Summaries

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.

As summer rolls around again, kids are gathering from all over to attend AdirondACTS, a scrappy theater camp in upstate New York that's a haven for budding performers. After its indomitable founder Joan (Amy Sedaris) falls into a coma, her clueless "crypto-bro" son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) is tasked with keeping the thespian paradise running. With financial ruin looming, Troy must join forces with Amos (Ben Platt), Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon), and their band of eccentric teachers to come up with a solution before the curtain rises on opening night.—sundance

Amos (Ben Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) are lifelong best friends and drama instructors at a rundown camp in upstate New York. When clueless tech-bro Troy (Jimmy Tatro) arrives to run the property (into the ground), Amos, Rebecca-Diane and production manager Glenn (Noah Galvin) band together with the staff and students, staging a masterpiece to keep their beloved summer camp afloat.

Details

Keywords
  • gay
  • summer camp
  • based on short film
  • theater
  • stage
Genres
  • Comedy
Release date Sep 13, 2023
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) PG-13
Countries of origin United States
Language English
Filming locations Warwick, New York, USA
Production companies Picturestart Gloria Sanchez Productions Searchlight Pictures

Box office

Gross US & Canada $4009945
Opening weekend US & Canada $301220
Gross worldwide $4410845

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 32m
Color Color
Sound mix Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio

Synopsis

From WIkipedia:

Joan Rubinsky is the co-founder and director of AdirondACTS, a theater-focused summer camp in the Adirondacks in Upstate New York. While attending a show featuring one of her campers, a strobe light causes Joan to experience a seizure and slip into a coma. In her absence, Joan's son Troy, a professional "business influencer", inherits ownership of AdirondACTS but finds that his personality clashes with those of the theater kids. He makes various attempts to alleviate the camp's financial difficulties, including turning his cabin into an Airbnb, which he shares with guest Tim. He is assisted by Joan's staff, including Amos and Rebecca-Diane, two best friends who are also former campers and longtime staff members.

Amos and Rebecca-Diane announce the summer's slate of productions, including Joan, Still, a new original musical based on Joan's life story, which they have yet to write. During auditions, Troy is approached by Caroline, a representative of investment firm Barnswell Capital, which operates the luxurious neighboring Camp Lakeside. Barnswell offers to purchase the property after revealing to the unaware Troy that the camp is facing foreclosure.

Amos and Rebecca-Diane make progress on Joan, Still, with Rebecca-Diane promising to compose the lyrics and music for the show's finale. Meanwhile, Troy and the camp's chief technician, Glenn, attempt to raise money by having the kids act as servers during a Rotary Club event, with mixed results. As the production continues, Amos is troubled by Rebecca-Diane's continued absences, including disappearing from classes, missing her "performance night" for the campers, and failing to show up to rehearsals. Caroline winds up sleeping with Troy, who accidentally signs a contract to sell the camp.

With days remaining before the show, Amos presses Rebecca-Diane to unveil the closing number, which she has not completed. She instead performs an improvised number, sparking an argument between her and Amos. She reveals that she has been absent because she has been hired as a cruise ship performer; the revelation infuriates Amos, who resents feeling left behind in their partnership and refuses to listen to Rebecca-Diane's concerns that her career prospects are fading away. In the midst of their fight, Caroline arrives at the rehearsal, forcing Troy to reveal that the camp could be shut down.

Realizing that the sale will only take place if the bank forecloses on AdirondACTS, Troy invites the "Founding Ballers", a group of popular financial influencers, to the performance of Joan, Still, hoping to get much-needed investments. The play is thrown into jeopardy when Darla, the lead, suddenly departs for a prime movie role, but she is replaced by Glenn, who seizes the opportunity to finally show off his talent. At the end of the show, the cast performs a completed version of Rebecca-Diane's closing number and shares what they have learned from attending camp. Amos and Rebecca-Diane reconcile, with Amos deciding to remain at AdirondACTS and giving Rebecca-Diane his blessing to leave, though she tells him that she'll come and visit him as much as possible.

Although the Founding Ballers enjoy the show, they are revealed to be financially insolvent; instead, AdirondACTS is rescued from foreclosure by a significant donation from Tim, who related to the show's themes. Rebecca-Diane finds success with her cruise ship gig until she accidentally burns down the vessel trying to conduct a séance, while Glenn departs the camp to play Elphaba in Wicked at a Saratoga Springs theater. Amos dedicates himself to teaching, and Troy takes on his mother's work raising money for the camp. When the show finishes, a random hospital patient who was watching the show from a live stream praises the show, as Troy was planning to show it to his mother on the live stream but accidentally set it up in the wrong room. Joan awakens from her coma after the show finishes, with her first words being: "Don't let Troy run the camp!".

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