Stand Up, Kneel and Sit Down for the Altar Boyz

Written by M. Cory Burgess

While I'm not a professional theater critic and would never pretend to be, I just wanted to share my thoughts on Altar Boyz, the latest production at our community's favorite little stage, Onyx Theatre inside The Rack clothing store at Commercial Center.

Altar Boyz is a popular off-Broadway musical that's been performed around the world since 2005, telling the tale of a five-piece Christian boy band (Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham—he's Jewish) trying to save the audience's souls during their final concert tour stop. Check out the interview with the cast and director Mike Scheneman in our February issue.

Let me just tell you right away that I quite enjoyed it. It wasn't without its faults, which I'll point out in a moment, but it had me smiling and laughing far more than either Mommie Queerest, which I saw back in October, or Naked Boys Singing, which I saw just two weeks ago after its latest cast change. Three of the Altar Boyz (Nolan Christopher, Mark White and Aron Shanley) also starred in NBS, although I certainly wouldn't have minded if the remaining two (Christopher Atup and Taylor Hendricks) had've been in that show as well.

I'm not Catholic, so perhaps a few of the references were lost on me, but I was once religious enough (and enough of a boy band fan) to get a kick out of the juxtaposition. Don't worry, though; if you're one of those holy roller types and get dragged by a friend to see the show, it won't be too offensive.

Now here are the few little problems I had with last night's press preview performance. The official Web site of the New York production (which closed last month after a half-decade), says the show features “angelic voices, sinfully spectacular dancing and a touching story.” While I'll agree with the last part of that statement, I felt the local production somewhat lacked the first two.

I've never seen any previous production of Altar Boyz, so I'm not sure if the vocals and dancing are supposed to be a little off, but last night's show wasn't nearly as polished as I hoped. I attribute any little flaws to it being perhaps their first public show and simply a bit of nervousness. Everyone's acting was quite nice and appropriate to their roles and situations, but Mark White, playing a character who's supposed to be the lead of the group, wasn't quite as strong as he was when I saw him in Naked Boys Singing—perhaps he's more comfortable in the buff. As for the dancing, they seemed a bit out of sync (boy band pun intended) at first, perhaps a little unsure of the moves, but it improved as the show progressed. At least nobody forgot any of the words, for which I'm always fearful in community productions.

Certainly the biggest problem of the evening was the sound, stemming most likely from the concert mics wrapped around their heads. Christopher Atup's mic didn't seem to be turned up (or even turned on) most of the night, so nearly everything he said or sang was most likely inaudible to everyone past the first few rows. That's a shame, too, since his character has an accent and he is featured in one of the most emotional parts of the show, which makes it even more important that he be heard clearly. For that matter, I suggest they turn everyone up a bit to be heard over the on-stage three-piece band.

Aside from these little flaws, which I'm sure will be fixed within the first few days or weeks of performances, Altar Boyz is a must-see for an affordable night out (tickets are just $30) with your partner, friends or the whole family. The folks at Onyx Theatre recently passed 100 performances of Naked Boys Singing and hope Altar Boyz will last equally as long, so I suggest waiting just a couple weeks until the kinks are worked out. But don't wait too long; you'll definitely want to see the show while little cutie Taylor Hendricks is still in the cast. He is the breakout star of this production as well as being the youngest.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.onyxtheatre.com and inside The Rack at 953 E. Sahara Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89104.

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