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. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway, but larger than Off-Off-Broadway, productions. ... Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theater combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ... Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ... A boy band is a type of pop group usually featuring three to five young male singers, though it can go up to six, like bands like Shinhwa, KAT-TUN, or (as of 2007) New Edition, which was originally a quintet. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ...

The Show

The show is presented in real time as a concert 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, 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. For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination...

During the show, the Altar Boyz repeatedly turn to a machine on the stage, the "Soul Sensor DX-12," which has a red LED display that they explain shows the number of burdened souls in the room. Their goal, they explain, is to reduce the number on the machine to zero by the end of the concert. External links LEd Category: TeX ... This page is about the core essence of a being. ...

Although many of the lines and lyrics in the show are susceptible of 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. Michael Patrick Walker is a composer/lyricist and musician. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

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 Gatelli. 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. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Each year, during a three-week fall Festival, the New York Musical Theatre Festival presents more than thirty new musicals at venues in New York Citys midtown theater district. ... Cheyenne Jackson Cheyenne Jackson (born July 12, 1975[1]) is an American actor and singer from Newport, Washington. ... An American actor, Andy Karl was raised in Baltimore, Maryland. ... Ryan Duncan (born July 14, 1985 in Calgary, Alberta) is an ice hockey forward currently playing for the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. ... Marc Kudisch is an American stage actor. ...

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 in place of Cheyenne Jackson, who was starring in the Broadway musical All Shook Up, which opened later that month, and Shadoe Stevens played the pre-recorded role of "G.O.D." As of March, 2007, the show continues in the same theatre, although with new cast members. Scott Porter is an actor who plays Jason Street in Friday Night Lights. ... Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... The Fantasticks was the longest-running musical in history. ... All Shook Up is a Broadway jukebox musical featuring the music of the classic rock star Elvis Presley, with a book by Joe DiPietro. ... Shadoe Stevens (born Terry Ingstad in 1946 in Jamestown, North Dakota) was the host of American Top 40, heard in 120 countries by an estimated one billion people a week, from 1988 to 1995. ...

There have been touring productions of Altar Boyz in the United States and Korea.

Current New York Cast

As of April 9, 2007, the cast was as follows:

Matthew: Kyle Dean Massey
Mark: Zach Hanna
Luke: Landon Beard
Juan: Shaun Taylor-Corbett
Abraham: Eric Schneider
Shaun Taylor-Corbett is an American actor. ...

Dance Captain/Understudy: Carlos L. Encinias
Understudy: Jim Daly

Awards

The production won the 2005 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best off-Broadway Musical. It was nominated for Seven 2005 Drama Desk Awards including Best Music, Best Lyrics, Best Book and Best Musical. ^[2] Created in 1955, the Drama Desk Award was created to recognize Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows in addition to Broadway shows. ...

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

Memorable Lines

Abraham: "Tell them about the suprizzle later in the shizzle."

Abraham: "Mozzletozzle yo."

Abraham: "There are souls here that are still s-t-rugglin'."

Mark: "Are Jews even allowed in church?" Abraham: "I think so. I just saw one on the cross above the altar."

Abraham: "Oh, I get it. No reindeer games for the chosen people."

Abraham: "...how the group has evolved." Matthew: "Don't... say evolved..."

Luke: "Who needs a G.E.D? I got my B-I-B-L-E!"

Luke: "Oh now, Mark, don't be accusin'. For you will notice the speck in your brother's eye and not the log in your own. *turned toward audience* I think that scripture says it all... I mean, if you can't even tell you've been hit in the eye with a log, you got serious issues, man! ...A log's like this big around!! *holds hands over his head demonstrating exactly how big a log really is* You best be gettin' yourself to a hospital..."

Luke: "Yo, stay away from her Lar-- no matter how Mary Magdalicious she might be lookin'."

Mark: "One day while I was being persecuted... with Nair..."

Luke: "Yo, you need to stop getting exhausted out of your mind every night! Or you're gonna wreck the van! I mean... a van... some van... somewhere..."

External links

• altarboyz.com Official Site
• Altarholics: The Altar Boyz Fan Club
• Robyn Goodman (producer) - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org, August 2005
• Everybody Fits - Altar Boyz

The American Theatre Wing (ATF) is a New York City-based organization dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre, according to its mission statement. ...

References

1. ^ "Altar Boyz" at Lortel Archives--The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved on October 22, 2006.
2. ^ Drama Desk Nominations 2004-2005. Retrieved on October 22, 2006.