Le monde des musicals

Musical (2005)

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Musique: Gary Adler • Michael Patrick Walker •
Paroles: Gary Adler • Michael Patrick Walker •
Livret: Kevin del Aguila •
Production à la création:

Altar Boyz is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker and book by Kevin Del Aguila (based on an idea by Ken Davenport and Marc Kessler). 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.

Le spectacle est présenté comme un concert en temps réel, le dernier concert de la tournée "Raise the Praise" du groupe Altar Boyz. Quatre des membres du groupe, Matthew, Mark, Luke et Juan, ont les mêmes noms que les quatre Évangiles chrétiens. Le cinquième membre est Abraham qui, comme l'explique le groupe dans le numéro d'ouverture du spectacle, est juif. Les membres du groupe s'adressent directement au public et font référence au lieu dans lequel le spectacle se déroule. Les Altar Boyz chantent plusieus chansons, avec des danses chorégraphiées dans le style des boys band, et présentent plusieurs scènes à propos du groupe et de ses origines, aussi bien que des forces et des démons de chaque membre, mais toujours comme partie intégrante du concert.
Pendant le spectacle, les Altar Boyz font référence à maintes reprises à une machine sur scène, la "Sonde de l'Âme DX-12" dotée d'une écran en LED rouges qui affiche le nombre d'âmes perdues dans la salle. Leur but, expliquent-ils, est de réduire ce nombre à zéro à la fin du concert.
Même si bon nombre de paroles dans le spectacle sont susceptibles d'interprétations amusantes et critiques, comme il est commun dans la satire, les artistes, à aucun moment, ne jouent un double jeu dans leur preformance: ils sont les Altar Boyz.

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. 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 their 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 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.
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.

Directed by Stafford Arima and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, Altar Boyz debuted at the 47th Street Theatre (Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre) 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 at Stage 4 of Dodger Stages (now New World Stages) on March 1, 2005. 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. The closing cast starred Michael Kadin Craig as Matthew, Travis Nesbitt as Mark, Lee Markham as Luke, Mauricio Pérez as Juan, and Ravi Roth as Abraham.
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.

We Are the Altar Boyz
Rhythm In Me
Church Rulez
The Calling
The Miracle Song
Everybody Fits
Something About You
Body, Mind & Soul
La Vida Eternal
Epiphany
Number 918
Finale: I Believe
Bows & Altar Boyz Remix

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Altar Boyz

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Altar Boyz

From October 11 - 18, 2005, the full price of tickets purchased through Broadway.com (using the code KATRINA) was donated to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Also, during that period, the cast performed a new song (”Leading the Way”) after each performance.