Camp Ovation puts on a new play or musical every two weeks. Vlad and Ellen bond after rehearsal one day and flirt a bit. However, soon afterward, Vlad is seduced by the conceited Jill, who later makes cruel cracks at Ellen for her weight and her inexperience with boys. Feeling guilty, Vlad comforts Ellen and the two begin to inch toward a relationship. The camp enlists a guest counselor for the summer: composer Bert Hanley, whose play ""The Children's Crusade"" was a one-hit wonder many years earlier. Frustrated with his lack of recent success, he is now a grumpy alcoholic and shows up two days late at Camp Ovation. He constantly drinks on the camp grounds and is very irritated by Vlad, who idolizes him and attempts to strike up conversation.