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Return to Altar Boyz
Altar Boyz Synopsis
Altar Boyz is an off-Broadway musical comedy about a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio. It addresses and satirizes, among other things, the phenomeon of boy bands, the popularity of Christian-themed music and contemporary American culture. 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 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 shows the number of burdened souls in the room. Their goal is to reduce the number on the machine to zero by the end of the concert.
Although many lines and lyrics in the show are susceptible of humor 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.
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