Altar Boyz Premieres at Music Circus
By Elaine Hunt

The musical Altar Boyz premiered at the Music Circus in downtown Sacramento this week. First produced in New York in 2004, this fun romp’s premise is simple. A fictitious Christian boy band called the “Altar Boyz” is touring the country saving souls. In theater there’s a term called “the fourth wall,” which is the invisible wall between the actors and the audience. In most plays, the actors pretend the audience doesn’t exist, and they are in their own world. For example, in The Sound of Music the actors behave as though they are in various settings in Austria.

Altar Boyz breaks that invisible wall and speaks directly to the audience, and acts as though the tour is in the actual town where they perform. So for this six-day run at the Music Circus, the characters know they’re in Sacramento. And they’re here in Sacramento with a mission. The “Soul Sensor DX-12" reads the number of burdened souls in the room. The band resolves to bring that number down to zero by the end of the concert. Periodically throughout the show they check the Soul Sensor to see how they’ve progressed and see how many souls are left to save.

The show is light hearted, and gentle in spirit. People need not worry about their religion being dishonored. The characters play their parts with earnest reverence.
The fictional boy band consists of five characters: Mathew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham, the Jewish member of the band. Each of the characters has their own distinct personality. In addition to the many group numbers, several had solos that helped us better understand their character.

Abraham, performed by Tim Dolan, was the least interesting in the group. This was the fault of the script, not the actor. Ryan Nearhoff’s Luke is the most “street” band member and had previously been hospitalized for “exhaustion,” an obvious euphemism for drugs or alcohol. We laugh several times throughout the show at Luke’s former “exhaustion” issues. Not the Einstein of the crew, his big contribution to the band is driving the van. As played by Nearhoff, we find ourselves endeared to the big lug. Juan, the orphan raised by the Catholic sisters who taught him to speak with a Spanish accent, was played by actor Andres Quintero. Unfortunately, between the fast lyrics and his accent, Quintero’s Juan was sometimes difficult to understand.

Since Music Circus is a theater in the round, this means at any time an actor must have his back to some portion of the audience. Director Stafford Arima directed the original New York production, and generally did an excellent job restaging for the round format. There was only one number where I felt the staging fell short. Juan had his back to me for most of his solo number, “La Vida Eternal.” That made it harder to connect to the character. I wish director Arima had given Quintero more movement so my side of the audience could see the actor during some of this emotional number.

Matthew, played by Devin DeSantis, is the good looking, responsible one. Of course, they’re all attractive men, but Mark is supposed to be the handsome leader. His solo, “Something About You” was one of my favorite numbers of the night. He pulled an attractive lady out of the audience and had her sit on stage while he sang to her. Her genuine embarrassment proved she was not a plant, and this wasn’t planned in advance. After the performance, Matthew graciously offered her a hand towel which he had used to wipe his sweaty brow. One of the biggest laughs of the night came when, upon checking the Soul Sensor after the musical number, instead of lowering, the count increased by one. The band unsubtly implied it was the female audience member who was the culprit.

Mark, performed by Jamison Scott, was the most entertaining of the five Boyz. A bit effeminate, we see that Mark carries a little torch for Matthew. Mark didn’t hesitate to swipe that sweaty towel from our poor audience member and keep it for himself. And Mark’s solo number, “Epiphany,” got the wildest applause of the night. In addition to his comic skills, Scott proved he had an impressive singing voice, as well. In all, it was a delight to spend the evening with the Altar Boyz. And this reviewer is grateful to have her soul less burdened. Mission accomplished, Boyz. Altar Boyz plays through Sunday, July 19.

Check http://www.californiamusicaltheatre.com for ticket information. Shows continue through the summer with: "GUYS AND DOLLS" - July 21 - 26; "INTO THE WOODS" - July 28 - August 2; "SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS" - August 4 - 9; "MAN OF LA MANCHA" - August 11 - 16;  "CATS" - August 18 - 30. Don't miss the Music Circus this season!

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