Altar Boyz NSW Amateur Premiere in Shire

Miranda Musical Society presents the NSW Amateur Premiere of Broadway Boy Band musical Altar Boyz from June 12, 2015. 

With a focus on sharp parody, Boyband dancing, and irreverent humour, this spoof about a heavenly guy-group is coming back to Sydney. With a mix of hilarious songs convincing enough to be played on MTV, this multi award-winning and original American musical is 90 minutes of tongue-in-cheek fun that's suitable for all ages. Satirising the Boy Band trend and giving a funny yet respectful serve at religion as well, this production will strike a chord with all ages.

Altar Boyz tells the holy inspiring story of 5 small-town boys - Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham - trying to save the world one screaming fan at a time. Their pious pop act, including lyrics like "Girl You Make Me Wanna Wait" and "Jesus Called Me On My Cell Phone," worked wonders on the Ohio bingo-hall-and-pancake-breakfast circuit. But when fate brings them to The Sutherland Shire, will the boyz take a bite out of the forbidden apple? With angelic voices, sinfully spectacular dancing and a touching story, Altar Boyz is destined to rock the masses of all denominations.

The story

The show follows five ultra-talented heartthrobs from Ohio: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham on the last night of their "Raise the Praise" tour. Matthew is the lead singer who started the group, Mark is the sensitive boy with a secret and a deep faith in Cher, Luke is the bad boy with a big heart and an interest in communion wine, Juan is the orphaned Latin boy with an eye for the ladies, and Abraham is the Jewish boy who isn't entirely sure how he got there but he wrote the lyrics. Throughout the show, the boys learn about brotherhood; and in the end, when faced with a tough decision, they all realise how important they really are to each other.

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 in the show's opening number, 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 has a display that they explain shows the number of burdened souls in the theatre. Their goal, they explain, is to reduce the number on the machine to zero by the end of the concert. Although many of the lines and lyrics in the show are susceptible to humorous or satirical interpretations, as is common in satire the performers do not acknowledge such double meanings in their performances.

When asked about the challenges of choreographing the boys moves, choreographer Craig Nhobbs said, “I remember as a child waking up early every Saturday morning to sit in front of the video recorder waiting to press "record" when the Backstreet Boys or N*Sync videos came on just so I could watch them later and learn the dance moves . There's something so exciting to me about the corny & lovable 90's moves and recreating them has been so much fun.

Director Osman Kabbara said, “after being a huge fan of the sound track, I finally saw Altar Boyz back in 2008. I went twice to the performance and never knew how funny and intricate this show was; I mean listening to the CD is one thing, but watching the comedic timing of the cast bringing the music that I had been devoted too, was just mind blowing.”

MIRANDA MUSICAL SOCIETY PRESENTS ALTAR BOYZ!

Music and Lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker

PERFORMANCE DATES AND TIMES

8PM SHOWS JUNE 12, 13, 17,19, 20 & 2PM SHOWS JUNE 14, 21

WHERE

MEMORIAL SCHOOL OF ARTS, EAST PDE, SUTHERLAND

ONLINE BOOKINGS: www.mirandamusicalsociety.com.au

PHONE BOOKINGS: (02) 8814 5827

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