Review: A true passion project, ‘Theater Camp’ is a comedic gem

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.

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.

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.