Welcome to Theatre Camp! A haven for theatre nerds who might be called weirdos elsewhere, but here, they are stars in the making. For all theatre-loving nerds out there, whether you have been able to join theatre camps as a child or just spent all your free time as a student in your school’s theatre training and pretending to be the next Broadway star, Theatre Camp will feel like a nostalgic dive into that life.
Get ready to dive back into the eccentric community of theatre school with its ambitious students, excited and sometimes too serious teachers and staff members who have no freaking idea what the hell is going on!
Professional theatre nerds Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Molly Gordon banded together to write a comedic mockumentary about life at theatre camp and the wonderful, insane and life-changing experiences one can have in such an exciting place.
How the Movie Came to Be
A month or so into the pandemic, when everyone was stuck at home reminiscing about their plans and their —maybe— exciting life before, Nick Lieberman, Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Molly Gordon dropped a hilarious short film on Youtube.
The 19-minute short film followed theatre teachers and students in an upstate New York theatre camp as they went through the seemingly weird-looking vocal exercises and theatre classes that look ridiculous to people who have never stepped foot in a theatre camp but are everything to the ones who live and breathe theatre.
The short film was a fantastic success that touched the hearts of every theatre nerd worldwide and made them feel seen through its loving and intimate lens. The film was a love letter to theatre that poked fun at theatre practices but not out of ridicule but out of honest and pure love.
Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Molly Gordon saw potential in the short film and were encouraged by its unexpected success.
They decided to expand on their vision and turn the short film into a feature film, which is how Theatre Camp was born. Working together on expanding the script and creating an overall plot fitting of a feature film, Theatre Camp came to be with a cast and crew that lived and breathed theatre.
With an ensemble cast and story for the theatre kids first and foremost, Theatre Camp premiered for the first time during Sundance Film Festival in January 2023. The film received two standing ovations from the audience and garnered positive reviews overall. It got picked up for distribution by Searchlight Pictures and is set to have a limited release in theatres worldwide in July 2023.
The Show Must Go On! (The Plot)
Theatre Camp, the feature film, expands on the original short film. At Camp Adirond Acts, a theatre camp for children in Upstate New York, legendary camp director and founder Joan falls into a sudden coma. In her stead, her son, with a bro-y personality and crypto-bro attitude, takes over the camp’s management.
His lack of experience and interest in the camp’s success makes it up to the teachers, instructors and students to ensure the season goes on smoothly and the final theatre production of the summer is completed without a hitch. Lucky for them, there is a motto literally to make sure “The Show must go on!” So banding together to save their camp is as natural as breathing but, unfortunately, not as easy.
Faced with financial difficulties, student and teacher drama and vicious auditions, camp Adirond Acts has an eventful summer in front of it. Will everyone be able to stand together for the success of the camp and their final show? We will see that when Theatre Camp drops in theatres on 14 July 2023.
The Stars of Theatre Camp
Theatre Camp has a stellar ensemble cast of some of Broadway’s most brilliant actors. The movie is a true love letter to the theatre by the people who lived that life and have a special love and appreciation for the sixth subdivision of art, Theatre and Performance. Let’s meet the talented cast and briefly examine their past work and their relation to theatre.
Ben Platt
Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’nc92Eu_ITot_CaGYpY5Okg’,sig:’Jg1G2WU8sNyY__bUD7_K-X4JAqQ8AOM9InpI275kTB0=’,w:’396px’,h:’594px’,items:’1340262224′,caption: true ,tld:’com’,is360: false })});Ben Platt is a Broadway and film star, an American actor, singer and songwriter. He started his career on Broadway as a child actor in famous production such as The Sound of Music (2006) and The Book of Mormon (2012-2015). Platt rose to global fame as a Broadway star for his leading role in Dear Evan Hansen (2015-2017). The musical earned him his first Tony and Grammy Awards.
Ben Platt appeared in many films, such as Pitch Perfect (2012-2017) and Rickie and the Flash (2015). He also starred as the lead in Netflix’s The Politician alongside Gwyneth Paltrow. The Politician earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.
Platt is one of the original creators of Theatre Camp, the short film, and the upcoming feature film. He is a true Broadway darling and an experienced theatre actor whose love for the craft shines through his creation of Theatre Camp.
Molly Gordon
Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’C8Jx_L4MQA5sEjzKQv8-Lw’,sig:’xtHII5EDLhlltgmyIxXfpXUFEZR7W1eQwZ6JeA6ytC0=’,w:’395px’,h:’594px’,items:’1458360782′,caption: true ,tld:’com’,is360: false })});A childhood friend of Ben Platt and a theatre actress since the age of four, Molly Gordon is as enthralled by the world of performance as anyone can ever be. Gordon started her career on LA stages at four, accompanying Ben Platt in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and other shows. In 2018, she took part as the lead on the off-Broadway musical Alice by Heart.
Molly Gordon has also taken part in multiple movies and TV shows, including Nora Ephron’s Bewitched, Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart and her most recent appearance in the popular FX show The Bear.
Gordon is one of three creators and co-writers of Theatre Camp, both the short and feature film. She also stars in the film as Rebecca-Diane, one of the camp’s main instructors.
Noah Galvin
Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’Axka00FFSjNZYIFjzq7yNw’,sig:’UncUkNl7l08akaVGIk6Op0Cn0g5sqW2KX0M_IkEchwk=’,w:’395px’,h:’594px’,items:’1474388349′,caption: true ,tld:’com’,is360: false })});Another Broadway star who got his break playing the Lead role in Dear Evan Hansen preceding Ben Platt. Galvin started his theatre career off–Broadway, working for many popular theatre companies such as Signature and Playwrights Horizon. After Ben Platt’s departure, his role as Evan Hansen put him on the map as a rising theatre star.
Galvin went on the star in Waitress and worked as a narrator of many audiobooks and podcasts, including The Perk of Being a Wallflower, Forgive Me Leonard Peacock, What is It’s Us? and the podcast The Two Princes. Galvin was also a show regular in ABC’s The Good Doctor.
Noah Galvin is the third co-writer of Theatre Camp alongside Ben Platt and Molly Gordon. He stars in the musical comedy as a theatre instructor in the Upstate New York summer camp.
Jimmy Tatro
Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’i3RLJ59sQ2hrrvpIbcjwrw’,sig:’-FNjY3jxFzDwXwKiNWs_X03s_cY2QtUnliOK296PDuo=’,w:’449px’,h:’594px’,items:’945043134′,caption: true ,tld:’com’,is360: false })});From a Youtube sensation with over 3 million followers to a Critic’s Choice Award nominee for his role in American Vandale, Jimmy Tatro is a hilarious and talented actor who participated in many film projects, including 22 Jump Street. Grown Ups 2 and Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland.
In Theatre Camp, Tatro plays the Camp’s Instructor’s son, who takes her place after she goes into a coma. Tatro’s character is a clueless tech bro who knows nothing about theatres and, in all honesty, does not respect theatre people at all! He’s about to learn a thing or two, though!
Ayo Edebiri
Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’iZ89wJ3ISh9iPrfbz0R3Zw’,sig:’ToHx7hmuT8Gl3Nz7_L0hJL9xrxkPmwHb-njKtanCo_Q=’,w:’396px’,h:’594px’,items:’1455630595′,caption: true ,tld:’com’,is360: false })});A rising star that stuns the audience with every project she appears in, Ayo Edebiri is an American comedian, writer, actress, and producer who is best known for her amazing role as Missy in Netflix’s Big Mouth (2020 – Present).
Ayo started her career as a stand-up comedian on Comedy Central’s Up Next. She went on to write for several shows until she joined the writing staff of Big Mouth and then went on to precede Jenny Slate as the voice for Missy. Ayo’s big break came in 2022 when she joined the cast of Fx’s successful show The Bear. Her role as Sydney Adamu landed her an Independent Spirit Award and Gotham and Critic’s Choice Awards nominations.
Edebiri stars in Theatre Camp as a performance instructor who may take things a little too seriously at times, but it’s all for the camp’s success. Ayo Edebiri is high talented comedian and actress who will be a wonderful addition to the talented cast of Theatre Camp.
What to Expect From Theatre Camp (2023)?
With the unprecedented success of the short film on Youtube, fans probably have high expectations for the feature film. However, we do advise to keep our expectations in check. Not because we know that the film will not deliver (not at all!) but because making a short film and a feature film is not the same thing, and sometimes things don’t translate as well or as cohesively.
That being said, the movie did receive two standing ovations during its Sundance Film Festival premiere, one after the credits and another after a live performance by the child actors of some of the movie’s songs. Theatre Camp also features largely young actors (campers) who are raw talents that we cannot wait to see. The alum cast is some of the most talented young-ish actors today, and we are sure they will bring on their A-game.
Expect lots of laughs, music, sarcasm, and theatre references that will leave theatre lovers and nerds feeling seen and understood. Even if you’re not a theatre nerd, you’ll find something to love in this musical comedy.
Theatre Camp will hit theatres in a limited release on 14 July 2023. Make sure you take your family or friends with you as you go and spend two hours of fun watching this hilarious movie in the theatre. The movie is certified Fresh with an 80% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a good sign for everyone excited to see it soon!