By Ben Nielsen
Capitalising on the resurgent popularity of boy bands, the musical comedy Altar Boyz is a ‘real time’ performance by a Christian band from Ohio. On the last leg of the ‘Raise the Praise’ tour, the five boys land in Adelaide, using music to spread the word of God.
Besides being formed specifically to stage this show, director David Gauci’s production company Davine Interventionz has admirable intentions to foster emerging South Australian talent. While most are already firmly established amongst the local industry, Gauci has gathered a fine cast and crew for his first rendezvous.
Neither a love of boy bands nor studies of theology are a prerequisite to enjoyment; the irreverence of the show soon had the crowd cheering and snorting with laughter. The plot wasn’t overly strong but the cast perfectly encapsulated a range of stereotypical traits and nuances that provided many easy gags.
Brady Lloyd is well cast as Altar Boyz front man. His song and dance routines (Shenayde Wilinson-Sarti, choreographer) were energetic and slick, and he oozed charisma and sex appeal. The latter paid off when he received an unexpected kiss from an audience member.
While they had somewhat less capacity to shine, Gareth Wilkes, Brody Thomas-Green, Dominic Hodges and Lindsay Prodea proved themselves as worthy members of the boy band. Prodea and Thomas-Green’s vocals were of particular note.
Framed by impressive lead light windows, Emma Knights’ band was heavenly.
It is such a shame that a community theatre production of otherwise high standard was let down by its poor sound production. When the Altar Boyz weren’t overpowered by the accompanying band, distortion and muddiness made singers and lyrics indistinguishable. The show was also riddled with ear-piercing feedback issues.
It’s certainly good fun, and coins the hilarious phrase ‘Mary Magdalicious’; but Altar Boyz is not a production to be seen more than once.
3K
Recent Comments