Cover to original cast recordingAltar Boyz

musical comedy: Music and Lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker: Book by Kevin Del Aguila

Dodger Stages, Theatre IV, Off-Broadway Opened 1st March, 2005 - still running

The production won "Best off-Broadway Musical 2005 Outer Critics Circle Award and a host of other awards

Synopsis

The story is about a fictitious Christian boy band.

The show follows five ultra-talented heartthrobs from Ohio: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham on the last night of their "Raise the Praise" tour. Matthew is the lead singer who started the group, Mark is the sensitive boy with a secret and a deep faith in Cher, Luke is the bad boy with a big heart and an interest in communion wine, Juan is the orphaned Latin boy with an eye for the ladies, and Abraham is the Jewish boy who isn't entirely sure how he got there but he wrote the lyrics. Throughout the show, the boys learn about brotherhood; and in the end, when faced with a tough decision, they all realise how important they really are to each other.

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.</p>

Musical Numbers

  1. We Are The Altar Boyz
  2. Rhythm In Me
  3. Church Rulez
  4. The Calling
  5. The Miracle Song
  6. Everybody Fits
  7. Something About You
  8. Body, Mind & Soul
  9. La Vida Eternal
  10. Epiphany
  11. Number 918
  12. I Believe
  13. We Are The Altar Boyz Remix

Cast

Vocal Selection

Original Cast Recording