The cast ofTheater Campdiscuss the roles they were born to play and the Broadway divas theyd body-swap.
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Hanging out with the cast ofTheater Campis an immersive theater experience in and of itself.
So likeBreakfast Club,but fucked up, she says, looking cheerfully down at Galvin.
Im giving WikiFeet something really intense right now.
whose mere presence would cause each of theirTheater Campcharacters to fall instantly into a coma.
We were best friends growing up in L.A. Owen and Molly met when they were what, 11?
And we sort of fell in love and wrote a web series together that Nick directed.
Thats when I met Nick.
And we cast Ben as our weird roommate.
He introduced me to Molly, and weve always been extremely close creative partners, twin souls.
And then I developed and directed this web series.
BP:And thats when I first met Noah.
MG:And they didnt like each other.
But secretly, there was somethingelsegoing on.
Why didnt you like each other?NG:We were will-they, wont-they for a very long time.
BP:It was mostly my fault.
I can still see a vision of Noah shoving me out of the way to go meet Ben.
Which is so beautiful and sweet when you think,Hes going to meet his future husband.
The first time I really met her, we went on a trip together.
Patti Harrison:It was in the pandemic.
We went with Ayo.
Where did you guys go?PH:We got an Airbnb in West Hollywood.
NG:You did a staycation in Los Angeles?
It wasnt that simple.
We were like, Were all gonna get COVID-tested and isolate.
Owen Thiele:… in West Hollywood.
PH:We were vaccinated.
It wasnt as fucked up as it sounds.
It seemed like we were really far away.
That was the prerequisite for me.
I was and am a theater kid, so theTheater Campstory itself was endearing to me.
I was terrified that it wouldnt be any good because we all enjoyed it so much.
It was like, Are we just laughing at ourselves because were so fucking brilliant?
NG:We had all the confidence in the world in everyone, but there were some wild cards.
We were nervous to ask these people to live in the woods with a bunch of children.
NLG:You know, this movie has its own culture.
This movie is really sort of subversive.
Shes so intelligent, so it was so fun to watch her be a fucking liar.
OT:Oh, Gigi.
But also has a huge heart.
And I think thats me!
No, I think that they wrote great one-liners and thats something that I can deliver.
Jimmy Tatro:My character, Troy, is really a fish out of water.
I think physically, when you look at me, I dont scream theater guy.
Troy is …
All, emphatically:Tell us about Troy!!!
JT:Troy is a guy who, on paper, is very easy to dislike.
I just look and sound naturally bro-y.
MG:We wrote this part for Jimmy and hoped hed want to be in it.
Nick and I got rose with him one afternoon and I was shaking.
I was so nervous that he wouldnt want to do it.
And then he slapped me!
JT:I said dont talk about that!
This is like therapy.NG:This is gorgeous!
NLG:Okay, so Clive DeWitt.
But also, theres something melancholy about him.
I wont say sadness.
And he lives for the summer-camp experiences because hes really lonely in the winter.
Hes melancholy beneath the veneer, and it was beautiful to be in that space.
I think money is going to be huge this year.
She also has really complex cryptic sexual undertones and goals that we all know shell never achieve.
Thats very similar to me.
And has a briefcase, and thats something I do so much.
We did want to give people some parts that might feel not as natural for them.
Like, Patti playing a corporate ice queen.
PH:I dont know why you say thats unnatural for me.
I love working at a bank and I do a great job.
So it was sort of an empathy exercise for myself.
NG:Ben leaned into every bad quality of himself.
But for me the greatest opportunity was to finally do something as a pair with Molly.
Weve been making up songs and doing comedy together our whole lives.
Its beautiful to let that be complex and sad and meaningful without the constant snark and bitchiness.
are the great loves of my life.
I love that the central relationship of our movie is that.
Its so profound and it pushes you forward.
You dont have to fuck everyone that pushes you forward.
But Ill still keep trying with you, Ben.
And I just loved playing someone completely crazy.
NG:Youve played a lot of cool girls, a lot of calm and collected girls.
You really got to lean into your Judaism here.
What did you do at Adderley summer?
You were Conrad Birdie, Owen.
I was Winthrop inMusic Man, and I fell off the stage.
Id do a wild bow and I fell off the stage because I was so intense and drunk.
OT:Drunk?!
BP:On power.
MG:On passion.
BP:Molly and I did Tracy and Link inHairspray.We were Roxy and Billy Flynn inChicago.
Joe and Lola inDamn Yankees.
NG:They were too young for the sexual prowess on display in these.
BP:But I also went to Jewish sleepaway camp.
So I didGuys and Dolls.But its in Hebrew.
JT:I did a lot of talent shows at camp.
I performed a dance to Bye, Bye, Bye with my friend Dakota.
I also memorized theNapoleon Dynamitedance and performed that.
Im not a dancer, but I do dance.
All, in unison:Wow.
PH:I never went to a formal sleepaway camp.
It was more just like, Clap once if you hear my voice, at lunch.
NLG:The first summer camp I did was before anyone here was born, in the 70s.
I was part of a pilot program at Watts Tower Art Center for youth that were disadvantaged.
Which I hated back then.
What animal were you?NLG: I always chose a black panther.
I was very vain.
The first time I ever used animal work, actually, is now, playing Hermes inHadestown.
Im a different bird in each scene.
So Im finally using the fucking animal work.
NG:The gayest gasp of all time.
It turned empowering like four minutes in but I started really scared.
NLG:Okay, I played the Ships Purser inAnything Goesin Duluth, Minnesota.
Im a freshman in college.
Youre supposed to burst through the swinging doors on the ship, but I fell asleep before my entrance.
Right behind the doors!
They were like, Get the fuck up.
And I burst through the door and I couldnt say my lines.
So I started crying!
But I was asleep!
JT:In seventh grade I did a play calledThe Lady Pirates of Captain Brie.
It was a scene with me and one other guy.
Im looking at him like, Youre blowing this!
I realized after what felt like five minutes it was my line.
Everyone was like, That was so funny.
I was like, Its not funny at all.
There could have been scouts here.
NL:I peed onstage when I was 7 during a production ofOliver.
They whisked me offstage.
NG:My opening night of the national tour ofLes Mis.
I was 10 years old.
I was in Milwaukee, playing Gavroche.
And theres this last line that I sang before I get murdered shot in the head.
He climbs over a barricade, hes stealing bullets from the people and singing a cappella to himself.
I was just like, Habadahah, sa … ba!
Then I had to do two hours onstage without leaving, in a shame spiral.
It totally doesnt work.
Im confused about the plot.
Then I gave my part away and I played Seaweed.
I should have just gone with that.
I bombed harder than I ever have in my life.
My show is more meandering and … not that.
I bombed every single show, but one particular show, there were really loud literal crickets.
I walked out and I was like, So the crickets are really loud tonight!
NLG:I wanted to play the Leading Player inPippinbut my good girlfriend Patina Miller already played it.
But I could still do it.
I would love to do that before I[mimics death].
NG:The Emcee inCabaret.
NL:Im obsessed withLong Days Journey Into Night.So any role in that.
Or Do the Dew.
OT:An animated dog.
PH:Its not a character yet, but you know Babu Frik inStar Wars?
I want to play his wife.
The woman who plays Babu Frik [Shirley Henderson] is actually Moaning Myrtle inHarry Potter.
Another role snatched from underneath me.
MG:Wow, I dont know the role I was born to play!
All:Carole King, Joni Mitchell.
MG:A Fiona Apple dog-bonedrummer, if that ever becomes a character.
Broadway Diva youd want to temporarily swap bodies with?BP:Kelli OHara.
NL:Bernadette Peters has an amazing body.
Is that what you …?
NG:Audra McDonald.
I want to feel what it feels like in my body to be able to sing that way.
MG:Brian dArcy James.
I want to experience his grounded-father roles.
PH:I dont really know anyone.
OT:Whos that Broadway star I love?
She starts with anS?
BP:Shes coming tonight!
OT:Oh my God, well, Ill swap with her.
NLG:Does the person have to be alive?
My dear friend and mentor Eartha Kitt.
To learn how to do nothing and do so much at the same time.
NG:Jimmy, I see an Elaine Stritch for you.
JT:Im so happy you said that.
Marry, fuck, kill: singing, dancing, acting.OT:Kill dancing.
BP: Id marry acting, because you could do it no matter what state youre in.
I would fuck singing, because if its good its good and if not its torturous.
And I would kill dancing.
BP:Would anybody not kill dancing?
OT:Patti would marry dancing.
PH:I dont believe in marriage because its outdated and sexist.
I dont believe in sex because Im Christian.
And I dont believe in killing because … Im Christian.
