What do Natalie Portman, Robert Downey, Jr., Zach Braff, and Mandy Moore have in common? Before they were stars, they were campers at Stagedoor Manor, the premier summer theater camp for children and teenagers. Founded in 1975, Stagedoor continues to attract scores of young performers eager to find kindred spirits, to sing out loud, to become working actors—or maybe even stars.
Every summer for the past thirty-five years, a new crop of campers has come to the Catskills for an intense, often wrenching introduction to professional theater. (The camp produces thirteen full-scale productions during each of its three sessions.) These kids come from varying backgrounds—the offspring of Hollywood players from Nora Ephron to Bruce Willis work alongside kids on scholarship. Some campers have agents, others are seeking representation.
When Mickey Rapkin, a senior editor at GQ and self-proclaimed theater fanatic, learned about this place, he fled Manhattan for an escape to upstate New York. At Stagedoor, he tracked a trio of especially talented and determined teen actors through their final session at camp. Enter Rachael Singer, Brian Muller, and Harry Katzman, three high school seniors closing out their sometimes sheltered Stagedoor experiences and graduating into the real world of industry competition and rejection. These veteran campers—still battling childhood insecurities, but simultaneously searching for that professional gig that will catapult them to fame—pour their souls into what might be their last amateur shows.
Their riveting stories are told in Theater Geek, an eye-opening, laugh-out-loud chronicle full of drama and heart, but also about the business of training kids to be professional thespians and, in some cases, child stars. (The camp has long acted as a farm system for Broadway and Hollywood, attracting visits from studio executives and casting directors.) Via original interviews with former and current campers and staff—including Mandy Moore, Zach Braff, and Jon Cryer—Rapkin also recounts Stagedoor Manor’s colorful, star-studded history: What was Natalie Portman’s breakout role as a camper? What big-time Hollywood director, then barely a teenager, dated a much older Stagedoor staff member? Why did Courtney Love (at Stagedoor visiting her daughter) get into an argument with a hot dog vendor who had set up shop at the camp?
Theater Geek leads readers through the triumphs and tragedies of the three senior campers’ final summer in an absorbing, thought-provoking narrative that reveals the dynamic and inspiring human beings who populate this world. It also explores what the proliferation of theater camps says about our celebrity-obsessed youth and our most basic but vital need to fit in. Through the rivalry, heartbreak, and joy of one summer at Stagedoor Manor, Rapkin offers theater geeks of all ages a dishy, illuminating romp through the lives of serious child actors. Rich, insightful, and thoroughly entertaining, Theater Geek pulls back the curtain on an elite and intriguing world to reveal what’s really at its core: children who simply love to perform.
Available On:
Publisher: Free Press
Released: 2010
by Chloe Rabinowitz – June 11, 2026
Composer/lyricist Maury Yeston – who recently celebrated his landmark 80th birthday – will join author Joshua Rosenblum and theater journalist Peter Filichia at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – June 09, 2026
Creative Goods is launching a brand new piece of merchandise to celebrate the Schmigadoon’s Best Musical Tony Award! Take the Schmigadoon picnic home with you with a realistic corn puddin candle.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – June 09, 2026
Methuen Drama/Bloomsbury Publishing will publish Power and Greed: Monopolies, Mergers, and Cartels on the American Stage by Spencer Weber Waller.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – June 08, 2026
Las Vegas-based ventriloquist and author April Brucker released '250 Years of American Ventriloquism,' tracing the art form's influence on comedy, broadcasting, and pop culture from the colonial era to the digital age.
by Josh Sharpe – June 05, 2026
Paper Pianos, the Pulitzer Prize finalist work co-created by Mary Kouyoumdjian and Nigel Maister, will receive its world premiere recording on Friday, August 7, 2026.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – June 05, 2026
Good Guy With a Gun!, a satirical musical concept album featuring Chris Sullivan, Kimiko Glenn, Anthony Rapp, Jason Alexander, and Yvette Nicole Brown, has released its' first single, 'Liberal Love,' now available.
by A.A. Cristi – June 04, 2026
THE PANSY CRAZE, a six-episode queer history variety show hosted by Mason Alexander Park, is now streaming exclusively on Audible, featuring guests Laverne Cox, Lea DeLaria, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Evan Rachel Wood.
by A.A. Cristi – June 02, 2026
Stage Partners announced two new play commissions pairing playwrights Mandy Conner and Ian McWethy with the Educational Theatre Association and California Thespians to develop original one-act plays for school theatre programs.
by Josh Sharpe – June 02, 2026
Sir Stephen Hough's new solo piano album features his own arrangements with a selection of favorite piano works, including selections from Mary Poppins, Frozen, and more.
by Josh Sharpe – June 02, 2026
Michael, the hit biopic about Michael Jackson, is set to arrive on Premium Digital and Premium Video on Demand beginning June 9, where it will be available to rent or purchase.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – May 29, 2026
Snow White & Me: A New Musical - Original Cast Recording, is now available on streaming and digital platforms.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – May 29, 2026
Les Misérables: The 40th Anniversary All-Star Cast is available on streaming and digital platforms and as a double CD.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – May 29, 2026
The Lost Boys (Original Broadway Cast Recording) will be released.
by A.A. Cristi – May 26, 2026
Historian Jack Jewers' debut novel Seething Lane follows Samuel Pepys through a murder mystery set in Restoration London, weaving in the history of Theatre Royal Drury Lane and the influence of King Charles II's mistresses on the city.
by Josh Sharpe – May 26, 2026
A new box set is collecting all of Donna Summer's solo albums that were released on Casablanca Records from 1975 to 1979.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – May 22, 2026
The new EP The Queen of Magic, the new musical written by Neyla Pekarek – the singer/songwriter formerly of The Lumineers – is out now.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – May 22, 2026
Picnic at Hanging Rock: The Musical – Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording is now available in digital and streaming formats.
by Josh Sharpe – May 21, 2026
Busted Broadway has launched an independent musical theatre record label positioned to release original dark-humor concept cast albums geared towards absurd, edgy, and intentionally outrageous musical theatre titles.
by Josh Sharpe – May 21, 2026
Sherri Shepherd, who is wrapping a four-year run as host of the daytime talk show Sherri, is entering the world of publishing with her debut novel, Life is a K Drama.
by Team BWW – May 29, 2026
While we await Tonys night (June 7, 2026), we're saluting the Tony, Grammy, and Drama Desk Awards celebrated shows of Concord Theatricals Recordings- From Some Like It Hot to Come From Away; Smash to Death Becomes Her.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – May 21, 2026
Picnic at Hanging Rock: The Musical – Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording is being released in digital and streaming formats.
by Josh Sharpe – May 20, 2026
Award-winning performer Henry Patterson has released his debut studio album, Broadway Maybe, featuring new renditions of songs from the musical theater and Broadway canon.
by A.A. Cristi – May 19, 2026
The Farm Theater and Stage Partners announced an exclusive deal making College Collaboration Project plays available for productions worldwide, kicking off with works by Gina Femia and Lia Romeo.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – May 19, 2026
The studio cast EP Caesar: The Musical will be released in digital and streaming formats, featuring Samantha Pauly, Savy Jackson, and more.
by Stephi Wild – May 19, 2026
Expand the Canon announced a debut monologue collection featuring 100+ classical pieces from plays by women between 1640 and 1987, spanning 34 playwrights across 15 countries, edited by Artistic Director Emily Lyon.
by Josh Sharpe – May 19, 2026
In his new audio memoir, Billy Eichner looks back on his childhood, filled with movies, music, and Broadway musicals.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – May 18, 2026
Masquerade – The Orchestral Score vinyl album has been released.
by Nicole Rosky – May 18, 2026
The Original Broadway Cast Recording of THE LOST BOYS will be available to pre-order Friday, May 29.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – May 15, 2026
Les Miserables: The 40th Anniversary All-Star Cast, a double CD and digital recording featuring Killian Donnelly, Bradley Jaden, and Katie Hall, will be released, timed to coincide with the Arena Spectacular World Tour's final dates.
Videos
