Altar Boyz - Arts Club Theatre

On Friday night, while Chris Martin (lead singer of a little band called Coldplay) was attempting to be incognito at Les Miserables, I dragged my tired self to the Granville Island stage to see Altar Boyz. Dinner before hand was kinda meh, which made us both a little grumpy. Thank G.O.D that G.O.D was in the house and perked me right up!

Let me tell you, my soul was thoroughly cleansed by the experience. Laughs aplenty abound at this tongue in cheek musical about the final night of a Christian Boy Band’s tour. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John & Abraham (natch) will keep you entertained for 90 minutes with tongue in cheek lyrics such as “Jesus Called me on my Cellphone” and “Girl you make me Wanna Wait”.

Encompassing every stereotype of a boy band member you can imagine, including a Latin heartthrob, a gangsta with more brawn than brains (his sly references to being hospitalized for “exhaustion” are still relevant and funny today), and of course a sexually ambiguous (clearly gay) Mark who struggles with admitting that he is Catholic to his boyhood bullies (my favourite song personally, what with me being the product of a Catholic upbringing).

While Boy Bands seem to be a thing of the past (for now at least), the sly references are current and the jokes do not feel dated. The religious jibes are light enough to be inoffensive. Their saucy dance moves and audience participation bring back fond memories of NKOTB and BSB.

The live band on stage is great for the most part. My only criticism would be that sometimes the music overpowers the voices of the cast. But that is a small thing. This is a superfun show that I highly recommend to everyone – well, if you are a crazy religious freak, I would suggest skipping it.

Overall, it was a somewhat surprising win for this show. A lot funnier than I thought it would be.

Those who love boy bands will enjoy it, those who hate boy bands should love it even more!