Originally an Off Broadway production in 2005, Altar Boyz is an uproarious and irreverent musical parody of the global phenomenon that is boy bands. The 90-minute feature with all original songs follows the story of Matthew, Mark, Luke and Juan – and Abraham, in their attempts to convert fans and save their souls.
Perth boys Ryan Dawson (Matthew), Zac Gower (Mark), Matt Healy (Luke), Juan Albanese (Juan) and David Gray (Abraham) are mounting their own performance of the raucous musical this October and we asked what drew them to this show.
“The idea for us is just to have a good time,” David says, “There’s a certain level of taking it seriously and professionally but you need to be able to have a good time with it which is one of the best things about this play and the cast that we have.”
“The band really covers all of the archetypes of classic ‘90s boy bands, think N*Sync or Backstreet Boys – less One Direction,” Zac says, “There’s the rapper, the good-looking one, the sensitive one…”
“The Latin one”, Juan interjects with a laugh.
The show plays in just one act, aiding the audience in believing they are watching the boy band perform, rather than a piece of musical theatre. Altar Boyz is a script that thrives on breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the crowd.
The ultra-pious Boyz must consult with their ‘Soul Sensor DX-12’ device to reduce the number of burdened souls in the audience to zero.
“It’s the last show of the boys Raise the Praise tour and, without giving too much away, something goes wrong,” David explains, “Will we get to zero? Who knows?”
Altar Boyz have a number of original songs in their repertoire including ‘Church Rulez’, ‘Girl You Make Me Wanna Wait’ and the deliciously sinful ‘Jesus Called Me On My Cell Phone’.
Altar Boyz will be at the Guildford Grammar Auditorium on October 8th,9th & 10th at 8pm. Tickets available from www.trybooking.com
Leigh Hill
