A History of the Altar Boyz

“Altar Boyz is a musical comedy full of sharp parody, sinfully spectacular dancing, and irreverent humor about a fictitious Christian boy band. The show follows the five über-talented heartthrobs: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham on the last night of their ‘Raise the Praise’ tour. Throughout the show the boyz learn about brotherhood, facing tough decisions and how important they truly are to one another.

With their angelic voices, sinfully spectacular dancing and a touching story, the Altar Boyz are destined to rock the masses of all denominations!”

Altar Boyz is a musical comedy centering on a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio. The show satirizes, among other things, the phenomenon of boy bands and the popularity of Christian-themed music in contemporary American culture. It began an Off Broadway run on March 1, 2005 and closed on January 10, 2010, having played 16 previews and 2,032 regular performances making it the 9th longest running Off Broadway musical of all time.

The musical is presented in real time as the final concert of the national “Raise the Praise” tour staged by the five-member group the Altar Boyz. Four of the group’s members, Matthew, Mark, Luke and Juan, apparently are 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.

During the show, the Altar Boyz repeatedly turn to a machine on stage, the “Soul Sensor DX-12,” which has a display that they explain shows the number of burdened souls in the theatre. Their goal is to reduce the number on the machine to zero by the end of the concert.

Altar Boyz debuted in New York City as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival in September 2004. The NYMF cast included Cheyenne Jackson as Matthew, Tyler Maynard as Mark, Andy Karl as Luke, Ryan Duncan as Juan, and David Josefsberg as Abraham. Marc Kudisch performed the pre-recorded role of “G.O.D.” Due to the nature of the festival, the NYMF run was limited to 8 performances on an irregular schedule over the course of a few weeks.

After 16 preview performances, the show opened Off Broadway on March 1, 2005.^[1] The cast was the same as in the NYMF production, except Scott Porter played the part of Matthew and Shadoe Stevens played the pre-recorded role of “G.O.D.” The production closed on January 10, 2010 after 2,032 regular performances, making it the 9th longest running off-Broadway musical of all time.^[2].

There have been touring productions of Altar Boyz in the United States (in 2007, 2008 and 2009) and resident productions in Chicago (2007), and Korea, Hungary, Finland, Australia and the Philippines as well as numerous regional and amateur productions.

Outer Critics Circle Award Best Off Broadway Musical- Winner
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Musical- Nominee
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical- Tyler Maynard- Nominee
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Choreography- Nominee
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Music- Nominee
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Lyrics- Nominee
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Book of a Musical- Nominee
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations- Nominee
Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Musical- Nominee
Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Choreography- Christopher Gattelli- Winner
Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Featured Actor- Tyler Maynard- Nominee
Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Sound Design- Nominee
Drama League Award Distinguished Production of a Musical- Nominee
Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Award- Ryan Duncan, David Josefsberg, Andy Karl, Tyler Maynard, Scott Porter- Nominees
Theatre World Award – Tyler Maynard- Winner