

"Theater Camp" begins promisingly with Platt and Gordon co-starring as Amos and Rebecca-Diane, former campers with dreams of stardom who now return annually as counselors. AdirondACTS (a funny idea in itself) is a ramshackle cluster of cabins that's seen better days but still bursts with youthful glee each summer. This year, though, acting coach Amos and music teacher Rebecca-Diane must run the whole operation, as founder Joan ( Amy Sedaris in a frustratingly brief appearance) has suffered a "Bye Bye Birdie"-related seizure and is in a coma. Joan's wannabe finance bro son, Troy ( Jimmy Tatro ), shows up and tries to impose his will, but the precocious theater kids immediately see through his inauthenticity and reject him.  

The show must go on, though, which is extremely amusing for a while but grows inconsistently so. Some of the kids are insanely talented—particularly Bailee Bonick , Luke Islam , and Alexander Bello —and it would have been nice to get to know them a bit beyond watching them belt out a show tune or emote with a depth beyond their years. They're actually way more interesting than the adult characters, except for Galvin's Glenn, the beleaguered technical whiz with a secret. A bit involving young " Minari " star Alan Kim as a would-be agent who wears suits and makes phone calls all day is emblematic of both the humor and shortcomings of "Theater Camp." It's intriguingly specific but also woefully underdeveloped. This is also true of the presence of Ayo Edebiri , who's so excellent alongside Gordon on "The Bear": Her character is here under dubious circumstances that the movie doesn't explore nearly enough.

Beneath the percolating excitement of preparing the original, season-ending musical—a tribute to AdirondACTS' founder, titled Joan, Still —there is the underlying threat that the camp is on the verge of foreclosure, with the neighboring rich kids' camp looking to expand onto their land. That could have lent itself to a kind of brash, ‘80s-style class warfare comedy that never materializes.

The problem here is that we've seen so much of what "Theater Camp" is doing and seen it done better, from the loving send-up of self-serious theater people in "Waiting for Guffman" to the blissful insularity of " Wet Hot American Summer ." Plus, Todd Graff wrote and directed a 2003 indie similar to this—"Camp"—featuring a young Anna Kendrick and Robin DeJesus.

Still, there are enough scattered moments here that result in big laughs. The lyrics to some of the original songs are hilariously terrible. An exercise exploring the children's past lives is wonderfully bizarre. And some of the intense advice the counselors give these eager youngsters is thoroughly inappropriate. You may not walk out humming the tunes, but you'll leave with a smile.

Now playing in theaters. 

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

• Molly Gordon as Rebecca-Diane
• Ben Platt as Amos Klobuchar
• Jimmy Tatro as Troy Rubinsky
• Noah Galvin as Glenn Winthrop
• Patti Harrison as Caroline Krauss
• Ayo Edebiri as Janet Walch
• Caroline Aaron as Rita Cohen
• Amy Sedaris as Joan Rubinsky
• Nathan Lee Graham as Clive DeWitt
• Owen Thiele as Gigi Charbonier
• Molly Gordon
• Nick Lieberman
• Noah Galvin
• James McAlister
• Mark Sonnenblick
• Jon Philpot

Cinematographer

• Nate Hurtsellers

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‘theater camp’ review: ben platt in a high-spirited mockumentary for musical theater geeks.

Acquired out of Sundance by Searchlight, this Christopher Guest-style comedy is an affectionate salute to the outsider kids who find community and shared passion in their love of the stage.

By David Rooney

David Rooney

Chief Film Critic

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One thing Theater Camp could never be accused of is not knowing its audience.

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Jared leto, john mulaney and lupita nyong'o to star in true-life caper 'lunik heist', barack obama reveals malia dropped surname off latest short film's credits, theater camp.

The project takes as its model the Christopher Guest improv comedy, which is both a blessing and a curse since the under-baked mockumentary frame is rickety and seems to be forgotten for large chunks at a time. Another drawback is the considerable overlap with two sharper, more disciplined films, Guest’s own Waiting for Guffman and Todd Graff’s Camp . But there are doubtless enough kids out there who know every word of “Defying Gravity” to help the Searchlight acquisition reach a youthful audience.

The bucolic upstate New York summer retreat of the title is AdirondACTS, a struggling endeavor run on a shoestring by its impassioned founder Joan (Amy Sedaris), who has a strobe-induced seizure during a middle school production of Bye Bye Birdie and lands in a coma in the opening minutes. In the show-must-go-on tradition, that leaves company manager Rita (Caroline Aaron) in a predicament just as the year’s influx of theater kids is due to arrive.

Enter Joan’s son Troy (Jimmy Tatro), a finance bro who has grown up immune to the theater bug. He promises to show the staff how to take a failing business “from lame to lit.” This proves challenging at first given that he barely speaks the same language as the camp’s staff, even less so its young attendees. Troy only really perks up when one of the budding performers sings Post Malone’s “Better Now” at auditions.

While Troy is fumbling around with cost-cutting measures, he learns that the bank has filed a notice of default and is weeks away from closing on the property. That news brings the more upscale neighboring enterprise, Camp Lakeside, circling like vultures, having eyed AdirondACTS’ land for years. Lakeside’s new corporate owners send predatory representative Caroline (Patti Harrison), who makes short work of gullible Troy. But a sentimental moment he catches in the Joan, Still rehearsals makes him an instant theater convert, pinning all his hopes on the musical to secure rescue investors and save his mother’s baby.

The creative team were weaned on youth theater and they clearly had a blast skewering the stereotypes that converge on drama camps each summer, whether it’s the exuberantly theatrical kids or the idiosyncratically affected teachers all firmly convinced of their own genius.

The life-or-death seriousness with which the staff take their mission yields funny moments like the irate reaction when one young performer is revealed to have used a tear stick to cry on cue (“Tear sticks are doping for actors!”) or another says he has nothing to draw from to channel a father (“Did Julianne Moore really have dementia?”)

The talented child actors, especially, would have benefited from more distinctive individual personalities. Only Minari discovery Alan Kim gets a well-defined type to play, as a wannabe agent already on the hustle.

Of the grownups, Platt’s Amos and Gordon’s Rebecca-Diane are the most fully developed characters, by design equal parts insufferable and endearing, while Tatro gets limited laughs out of the very straight dude-ish fish out of water, Troy. Harrison’s cool operator Caroline is a more interesting, edgy presence, partly because she’s one of the few not trying too hard. Comedy queens Sedaris and Aaron are underused.

Despite its inconsistency, the movie played like gangbusters at Sundance, as quirky comedies generally do, and it certainly has the heart to connect with its target audience. Even more so once they get to experience the raw brilliance of Joan, Still in its one-night-only performance, which fondly captures the quintessential theater-folk magic of making something out of nothing.

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Theater Camp Reviews

It’s painful to watch a comedy reach to grasp aren’t jokes that aren’t worth it.

Full Review | Oct 15, 2024

Lampooning big dreams and high melodrama, this comedy about the kids and counsellors at a stagey summer camp is charming, and brilliantly brutal.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 18, 2024

This is completely ridiculous but very accurate to the world of theater. I enjoyed this quite a bit.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 30, 2024

This is a fun, enjoyable movie with some really strong comedic moments. There are some lulls in the story but I had a lot of fun with this, especially as a former theater kid myself. Molly Gordon did a great job with this film.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 30, 2024

Mostly amusing and packing a couple good laughs, “Theater Camp” is neither the riot it might have been nor a total misfire.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Jul 1, 2024

It is so incredibly accurate its frightening

Full Review | Apr 24, 2024

The last number is so iconic its going to be a theater kids identity

Theater Camp came and reignited that feeling of having a fictional group of friends and supporters. It’s a great film on a rainy day.

Full Review | Apr 17, 2024

...an affable, watchable mockumentary...

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 19, 2024

Self-laceratingly funny, yet always human.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 27, 2023

Mostly improvised, it’s an amusing celebration of community seen through a song and dance lens as the chaotic but devoted staff at a summer camp instruct their dedicated young charges, ignore their own failings, and make sure that several shows go on.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 21, 2023

Heart-warming and utterly delightful.

Full Review | Dec 20, 2023

Although not life-changing, it won't leave anyone indifferent; Theater Camp provides quality and entertainment. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 14, 2023

Achieves the rare trick of creating a fictional work-within-the-work that is supposed to be really good, and actually is.

Full Review | Dec 13, 2023

Nonetheless, there's charm, lightness, humanism, sympathy, and a carefreeness within the parody and satire of Theater Camp that is appreciated and, of course, enjoyed. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 8, 2023

... "Theater Camp" is a love letter to that specific experience, in all its bewildering narcissism, evoking one’s love of performance whether as someone on the stage or ensuring it all doesn’t fall apart from behind the scenes.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 10, 2023

…, a well-observed look at the vanity and hubris of teachers attempting to put on a show at an upstate New York residential summer-school; it’s like Fame, or Glee, but much funnier…

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 2, 2023

Taking on the gender-affirmative, happy-clappy bohemianism of upstate New York theatre, Gordon and Lieberman assemble an impressive ship of fools at whom to poke affectionate fun...

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 25, 2023

The film’s creators love the theatrical arts. The movie is about children having their moment to sparkle. There are jokes aplenty, but they are from a perspective of adoration for what walking onto a stage and playing a character truly means.

Full Review | Sep 25, 2023

A self-deprecating satire of the theater community but also a love letter to that audience. Broadway veterans Ben Platt and Noah Galvin bring an authenticity to the story, while Jimmy Tatro brings the humor for those who might not be theater kids.

Full Review | Sep 22, 2023

• Cast & crew
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Theater Camp

The eccentric staff of a rundown theater camp in upstate New York must band together with the beloved founder's bro-y son to keep the camp afloat. The eccentric staff of a rundown theater camp in upstate New York must band together with the beloved founder's bro-y son to keep the camp afloat. The eccentric staff of a rundown theater camp in upstate New York must band together with the beloved founder's bro-y son to keep the camp afloat.

• Molly Gordon
• Nick Lieberman
• Noah Galvin
• 80 User reviews
• 106 Critic reviews
• 70 Metascore
• 5 wins & 22 nominations

Top cast 38

• Amos Klobuchar

• Rebecca-Diane

• Glenn Winthrop

• Troy Rubinsky

• Janet Walch

• Clive DeWitt

• Gigi Charbonier

• Joan Rubinsky

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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

'Theater Camp' on Improv as Controlled Chaos

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• Trivia Shot in only 19 days resulting in nearly 70 hours of footage.

Amos Klobuchar : [Upon hearing that a child's musical audition piece will be "I Had a Dream" from "Les Miserables."] That's a good song choice. I totally believe her as a French prostitute.

Rebecca-Diane : Amos!

Amos Klobuchar : Sorry. Sex worker.

• Connections Featured in Amanda the Jedi Show: I Watched 'CAMP ROCK' for the First Time (2023)
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Review: A true passion project, ‘Theater Camp’ is a comedic gem

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Pitch-perfect mockumentary “Theater Camp” opens with some cute archival footage that lets the audience in on the personal history of the film’s creators and stars — and their theater bona fides. Molly Gordon and Ben Platt grew up together in Los Angeles doing children’s theater, as we see in VHS footage of the pair performing in such productions as “Fiddler on the Roof” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” at the tender ages of 4 and 5.

Gordon and Platt wrote “Theater Camp” with Platt’s partner, the actor Noah Galvin, who co-stars, and Nick Lieberman, who directed the film with Gordon, based on a short film he made. This collective has brought to life one of the funniest, most specific comedies of the year: a savvy but loving satire of young theater geeks informed by the comic sensibility of “Wet Hot American Summer,” as well as the real-world tales of the famed musical theater camp Stagedoor Manor, captured in the 2005 documentary “Stagedoor,” the 2003 film “Camp” and the book “Theater Geek” by Mickey Rapkin .

These collaborators know theater, love theater, and have the references, deep cuts and anthropological knowledge of the children’s theater world to make “Theater Camp” such an authentic and hilarious piece — it comes from a place of appreciation, and a willingness to make fun of themselves and this environment with clear eyes and full hearts.

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Gordon and Platt star as pretentious, codependent besties Rebecca-Diane and Amos, alumni and teachers at AdirondACTS. The community — and the “documentary” — is in crisis after camp director Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris) suffers a seizure and falls into a coma during a middle school production of “Bye Bye Birdie.” Her son, Troy (Jimmy Tatro), a clueless “business vlogger,” is now tasked with running the camp in his mother’s stead, though he has no idea of what he’s doing. He’s the perfect mark for the predatory Caroline Krauss (Patti Harrison), a representative from a hedge fund affiliated with the ritzy Camp Lakeview next door.

While Troy is fumbling the business end of the camp, Amos and Rebecca-Diane are creatively floundering, attempting to stage their half-written original musical “Joan, Still,” about the life of their beloved, ailing leader, though the production is foiled by Rebecca-Diane’s odd disappearances. Harried technical director Glenn (Galvin) is the only person keeping things running behind the scenes, though his innate performance talents threaten to burst forth at any moment.

This madcap mockumentary works beautifully because Gordon, Lieberman, Platt and Galvin take care to imbue this setting with a real sense of culture and place, populated with wonderfully eccentric characters. The joy of “Theater Camp” is simply swimming around in this world, so perfectly rendered, down to every detail of costume design, and dense, referential dialogue. There’s enough conflict to keep the 92-minute comedy stretched taut, though it’s not so complex that it can’t all be resolved with a rousing climactic song. When the cast finally performs “Joan, Still,” you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be shocked and delighted.

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Every scene feels snatched from a real moment; the edit is swift, propulsive and surgical in its precision. Gordon and Lieberman have skillfully staged every scene like a real documentary, no easy feat with this many child actors.

However, these kids are extraordinary talents, belting out Sondheim with the fervor and passion of seasoned stage actors, while bringing a childlike innocence and glee to the proceedings. The joke is, of course, that the material is too advanced for them, and that the teachers treat them like little adults in this strange and special environment. At the end, a tiny moppet hugs Amos and thanks him for being hard on them, and he graciously accepts. For anyone who’s ever had a demanding theater teacher, it rings as clear as a bell, as does every other aspect of “Theater Camp,” a fine-cut comedic gem engineered with a distinct sensibility and the chops to become a beloved camp classic.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

‘Theater Camp’

Rating: PG-13, for some strong language and suggestive/drug references Running time: 1 hour, 32 minutes Playing: In general release

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Theater Camp Review

25 Aug 2023

Theater Camp

The mockumentary format is nothing new, refined to perfection over the years ( This Is Spinal Tap , The Office , Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping ) and still prominent on our screens now ( What We Do In The Shadows , Abbott Elementary , Marcel The Shell With Shoes On ). New heartfelt comedy Theater Camp employs it to glorious effect, simultaneously reminding you of the power of summer drama getaways for theatre kids — young and old — as well as poking fun at them.

AdirondACTS, the titular camp, is run by beloved founder Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris). When she suffers a seizure during a jazzy performance while out scouting for new recruits, her hapless son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) takes over, only to discover it’s on the brink of being shut down. Camp still opens as normal, welcoming back a gang of stage-loving kids and eccentric teachers, including the Head Of Music Theory, Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon), and her childhood best friend and theatrical collaborator, Amos (Ben Platt).

Jokes are pumped out at a rate of knots — barely 20 seconds ever go by without you laughing.

Amos and Rebecca-Diane put on an original production every year — this time it’s Joan, Still, a genre-hopping tribute to their comatose camp director. Gordon and Platt are hilarious as the theatre-obsessed pair, with highlights including their harmonious performance to announce that summer’s shows; their cattiness at the children’s casting call; and asking a kid using a tear stick if they want to be known as “the Lance Armstrong of acting”.

Jokes are pumped out at a rate of knots — barely 20 seconds ever go by without you laughing. There are one-liners and amusing asides galore, delivered by a fantastic cast of kids and adults, emphasised by bluntly comedic caption cards. The whole film has the chaotic energy of backstage at a show, minutes before curtains up — and that pace only dips slightly in the middle act, as some of the needed mockumentary structure is seemingly forgotten.

It’s the final number, though, that will blow you away. As much as this is a rollicking ribbing of the very specific kind of theatre-camp dynamic, it’s also an ode to their value as sanctuaries for people who maybe feel like they don’t fit in anywhere else. Kids of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds are shown expressing themselves, and ultimately putting on a bloody good show. Even Rebecca-Diane and Amos, theatre kids of summers past, get to confront what performing means to them, and how to keep their creativity alive without holding each other back. Camp isn’t home — but isn’t it? Kind of? Theater Camp confirms that, actually, it kinda is.

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From Wet Hot American Summer to Heavyweights and Camp Nowhere , summer camp has cinematically always been a place to get weird. But for the campers at the theater camp AdirondACTS, a few months away from home in the time to do some good theatre and hone their skills as the next stars of the stage. Theater Camp , directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman and based on the 2020 short of the same name, is a loving parody of the theater kids, one that knows these types of characters inside and out and has fun with this understandably over-the-top.

AdirondACTS is run every summer by Joan ( Amy Sedaris ), but when she falls into a coma before camp can begin, her DJ/influencer son Troy ( Jimmy Tatro ) takes over in her place—much to the chagrin of the campers and camp directors alike. Each year, the camp puts on several shows (this year's offerings include The Crucible , Cats , and Damn Yankees ), and every year, Amos ( Ben Platt ) and Rebecca-Diane (Gordon) put on their own show. This year, they've decided to crate a tribute to the camp’s director with Joan, Still , a show that is still very much a work-in-progress, in that it hasn't been written yet.

Amongst the staff, we also meet Glenn (an excellent Noah Galvin ), who works behind-the-scenes, but clearly has the talent of someone who belongs on stage, choreographer Clive ( Nathan Lee Graham ) and Janet (a hilarious Ayo Edebiri ), who BS’ed her way to this job and has never worked in theater or with kids before. Together, the camp tries to put on these shows, all while Caroline ( Patti Harrison ) from the nearby rich camp, attempts to purchase the camp out from other them.

RELATED: Where To Watch 'Theater Camp': Showtimes and Streaming Status

Theater Camp takes on the style of a mockumentary akin to Waiting for Guffman , even though not much is done with the concept, other than setting up the beginning and end of the film. Like Wet Hot American Summer , Theater Camp can also feel like a series of sketches tied together by a loose narrative. However, with a script by Platt, Galvin, Gordon, and Lieberman, there’s a deep knowledge and appreciation for these types of performers—hell, they've been them before—which makes the film feel like it’s coming from a place of love, even when it’s poking fun at the ridiculousness.

Much of Theater Camp feels improvised, and that can at times make this feel like certain moments don’t fit in with the larger narrative. Also, a majority of these characters, especially the kids and some of the secondary teachers, can feel fairly one-note. But Theater Camp works because for its flaws, the jokes that land outweigh the ones that don’t, and Theater Camp certainly has a high joke per minute ratio, jumping from concept to concept, and prioritizing the humor over everything.

Both Platt and Gordon are wonderfully self-deprecating here, and its especially fun to see Platt play off what seems to be his own earnestness—definitely after Dear Evan Hansen . But the primary players are all-around solid, from Galvin’s Glenn, who goes from quiet stagehand to an obvious star over the course of the film, and Edebiri—who doesn't get nearly as much time as she deserves—as she struggles to figure out what the hell she’s doing at this camp for people that know more about theater than she does.

Theater Camp isn’t without its weaknesses, but the hilarious cast—like their characters—are game for anything, and the jokes are flying fast and mostly landing. Theater Camp won't overtake Guffman as the great mockumentary of the stage any time soon, but Gordon and Lieberman show promise in this parody that comes from the heart.

Theater Camp is in theaters now.

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Theater Camp review: Small stakes lead to big laughs

Ben platt and molly gordon star in this winning comedy about an adolescent theater company that contains welcome echoes of waiting for guffman.

There was a time when the adage “write what you know” was not only an instinctual starting place, but also sage industry advice. These days, many artists seem to recoil from those words, preferring high-concept ideas over simple, small stories, and stretching farther and farther past their own lived experience. But there’s a reason the above saying exists, and persists. And it is richly, rather thrillingly evident in Theater Camp , a small-stakes mockumentary that enjoyably skewers the idiosyncrasies of both adolescent performance and camp culture. While its various influences (one cup Waiting For Guffman , one cup Wet Hot American Summer , other assorted sprinklings) are abundantly evident, the movie is most defined by one element: its makers possess an authoritative knowledge of its world. They are also people who take what they love very seriously without taking themselves seriously. That combination proves a winning recipe, offering up no shortage of delights.

As alums and longtime head counselors, best friends Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) and Amos Klobuchar (Ben Platt) reign over AdirondACTS, an upstate New York summer camp for adolescent aspiring performers. After a crisis forces Troy (Jimmy Tatro), a himbo social influencer and son of the camp’s longtime owner, into a leadership role, Rebecca-Diane and Amos must rally a colorful supporting cast—including choreographer Clive (Nathan Lee Graham), beleaguered stage manager Glenn (Noah Galvin), and new hire Janet (Ayo Edebiri)—in an effort to raise funds and help stave off the camp’s sale.

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Co-written by Gordon, Galvin, Platt, and Nick Lieberman, and co-directed by Gordon and Lieberman, Theater Camp evinces deep roots from its earliest frames. Gordon and Platt, the children of industry professionals, grew up performing onstage together as kids (footage of them in Fiddler On The Roof and other productions pops up in flashbacks), and Lieberman has directed many music videos for Platt. Additionally, Galvin and Platt are engaged. So there is an abundance of trust and deeply interwoven experience both in front of and behind the camera.

Of course, none of this would matter if Theater Camp wasn’t funny. But it’s sharply drawn and full of lively detail, as well as quiet references to other comedic favorites of its makers (Rebecca-Diane, for example, feels like a quick nod to Cheers ). A comedic run about mentholated eyeliner as an instrument of performative cheating seems destined to achieve immortality within the SAG/AFTRA community. Equally amusing is a multi-show casting session in which the camp counselors cattily assess and unpack the personas and relative talents of their prepubescent charges.

• Theater Camp is the funniest film you probably won't see this summer
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It’s true that a few of the movie’s tropes and conceits don’t fully connect. The notion of a wealthy rival camp (hat tip, Meatballs ) becomes merely a mechanism through which to put a ticking clock on AdirondACTS’ financial woes. But it makes no particular sense for there to be a mid-camp mixer between the two groups, and apart from a single good, quick-hit joke, this bit feels both irrelevant and like a missed opportunity to more deeply plumb class divisions in arts education.

Additionally, the overall framing device is somewhat haphazardly applied. The film opens with a great bit that situates the minor involvement of Amy Sedaris as beloved camp owner Joan Rubinsky. But Theater Camp can’t decide how far to lean into Christopher Guest territory (there are no in-character interviews), and so the mockumentary format, conveyed through occasional text interstitials, becomes mainly a de facto excuse for handheld camerawork.

Still, these issues never overwhelm the film’s momentum or drag it into unwelcome territory. Part of this is because Theater Camp is highly self-effacing, which helps the movie endear itself to viewers not predisposed to have an interest in its subject matter. In sending up the codependent stasis of their characters, Gordon and Platt deliver entertaining volleys, with the latter wringing plenty of amusement from Amos’ narcissistic defensiveness. Tatro produces consistent laughs from Troy’s bewilderment with this foreign world, and as an introvert thrust into the spotlight, Galvin is subtly great, ably delivering on a nice character arc.

Mostly, though, Theater Camp succeeds by locating the sweet spot of a winning joke-pitch rhythm—brisk enough to nimbly shake off gags that don’t land, while measured enough to avoid coming off as manic and exhausting. Abetted by Jon Philpot’s skillful editing, Gordon and Lieberman deliver a streamlined comedy that doesn’t overstay its welcome. Not a lot of satires get made these days, and of those that do, many feel like over-obvious stabs at capitalizing on certain trends—movies made from the outside in. Theater Camp is the opposite. It’s constructed from the inside out, all of its characters and energy flowing from a genuine place. “Write what you know,” indeed.

Theater Camp opens in theaters on July 14

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Theater Camp review: The Bear star's new movie is the funniest comedy of the year

It's available to watch now on Disney+.

Theater Camp has now landed on Disney+ in the UK and if you missed it on its cinema release in August, you'll want to catch up on the mockumentary as it's the funniest comedy of the year.

Directed by The Bear star Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, who also co-wrote it alongside Ben Platt and Noah Galvin, Theater Camp takes place at the fictional summer camp AdirondACTS. It's under the new management of tech bro Troy (Jimmy Tatro), who has had to take over from his mother, for reasons which are too hilarious to spoil here.

Facing closure, the camp's teachers – including Amos (Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Gordon) – and production manager Glenn (Galvin) have to put on the show of their lives to save the camp. And a documentary crew is there to watch them all the way to opening night.

Watch Theater Camp on Disney+

With a heavy Christopher Guest influence, Theater Camp could never be accused of having the most densely layered plot. The most dramatic element here involves a Juilliard revelation, straightly delivered with the weight of a shock death, which probably tells you everything you need to know about the movie.

But while anybody who has been to a similar acting and musical camp will be able to mine extra laughs, you don't even need to have a theatre background to enjoy it. Much like you didn't need to have a music background to adore This is Spinal Tap , Theater Camp succeeds because the characters are excellent.

You wouldn't want to spend time with some of them in real life, especially the self-obsessed Amos, but they're painfully funny to hang out with. The gag rate is relentless, down to the well-timed title cards, and if not everything lands due to the improvisational approach, there's a show-stopping gag right around the corner.

Unsurprisingly, Platt and his co-writers Gordon and Galvin are excellent, yet they're not alone as there's strong support from Gordon's The Bear c0-star Ayo Edebiri as new teacher Janet Walch, who's lied to get the job. Arguably the biggest surprise is American Vandal 's Jimmy Tatro, who takes the tech-bro stereotype and makes Troy endearing.

Crucially, Theater Camp might have a lot of fun at the expense of its central camp and the archetypal theatre kids, but it's never done with malice. This is ultimately a loving tribute to these kinds of camps, and how they can bring together the 'outsiders' to give them a community that understands them.

This extends to the supremely talented young cast who make up AdironACTS's returning and new students. The gags are never at their expense; it's the adults, and their at-times ridiculous attitudes, who are the butt of the joke.

They're also the ones who steal the show in Theater Camp 's perfect final act as we see the debut of this season's original musical Joan, Still . As well as continuing the gags (opening number 'Women Can't Read' is outrageous), it has genuine heart and proper show tunes that'll move you like the best West End show.

By the time Joan, Still 's big finale comes around, which contains some real-life footage of Platt and Gordon's theatre days, you'll be ready to give Theater Camp your own standing ovation. Assuming, that is, you can stop laughing at even more exceptional title cards and a hilarious punchline to a running gag involving Troy's mother.

Theater Camp might not have even been on your radar after the Barbenheimer madness of this summer, but you won't regret paying a trip to AdironACTS.

Theater Camp is available to watch now on Disney+ .

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Movies Editor, Digital Spy  Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor.  Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies , attending genre festivals around the world.   After moving to Digital Spy , initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.  

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Red One Review: A Surprisingly Clever Christmas Action-Comedy

Oscar-nominated action thriller & box office flop now streaming on prime video, ryan reynolds says marvel is ‘obsessed’ with this x-men hero’s revival in deadpool & wolverine.

"We're theater people. We know how to turn cardboard into gold," says Glenn Winthrop (Noah Galvin) in the charmingly authentic and heartwarming comedy and Sundance hit, Theater Camp , about the eccentric world of thespians. Anyone who has ever been involved in theater, particularly while growing up, will know exactly what that quote means and stand in applause at the film’s final scene, as that quote is proven to be true for the plot as well as the actual world of theater.

With minimal sets, costumes, and oftentimes little budget, magic can and so often does happen before a live theater audience. Or, at least it feels that way to those involved. Sometimes the voices cheering from the audiences in hot auditoriums and uncomfortable seats are merely from delighted families, and oftentimes, despite their applause, the acting or singing or dancing was embarrassingly not great. But, if even for one evening, to all of them at least, it felt as if it were Broadway.

Theater Camp is a clever and amusing film with heartfelt themes, refreshing nostalgia, and an impressive balance between hilarious jargon jokes and universally relatable humor. With an ensemble cast including Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Ayo Edebiri, Amy Sedaris, Jimmy Tatro, and Ben Platt, like the short film that preceded it, it is certain to be virally embraced.

A Charming Cast Goes to Theater Camp

During the pandemic, Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, and Ben Platt, who all wrote and acted in Theater Camp , along with Nick Lieberman, who co-wrote and directed with Gordon, released a short film onto YouTube about drama kids who endured summer theater camps in upstate New York . After it went viral, Searchlight invested to the tune of seven figures and the fleshed-out feature film version premiered this year at Sundance.

Set in upstate New York, the camp is called AdirondACTS, a play on the city’s name, “Adirondacks,” a scenic hamlet 225 miles north of New York City. Founded by Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris), it is a nurturing haven by design for artistically inclined, or at least interested, children to discover who they are as performers or crew or even simply as young humans.

It’s the ultimate safe place for kids to, mostly, avoid being bullied, and this film serves as a great reminder of why the theater world is so bonded. Being at a theater camp is like walking into a flaws-and-all community and exhaling when the door closes behind you.

The plot of complications and seamlessly overlapping shenanigans kicks off pretty early on in the film when the staff is preparing for the kids to be dropped off and a new summer of memories to begin as they write, cast, rehearse, and produce a show in three weeks. When their founding leader falls ill in a hilarious manner, though, the chips in the paint become evident — this camp is failing fast, and this summer’s production is vital to its salvaging.

Related: The Best Movies Featuring an Ensemble Cast, Ranked

At the helm of the camp’s revivification and the film’s impeccably cast ensemble of characters, is the unlikeliest of heroes, Rubinsky’s son, Troy. He is a non-theater, rap-loving, complete misfit to the culture despite who his mother is, and he is charismatically portrayed by Jimmy Tatro (ABC’s Home Economics ).

Why Troy Is the Most Vital and Effective Character

With commendation due to the producers, there really isn’t a weak character or performance in Theater Camp . Like a great play or musical, everyone has their moment, and we see it all thanks to the omniscient mockumentary filmmaking style of Christopher Guest that is embraced so well in hits such as Abbott Elementary and The Office .

Platt and Gordon do a notably solid job as the sort-of co-captains on the audience’s journey. They are the camp’s theater directors and in charge of writing and directing the production. Through their character’s eyes, we become effortlessly established and invested in the setup. There are some really talented kids at this camp, some really not as talented kids, and a quirky staff to balance it all out. Everyone at the camp ha s their own unique personality and despite being collective artists are all finding their way as misfits among misfits.

Related: The Best Movies About Misfits, Ranked

If not for Troy's character, movie viewers who aren’t a part of the theater world or have no connection to memories of it, the setup might still be isolating, however. How clever of the writers to ultimately center the film around Troy, who literally has to — just like the movie-going audience — figure out what makes the camp so special while simultaneously, and secretly, find a way to save it from the financial ruin that the loyal campers are clueless about.

All of this is despite the fact that Troy is tone-deaf to the theater sub-culture and mostly unqualified to run any type of business. But he also has a huge and earnest heart and, thanks to Tatro’s remarkably endearing performance, it is immediately easy to both laugh at and root for him.

Bravo, with a Disclaimer

It would be lovely if everyone would go see and also enjoy Theater Camp for the likable film that it is, however the reality is that it does serve a niche audience and there are some, perhaps many, who simply won't get the nuances and a lot of the humor.

To the writer's credit, the walls of empathy are made more penetrable due to the always-needed universal theme of accepting one another. Sure, it is like expecting everyone to enjoy a great movie set in the basketball or music world when not everyone has an interest in either. However, while there is lingo and there are witty moments that are specific to the world, the effectiveness of Theater Camp is its charm in showing that, ultimately, every human being just wants to feel seen and to be a part of a place to belong.

Fans of High School Musical or Glee – which is undoubtedly enough – will no doubt love and embrace Theater Camp. Anyone else or those not familiar with the theater world, like Troy, might just watch the film to see why this community is, indeed, so golden.

Theater Camp will be released in theaters on July 14, 2023, courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.

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Theater Camp: how to watch, reviews, awards and everything we know about the comedy

It's time to head to camp, Theater Camp that is.

Summer is often a time for camp, in the case of the new 2023 movie , Theater Camp . One of the indie movies that What to Watch wants you to be on the lookout for this summer, Theater Camp is a film that wants to hit you with the one-two punch of catchy Broadway musical tunes and a bunch of belly laughs.

Theater Camp was one of the breakout titles from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and features a cast of young actors and actresses that have made names for themselves in some of your favorite TV shows but are now getting the chance to really shine in this potential indie hit.

Here is everything that you need to know about Theater Camp .

How to watch Theater Camp

Theater Camp is now streaming on Hulu in the US and available for digital on-demand rental or purchase.  

Theater Camp plot 

Here is the official Theater Camp synopsis from Searchlight Pictures:

"Tony Award winner Ben Platt and Molly Gordon star in the original comedy Theater Camp as Amos and Rebecca-Diane — lifelong best friends and drama instructors at a rundown camp in upstate New York. When clueless tech-bro Troy arrives to run the property (into the ground), Amos, Rebecca-Diane and production manager Glenn band together with the staff and students, staging a masterpiece to keep their beloved summer camp afloat."

The screenplay was written by Platt, Gordon, Noah Galvin and Nick Lieberman, based on their previous short film.

Theater Camp cast

As mentioned Ben Platt and Molly Gordon star in the movie. Platt is probably best known for playing Evan Hansen both in the Broadway and movie productions of Dear Evan Hansen , though he has starred in Pitch Perfect and The Politician . Gordon's past credits include You People , Winning Time , Shiva Baby , Good Boys , Booksmart and Animal Kingdom .

The other actors playing camp instructors and other adults include Noah Galvin ( The Good Doctor ) as Glenn, Jimmy Tatro ( American Vandal ) as Troy, Patti Harrison ( The Lost City ) as Caroline, Nathan Lee Graham ( Zoolander ) as Clive, Ayo Edebiri ( The Bear ) as Janet, Owen Thiele ( Dollface ) as Gigi, Caroline Aaron ( The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ) as Rita and Amy Sedaris ( Ghosted ) as Joan.

The group of kid actors appearing as the campers include Alan Kim ( Minari ), Alexander Bello ( And Just Like That… ), Bailee Bonick ( Young Rock ), Kyndra Sanchez ( Christmas with You ), Donovan Colan ( Chapelwaite ), Vivienne Sachs and Quinn Titcomb ( Christmas with Arwen ).

Theater Camp trailer

It should probably be no surprise that the camp instructors in Theater Camp are taking things a bit more seriously than the kids in the trailer, which you can watch directly below: 

Theater Camp reviews

Theater Camp became a "Certified Fresh" movie on Rotten Tomatoes , with an 85% positive critic score.

Theater Camp awards

Here are the awards that Theater Camp has been nominated for or won to date:

Film Independent Spirit Awards

• Best First Screenplay — Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman, Ben Platt (nominee)
• Best Supporting Performance — Noah Galvin (nominee)
• Best Editing (nominee)

Sundance Film Festival

• US Dramatic Special Jury Award for the Theater Camp ensemble

Theater Camp director

In addition to writing the screenplay, Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman are the directors of Theater Camp . Lieberman directed the short film that Theater Camp is based on and has worked frequently with Ben Platt, directing multiple music videos for the actor. For Gordon, this marks her first time as a director. 

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Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca , Moulin Rouge! , Silence of the Lambs , Children of Men , One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars . On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd .

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Theater Camp’ on Hulu, a Mockumentary That Hopes To Be A New-Era ‘Waiting For Guffman’

Where to stream:.

• Theater Camp
• mockumentary

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Stream it or skip it: ‘fiasco’ on netflix, a mockumentary series about a disastrous film shoot, stream it or skip it: ‘marcel the shell with shoes on’ on netflix, a delightfully funny story of a teensy anthropomorphic shell, stream it or skip it: ‘1670’ on netflix, a polish mockumentary about a 17th century landowner who wants to be famous.

In the spirit of Christopher Guest comes Theater Camp (now on Hulu), an improv-heavy mockumentary that hopes to be a new-era Waiting for Guffman . First-time directors Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman put together an array of funnyfolk ranging from Amy Sedaris to Ben Platt to Gordon’s The Bear co-star Ayo Edebiri for this warmhearted ribbing of stage-kid culture. It’s pretty funny even if you don’t belong to the particular subculture being spoofed – in spite of its many inside-baseball jokes, and I apologize for bringing up sports in this particular context. It won’t happen again.   

THEATER CAMP : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Joan Rubinsky (Sedaris) is an icon in Upstate New York theater-kid circles – enough that someone deemed her worthy of being the subject of a documentary. See, she started Adirondacts, a beloved camp where youngsters can spend several weeks learning all the ins and outs of theatrical productions, from big blowout extravagant musical numbers to behind-the-curtain technicalities. The camps two lead instructors are Amos (Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Gordon), Adirondacts lifers who began as campers and became key components of the camp itself. They identify themselves as “performers who are currently instructors”; every summer, they pen an original musical for the campers to perform. Perhaps it’s worth noting that Rebecca-Diane used to crush hard on Amos before he came out as gay, and now they’re the bestest best friends that best friends can be, and I’m sure nothing will ever ever corrupt that until the final act of this movie.

Our first major dramatic development occurs during a production of Bye Bye Birdie , when a strobe light prompts Joan to experience a seizure and fall into a coma. But the documentary filmmakers forge ahead anyway, and so does Adirondacts, now under the leadership of Joan’s son Troy (Jimmy Tatro), a fellow best described as a brofluencer, which is funny because he’s a moron and also an influencer, and you can never tell if influencers are making money or just broke egomaniacs, or if they’re good at doing anything at all. Troy calls himself a “business vlogger” engaging in “enTroypreneurship” and therefore takes it upon himself to fire most of the camp staff in an attempt to prevent foreclosure of the property. Even with Joan, the place is financially tenuous; without her, it’s especially vulnerable to potential corporate takeover by the neighboring camp for shitty rich kids, which is apparently run by a hedge fund. 

This year, Amos and Rebecca-Diane will be staging Joan, Still , a musical-biographical tribute to their comatose leader. A title card tells us they haven’t actually begun writing it yet, and then another title card tells us there’s three weeks until the play will be performed on parents’ night – so, hey, pressure’s on. The ensuing events include: Hiring some new goofball instructors (Edebiri, Nathan Lee Graham). Power outages. Rebecca-Diane using her powers as a self-proclaimed medium to attempt to contact Joan’s spirit. Meryl Day (as in Streep, of course). Catching a kid using tear sticks, which is “doping for actors.” A mixer with the shitty rich kids. Rebecca-Diane sneaking off to do something secret while Amos picks up the slack with Joan, Still . Will the show go on in spite of all the hurdles, speed bumps and miscellaneous boondoggles? It always does, doesn’t it?

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: This is as good a place as any to reiterate how creatively lucrative the years 2000-2006 were for Guest: He produced Best in Show , A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration during that span, a time when the mockumentary was at its peak.

Performance Worth Watching: The cast here is across-the-board solid, although nobody truly gives a tour-de-force or steals scenes. I guess Edibiri makes the most of her limited screen time, playing a self-proclaimed expert in stage combat (so many of these characters are self-proclaimed experts of their crafts). And as Rebecca-Diane, Gordon couldn’t get any more, you know, Rebecca-Diane .

Molly Gordon Proves She’s a Comedy Star In ‘Theater Camp’

Memorable Dialogue: The film’s biggest laugh stems from a title card that reads, “It was the first Bye Bye Birdie -related injury in the history of Passaic County.”

Sex and Skin: None. 

Our Take: Theater Camp doesn’t prioritize character or plot; its main goal is to poke elbows in the ribs of a nichey culture. Jokes take precedence over all else, and the percentage of those that hit depends wholly on how been-there/done-that its audience is with audition follies and out-of-control smoke machines. That leaves us outsiders hanging on to a let’s-put-on-a-show plot that sets up easy heroes (camp devotees) against an easy villain (a hedge-fund assassin played by Patti Harrison, who was damn great in the grossly underrated Together Together ), and if the core idea of yet another mockumentary – especially a somewhat half-assed one like this – isn’t inspired, its execution elevates it to an amusing-but-not-hilarious realm. 

The movie’s method of loosely stringing together bits renders it ragged around the edges, but it’s ultimately functional. By that token, criticism in such a context is most efficacious when pointing out the bits that do and don’t work: Graham is funny as a costume designer teaching students when to let loose a sexy clavicle; Tatro kind of holds things together, playing the dopey bro who ultimately wants to preserve his mother’s legacy; and the parts of Joan, Still we see during the movie’s climax are potently farcical, and make up for the sometimes bromidic manner in which said payoff was set up. Less effective: The characters’ poker-faced seriousness in the face of their ridiculous ideas and mannerisms delves into simplistic caricature; Platt doesn’t muster enough comic charisma in a key role; and there’s simply too many characters here for any of them to pull much focus. 

There’s also the nagging feeling that the film should be more about the theater-kid experience, but the young cast members are nudged aside for the shenanigans of more recognizable faces, likely so the film doesn’t go so far up its own ass that it alienates viewers. Those who identify with misfit theater kids are more likely to tap into Theater Camp ’s warm and gooey center, which isn’t as accessible to those of us who edited the yearbook or, gulp, played baseball. I guess you kinda had to be there.

Our Call: Theater Camp will find the most traction with in-the-know audiences, but there’s just enough of a twig of an olive branch extended for the rest of us to yield a few laughs from the premise. STREAM IT.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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A Chinese Homecoming Story That’s Universal

In the finale of Wang Bing’s nonfiction trilogy, garment-factory workers return to their families and wrestle with the questions all young people do.

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By Alissa Wilkinson

What happens when young people with jobs in the big city return to the homes they left behind? It’s a question that powers a whole bevy of films, including Hallmark’s holiday offerings. But it’s perhaps less expected in a 152-minute Chinese documentary, the final installment in a trilogy stretching nearly 10 hours.

“Youth (Homecoming)” (in theaters), directed by the eminent filmmaker Wang Bing, is shorter by at least an hour than its predecessors, “Youth (Spring)” and “Youth (Hard Times).” Wang shot the films over about five years, spending time with the myriad young people, mostly in their late teens and 20s, who travel to the city of Zhili to work in garment factories. No one subject is the main protagonist in the “Youth” trilogy; instead, we see a collage of faces and personalities, all of whom toil very long hours for very little pay.

“Spring” is the most cheerful of the films, showing the laborers as they arrive and get busy at their machines, often singing to pop music and talking about love. “Hard Times,” which covers the winter months, shows them struggling to get paid by bosses who skip town or try to drive down wages. The workers begin to organize, but it’s a battle with little chance of victory.

In “Homecoming,” as the title suggests, many young people return to their remote villages for the New Year’s break when the factories slow down. We travel with them on packed, long-haul trains and traverse muddy mountain paths. Now families enter the picture, identified in the film only by their relationships to the laborers. Two of the subjects, Shi Wei and Fang Lingping, marry their romantic partners during this downtime. Others converse with loved ones about their plans or other subjects. Eventually the young people go back to Zhili, only to discover that employment is not always easy to come by.

Wang’s films tend to drop us into the room, letting us observe as if invisible while the subjects carry on. That basic style carries over here, even though there are some interviews with relatives and fewer laborers appear, since going home means spreading out across the country. We sit with families at dinner, listen to their conversations, observe the Mao Zedong posters on the walls, watch young children toddle around. We’re drawn into their world, and that’s what makes the “Youth” movies so appealing: the takes are very long, and we get to dwell inside the frame.

There’s little that visually or tonally matches the Hollywood version of the going-home story, for obvious reasons. These workers mostly come from poor backgrounds and remote regions. Their families are intergenerational, living close together or in the same house. Their future responsibilities for their loved ones are the product of this structure.

But if you look closely, you might catch some unexpected harmonies. Most of these young people are wrestling with the same questions that young people everywhere ask. Who will I marry? Do I wish to marry at all? Will I have children? What will my future look like? And how do the constraints of my family background — our money, our problems, our illnesses, our bickering and our love — shape my future? They’re the questions we can sometimes ignore away from home, but arriving back where we started brings them up again. A homecoming is never simple, no matter where in the world you are.

Alissa Wilkinson is a Times movie critic. She’s been writing about movies since 2005. More about Alissa Wilkinson

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