Altar Boyz is an Off-Broadway musical comedy about a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio. It addresses and satirizes, among other things, the phenomenon of boy bands, the popularity of Christian-themed music and products in contemporary American culture.

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The show

The show is presented in real time as a concert, the last concert of their national "Raise the Praise" tour, by the five-member group the Altar Boyz and their band. Four of the group's members, Matthew, Mark, Luke and Juan, are apparently named after the authors of the four canonical Christian Gospels. The fifth member is Abraham, who, the group explains in the show's opening number, is Jewish. The members of the group address the audience directly and refer to the venue and location in which the performance is taking place. The Altar Boyz perform several songs, with choreographed dancing in the style of boy bands, and present several scenes concerning the group and its origins, as well as each member's strengths and demons, as part of the concert.

During the show, the Altar Boyz repeatedly turn to a machine on the stage, the "Soul Sensor DX-12," which has a display that they explain shows the number of burdened souls in the theatre. Their goal, they explain, is to reduce the number on the machine to zero by the end of the concert.

Although many of the lines and lyrics in the show are susceptible to humorous or satirical interpretations, as is common in satire the performers do not acknowledge such double meanings in their performances.

The show's music and lyrics were written by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker and the book was written by Kevin Del Aguila based on an idea by Ken Davenport and Marc Kessler.

Production history

Altar Boyz had its debut in September of 2004 at the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), in the 47th Street Theatre (Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre). The NYMF cast comprised Cheyenne Jackson as Matthew, Tyler Maynard as Mark, Andy Karl as Luke, Ryan Duncan as Juan and David Josefsberg as Abraham. Marc Kudisch performed the pre-recorded role of "G.O.D." The show was directed by Stafford Arima and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli. The NYMF run was limited by the nature of the festival to a small number of performances on an irregular schedule in a small theatre over a few weeks.

The show opened Off Broadway at Stage 4 of Dodger Stages (now New World Stages) on March 1, 2005, after several preview performances. ^[1] The cast was as in the NYMF production, except that Scott Porter played the part of Matthew, replacing Cheyenne Jackson, and Shadoe Stevens played the pre-recorded role of "G.O.D." As of April 2009, the show continues in the same theatre, although with new cast members.

There have been touring productions of Altar Boyz in the United States and resident productions in Chicago, Korea, Hungary, Finland, Australia and the Philippines .

Songs

We Are the Altar Boyz Rhythm In Me Church Rulez The Calling The Miracle Song Everybody Fits Something About You Body, Mind & Soul La Vida Eternal Epiphany Number 918 Finale: I Believe Bows & Altar Boyz Remix

Awards and nominations

• Outer Critics Circle Award Best Off Broadway Musical (winner )
• Drama Desk Award Outstanding Musical (nominee)
• Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Tyler Maynard, nominee)
• Drama Desk Award Outstanding Choreography (Christopher Gattelli, nominee)
• Drama Desk Award Outstanding Music (Gary Adler & Michael Patrick Walker, nominees)
• Drama Desk Award Outstanding Lyrics (Gary Adler & Michael Patrick Walker, nominees)
• Drama Desk Award Outstanding Book of a Musical (Kevin Del Aguila, nominee)
• Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations (Doug Katsaros & Lynne Shankel, nominees)
• Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Musical (nominee)
• Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Choreography (Christopher Gattelli, winner )
• Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Featured Actor (Tyler Maynard, nominee)
• Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Sound Design (Simon Matthews, nominee)
• Drama League Award Distinguished Production of a Musical (nominee)
• Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Award (Ryan Duncan, David Josefsberg, Andy Karl, Tyler Maynard, Scott Porter, nominees)
• Theatre World Award (Tyler Maynard, winner )

Cast Recording

Altar Boyz was recorded in early March 2005 and was released on May 17, 2005 by Ghostlight Records (an imprint of Sh-K-Boom Records).