Liars and Saints

  "Theater Camp" has problems: It's a rip-off of an Anna Kendrick movie ("Camp"), and it's inferior to the movie it is ripping off. It's cute when a little kid tries to sing "Epiphany" from "Sweeney Todd," but we've already seen this joke. Kendrick did "The Ladies who Lunch" in her movie, "Camp." But there is one lovely, weird story within "Theater Camp," and I wasn't expecting this: Secretly, the movie is about outgrowing a friendship. It's about being in your twenties and recognizing that a certain bond has changed, not because of any kind of enmity, but just because of life. At the center of "Theater Camp," a gay man and his bestie have a co-dependent arrangement ("We're codependent!"); they are not the actors they want to be, but at least they can have a laugh as camp counselors. Each year, they write a new musical together; this one show is the annual prestige proj...

 It's odd to connect "Parade" with "Into the Woods," but both are thorny depictions of marriage. (Guess who does it better? Sondheim does it better.) "Into the Woods" has a struggling Baker and his smart wife; the two fight over goals and decisions, but the unexpected turmoil of a major quest causes them to rediscover their love for each other ("It Takes Two"). This moment of celebration is especially powerful because you know--very soon--one of the spouses will die. "Parade" is essentially the same story, although the writers forget to show us even a minute of warmth between the spouses in the First Act. When the husband eventually sings, to his wife, "I will never understand what I did to deserve you," he is really speaking for the audience, and for the writers themselves. No one can understand Lucille's devotion to Leo, because the story--as presented by Uhry/Brown--doesn't fully make sense. That said, it's ...

(3) Ben Platt is getting plaudits for having released a new album, and for having "bravely" addressed his anxiety "in song." People swoon whenever someone owns up to having anxiety. Here's my problem with this. The "I own up to having anxiety" moment renders insignificant the question: Does this artist have anything new to say? You can't criticize the song, because that would be taken as an attack on a good guy! A guy who bravely admits he has anxiety! I find Platt's new single "Ease My Mind" deeply boring and cliched. Here's the plot. Ben wakes up with nameless, sourceless anxiety all the time! It eats away at him! His life is difficult! But a hunky young man is really helpful. That hunky young man continuously appears in Platt's kitchen, and helps to "ease" Platt's "mind." I think--if you're going to be banal--then just write about sex. Be raunchy and playful. Years before Platt, another Broad...