Camp Rock: The Musical

Right from the start, I knew that I would be too old for Repertory Philippines’ production of Disney’s Camp Rock: The Musical. The little I got to know about the source material (the Disney Channel original movies starring the Jonas Brothers) didn’t make me too eager to see the stage version I have to admit. But what motivated me to see the show aside from Repertory Philippines’ invitation was the cast that are made up of young, new and relatively inexperienced actors led by Markki Stroem.

I’ve seen Markki perform live on stage before during the Make Me Sweat show he had with G-Force. But this show was intended for a mature and adult audience making it difficult for me to imagine Markki portraying a role originated by Joe Jonas. His debut album, Thousands of Pieces, with its organic and sophisticated, jazz-influenced tracks was no help at all in preparing me for the light fare which is Camp Rock: The Musical. But this somehow made me very curious to see how he would switch gears for this production. I was also curious to see the other cast members particularly the female lead Morissette who was having her theater debut with this production.

The cast of Camp Rock: The Musical

As expected, the main plot was indeed shallow with the campers returning to Camp Rock for the summer and finding out that a rival camp, Camp Star, was set up just across from them with a mission to prove that they’re better. The main conflict between Markki’s Shane Gray and Morissette’s Mitchie Torres turned out to be just a petty lover’s quarrel. It was very juvenile to the point that I only managed to shake my head in disbelief. Because of this thin plot, there weren’t really any dramatic moments where the cast got to show their acting chops

While I might have some misgivings regarding the plot and the acting, it was the singing and the dancing that saved this production. Morrissette, actually was the huge revelation of the night for me. I had no idea who she was prior to the show and I am so glad that I was able to “discover” her here. Markki also impressed me as he was able to stretch to a wider vocal range in here compared to his album that had him singing mostly at the lower registers. The chorus members were secure with their harmonies especially during the huge production numbers featuring the whole company. The same security could be said during the duets between Markki and Morissette, and also the trio of the Grey brothers (Markki as Shane, Nacho Tambunting as Nate and Jef Flores as Jason). I even thought that the chorus had some help and I had to ask stage director Audie Gemora during the intermission if the backing track that they used had pre-recorded backup vocals. He answered that all the vocals that I heard were all live and not pre-recorded. And knowing this pleased me a lot since I am really very particular with the chorus and their harmonies.

A scene from Camp Rock: The Musical

The dancing was also remarkable with the kids doing complicated steps highlighted with very tight and sharp turns. And despite his aversion to dancing before, Markki managed to join the ensemble and danced along with them in a few numbers. And if Cheska Ortega who played Tess Tyler didn’t admit that she had zero dancing skills, I wouldn’t have known since I didn’t notice if she struggled at all in the dancing. Choreographer Paolo Infante did a great job in making these kids move even though he had to be tough on them. Markki recalled that he had an awful time during his first day in learning the choreography.

Morissette

I may not have liked the lightweight story, but Camp Rock: The Musical is still an entertaining show. I remember Nel Gomez who played Luke Williams telling me afterwards that the song and dance numbers on the show are just like those that are featured at the popular Sunday variety shows. I had to correct him that for me, Camp Rock: The Musical has more difficult singing (considering the multiple harmonies) and more complex dancing (as opposed to just posing) compared to what I see on those television shows. If the kids in this musical are the future of the entertainment industry in the Philippines, then I can breathe a sigh of relief since they make tomorrow look so bright. I just hope that despite being bundles of energy, the kids will be able to pace themselves so that their energy level remains the same until the end of the run. Camp Rock: The Musical runs at Onstage Theater at Greenbelt 1 until December 16, 2012.