Camp Rock: The Musical

I’ll admit it. I’m a Disney movie junkie. Even more so, I love their musicals. High School Musical, Hannah Montana, Camp Rock. I love them all. You can call me a nerd. I’ll agree with you. In a way, I’m perpetually a 12 year old girl.

When I found out that the Cumberland County Playhouse was going to have a production of Camp Rock, I knew I’d need to go. I took my sister to see CCP’s production of High School Musical a few years ago, and it was wonderful. My sister is a little older now. She’s in high school. So I thought I might have trouble getting her to go see Camp Rock with me. I was actually prepared to go see it by myself. But instead, I got sneaky and offered to take both my sister AND her boyfriend. It worked.

I love that the Cumberland County Playhouse does the productions specifically for young people every year. It gives local children and young people the opportunity to be a part of theatre when our local schools are sorely lacking in the fine arts. Every production I’ve seen has been very good. Obviously, they don’t have as much of a talent pool to pick from as a larger area would have, but they always put on an amazing show.

Some of these kids really could continue in theatre as a career. Some of them will do a few shows and have something to talk about when they’re older. Some of them may do this one show and never do another. Either way, it’s a wonderful opportunity for children in this area.

There were some exceptional standouts in the show. Austin Price as Shane Gray was entrancing. Austin is extremely talented and very much can hold the attention of the audience while he’s on stage. Jason Gray was played by Ian Sweitzer. Ian, while not playing a huge role in the show, did a fantastic job of keeping the audience laughing. The entire cast could be on stage doing a group number and you’d immediately see Ian and his comedic actions.

Jordan Wright played Luke Williams, the lead singer at rival Camp Star (here’s where I should note that Jordan is from my hometown, but I don’t know him, so I don’t consider my opinion too biased). Jordan gave a stand-out performance in his role as Luke. He is extremely talented vocally.

Overall, my only complaint was that the show was titled Camp Rock: The Musical, when it really was based on the sequel, Camp Rock: The Final Jam. I haven’t seen the second movie, so I was a little lost when the show started.

My sister and her boyfriend loved the show, and both wanted to know when we could go back to see something else. It is definitely a great show for families, but if you just enjoy a cute, fun musical, you would enjoy the show as well.