Show History
ALTAR BOYZ, the new musical comedy and critically-acclaimed hit of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, is the hilarious account of a struggling Christian boy-band (with one nice Jewish boy) looking
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Articles & Interviews
5/1/2006 Volume 13, Issue 1A, Spring
ADLER & WALKER: I BELIEVEWhen AVENUE Q opened, its music director was a dynamic guy named Gary Adler.
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5/1/2006 Volume 13, Issue 1A, Spring
ADLER & WALKER: I BELIEVEWhen AVENUE Q opened, its music director was a dynamic guy named Gary Adler.
more...
10/1/2006 Volume 13, Issue 2, Fall
CALLING ALL ALTARHOLICS!Check out the #1 ALTAR BOYZ fan site: www.altarholics.com. Learn more about the show, bond with fellow ALTAR BOYZ fanatics and earn points for ALTAR BOYZ prizes.
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10/1/2006 Volume 13, Issue 2, Fall
CALLING ALL ALTARHOLICS!Check out the #1 ALTAR BOYZ fan site: www.altarholics.com. Learn more about the show, bond with fellow ALTAR BOYZ fanatics and earn points for ALTAR BOYZ prizes.
more...
4/15/2008
Altar Boyz Is Now Available for Amateur Performance Rights!We are now accepting amateur theatre applications for Altar Boyz productions beginning January 1, 2009. Bring the Altar Boyz to your community or school today, and you'll see why audiences can't resist the story of Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham. Apply online now!
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4/15/2008
Altar Boyz Is Now Available for Amateur Performance Rights!We are now accepting amateur theatre applications for Altar Boyz productions beginning January 1, 2009. Bring the Altar Boyz to your community or school today, and you'll see why audiences can't resist the story of Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham. Apply online now!
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1/26/2009
ALTAR BOYZ: Raise the PraiseALTAR BOYZ is definitely one of our favorite things, and theatres around the world agree. We spoke to a few customers who had great success with this show, so you can see why it's the perfect show for you.
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1/26/2009
ALTAR BOYZ: Raise the PraiseALTAR BOYZ is definitely one of our favorite things, and theatres around the world agree. We spoke to a few customers who had great success with this show, so you can see why it's the perfect show for you.
more...
Writer's Notes
Andy Karl, member of the Original Off- Broadway Cast, Karl first became aware of ALTAR BOYZ through his long-time friend, ALTAR BOYZ composer and lyricist Michael Patrick Walker. "I've known him for years," Karl says. "We were both on a tour of CATS. He was playing in the pit, and I was playing Rum Tum Tugger." Three years of readings for the show followed, with Karl attached at every step, even before the role of Luke arrived at its current form. Part of what makes Luke such an appealing Altar Boy is his delicious ghetto inflections and mannerisms. "Through revisions and readings, they came up with this thuggish way for him to act, and it totally clicked," he says. "He's this rapper, he's street-wise but he's from the suburbs, you know? And it's almost identical to my life. It's very funny, because I was an altar boy-I'm the only guy in the [original cast] who was an altar boy-and at the same time, I was totally into break dancing. [Luke] totally mirrors my life. He's just trying to be as cool as possible. Basically, Luke is the Donnie Wahlberg of the Altar Boyz."The creators of ALTAR BOYZ, Michael Patrick Walker and Gary Adler, lovingly skew the conventions of the kinds of boy bands that have become so maddeningly ubiquitous over the past few years. "People have heard those songs enough that they're part of musical history," Karl says. “You can't hear those songs on the radio without singing along, or realizing that they're part of your musical make up." Karl also points to director Stafford Arima as the man behind the group's authentic boy band flavor. "Stafford is actually the biggest boy band fan. He has every DVD of O-Town and *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys. He lent them to us to watch, and we were like, 'What are you doing with all of these?' And he just shrugged his shoulders." When asked if he is enjoying the boy band treatment, Karl responds explosively, saying, "I kind of love it! Are you kidding with the screams and the yells and everything?"“It's the brotherhood of the five guys in the band that makes the show work, and leads to our camaraderie both on and offstage. We're on stage the entire time. We never stop for an hour and a half. It's difficult and it's exhausting, but we support each other.”
License this show
1. We Are The Altar Boyz (The Altar Boyz)
3. Soul Sensor 1 (The Altar Boyz)
