A fun & engaging musical romp that the whole family will enjoy!
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Disclosure: Many thanks to Angel for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100%
my own.
When I read "camp musical series" describing this show, I knew it was something that sounded right up our alley:
We sat down as a family to watch the first episode, and Gv and I loved it so much, we stayed up way too late last night just so we could binge the rest of the seven shows! (G only lasted 3 episodes before he headed to bed, but he has an early bedtime.)
This musical series follows a defiant foster teen who is dragged to church camp (Camp Aweegaway--I loved the pun!) and who is determined to resist what
he sees as the hollow promises of faith. Rejection gives way to introspection, and the walls
he’s built begin to crack. As he discovers he’s not alone in the struggle against grief, anger, and
the ache of belonging, he learns that healing can’t be forced— it must be chosen.
It took only a few minutes of watching before I declared this a Christian version of this movie. (Gv hasn't seen that one yet, so she thought it reminded her of this classic.) Not only was the music upbeat and infectious, but the choreography and production level were top-notch, as well.
Side note: the only less-than-stellar thing that stood out to us was the difference in the sound quality between the singing numbers and dialogue. We were fine with the singing numbers being recorded in a studio, with lip-synching during the intensely-choreographed dances (Gv said she wished she could do that for the "Jitterbug" dance they're doing in this show she's currently in!), but we could hear a difference in the transitions between the two parts. This might have only been on my screener version, though, not on the final product--and regardless of whether it's still there or not, it didn't diminish our enjoyment of the show one bit!
I later looked up some further information about this show and learned that the reason why it felt so familiar is because the music actually is from the writer and producer of High School Musical! I also learned that this musical series was based on a movie that featured some of the same actors and that Angel wanted to take the theme of that movie and expand it into the fabulous musical series that it has become.
Aside from all of the fun that permeates every part of this series, it also focuses on inspiring themes like the healing power of friends and the foundational faith struggle of our purpose in life, which will likely stir hope and faith in every viewer, no matter their age!
Gv and I were super-excited to hear the opening notes of one of our absolute favorite songs during a duet from the main characters, and we were completely tickled the minute the tuba blared the first few notes of this childhood favorite that the entire camp (we did, too!) joined in to sing at the end.
But perhaps my favorite moment that made me squeal--similar to my "lightbulb" moment in this film--was when an older lifeguard descended the steps of his tower, tapping out a recognizable tune on his floatation device and I realized it was Steven Curtis Chapman himself! I just love Easter Egg moments like that!
I also read that this legend had a cameo as a counselor in the movie version, but if she was featured in this series as well, I totally must have blinked and missed her! Well, gee, I guess that means we have to watch the whole thing again! ;)
I've been really loving how Angel is cranking out such high-quality content and how so much of it is not only safe for family viewing, but honors faith-based
principles without being contrived or full of forced Christianity. It makes me so happy to see such a "normal" treatment of faith-based topics like this!
Watch A Week Away on Angel today, it will get you laughing, singing, dancing, and it
just might inspire you to show love to someone in need!
#AWeekAwaySeriesMIN
Trailer:
Do you enjoy the "normalization" of Christian media as much as I do? I'd love to hear! Either leave a comment below or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.
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