Review – Altar Boyz

Altar Boyz is an Adelaide production of the highly successful off-Broadway show parodying both boy bands and the explosion in commercial Christian music. The original show is the 9th longest running off-Broadway show in history, driven by the witty and subversive lyrics. Local director David Gauci has produced a high energy and visually appealing spectacle with slick choreography.

All 5 singers were vocally strong, with stand out numbers being Brady Lloyd’s “Something About You” (with very enthusiastic audience participation) and Brodie Thomas-Green’s flamboyant “Epiphany”. The performers were hamstrung, however, by a poor sound mix, which alternated between barely audible to distortion. This was a real shame, because much of the humour depends upon the clever lyrics to the songs. Given that this was opening night, I am sure these problems will be ironed out swiftly.

Because of the sound issues, the most successful comedic moments were visual, most notably those arising from Thomas-Greens character’s ambiguous sexuality. Speaking of stereotypes, boy bands are famous for their token ethnic minorities, and Lindsay Prodea and Dominic Hodges do well with their Jewish and Latino characters respectively.

Fans of musical theatre or Boyzone will have a fun night out. If you have any Backstreet Boys CDs hiding in your closet, going to see this show may begin to cleanse your soul. If you have a Black Sabbath vinyl collection, at least there is token metal number towards the end.