Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Theater Camp (2023)

Camp is right! Jack and I laughed a lot at this slapstick mockumentary of AdirondACTS, a summer camp with eccentric staff and kids. Already starting to win awards, it features Ben Platt, Molly Gordon, Noah Galvin, Jimmy Tatro, Amy Sedaris, Patti Harrison, and so many more, including some very talented children, one of whom, Alan Kim, earned dozens of nominations and wins for his role in the drama Minari.

Galvin, Gordon, Nick Lieberman, and Platt co-wrote the script for a 2020 18 minute film of the same name, co-directed by Gordon and Lieberman. All six are making their feature directing and/or writing debuts by working the same jobs in this fleshed out version.

The soundtrack album, available on Apple Music, is all vocals (the camp makes musicals!), and worth hearing. The only instrumental from the movie I could find was this three+ minute suite by composers James McAlister & Mark Sonnenblick.

Platt and Gordon met as kids at a Los Angeles theater after-school and summer program, and Galvin, who played the title role in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway after Platt won the Tony for it, is now Platt's fiancĂ©. 

Platt was last blogged for acting in The People We Hate at the Wedding, Gordon for Shiva Baby, Harrison for Together Together, and Kim for Minari. Galvin has a number of acting credits, mostly TV. Tatro has worked a lot, including Stuber, nine episodes of The Guest Book, six of Modern Family, and 42 of Home Economics. Sedaris, briefly mentioned in Romance & Cigarettes, has a long resume, most of which I haven't seen, although she is quite familiar to me for her social media humor and for being the sister of David Sedaris. Lieberman directed eight of Platt's ten music videos. This is the first feature composing gig for McAlister and Sonnenblick.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are applauding with an 85% average, while its audiences are slightly less enthusiastic at 79. We streamed it on Hulu on October 13.

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