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One thing that I’ve learned over the past few years is that there are only two topics that will get absolutely everyone completely incensed and involved in heated debate — politics and religion. A great majority of theatre delves into the political aspect of the world, although most playwrights pen scripts from a Democratic standpoint intended for a Democratic audience — it’s not really changing anyone’s life. Although political theatre has been highly popular in the past few years, religion has been generally avoided. If theatre does attempt a religious show, it’s normally in the form of a musical (e.g. Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar), but let’s face it, those musical’s aren’t exactly happy-go-lucky musical comedies.

Finally, Altar Boyz brings humorous light to the subject religion in a (mostly) non-offensive manner. The Altar Boyz themselves are a Catholic boy band (with one Jewish member) intent on spreading the message of God through music, and saving the souls of their fans in concerts. The Off-Broadway staging of the show is their final concert in their national tour, and the first time the Boyz are playing New York City.

The music of the show is perfectly written in the style of the late-90s boy band explosion (most notably the Backstreet Boys and N’Sync), and is absolutely hilarious. I had a copy of the cast album in my possession before I went to Dodger Stages to actually see the show, and I fell in love with the music immediately. “Something About You” and “Epiphany” made me crack up the first time that I heard them, and I gave the rest of the album a listen. There was only one song that I didn’t think was all that funny when I heard it… and watching the show changed all that.

Often times when I go to see a musical, I get a little bit upset with myself for having listened to the CD beforehand, thus “ruining” the surprises. Altar Boyz didn’t make me feel this way. The staging of each one of these numbers, combined with the stellar performances of the incredibly talented cast brought new life to these songs that I had already committed to memory, and made me realize new, hilarious things about them. It was a unique musical theatre experience.

I was extremely impressed with the cast. Although only one member from the original Off-Broadway cast played when I saw the show (with another set to return in a few short days), they managed to sound exactly like (if not better than) the cast recording. Even more impressive was the fact that the entire show is dance intensive, and I think that I would pass out a half hour through the show if I were to attempt the same feat.

Not only is Altar Boyz a hilarious 90 minutes filled with hilarious music that manages to poke fun at the boy band craze and, in some ways, religion, it succeeds in actually being an uplifting show. I didn’t see one disappointed face in the house — and since the Downstairs Bar’s 2-for-1 Happy Hour doesn’t start until after the show, I think it was all the Altar Boyz. Rush down to Dodger Stages as soon as you can and pick up tickets for Altar Boyz… you won’t be disappointed.