Altar Boyz: Why The Hell Was I Invited For This Again?

 

 

Fritz was worried. He felt that watching Altar Boyz on my 23rd birthday may not be a very good way to mark the occasion. Since I value the opinions of my elders, I reconsidered the opinion of the blog community’s other resident rock star and tried to further delve into the wisdom of actually watching a play about *gasp* a christian boy band. Everybody knows that Gibbs is like a god - who actually exists (!) — around these circles and his opinion would probably be the hard-fast rule in just about everything related to Philippine theater so I approached him for his insights. As expected, his advise was vague and instead of helping me make a decision, it left me more confused. He told me that the religious allusions were all tongue-in-cheek and I still had a sense of humor, I should definitely watch the production.

 

Since I had already told my date that we’ll be cultured for the the night, I decided to watch it despite Fritz’s concerns. When I picked out my ticket, I asked why I was invited. Apparently, I wasn’t invited by Gibbs, Fritz or any blogger who was there watching. They wanted a review from my perspective as an Atheist - in fact Teen Atheist was there too!

 

When the show started, I was immediately affirmed that yes, it was a good idea to show up and watch it. From the get-go, it was clear what the entire play was going to be about. The five Altar Boyz embodied what catholicism/christianity stands for:

 

• on one hand, a very diverse cast that including a Chicano orphan (Juan), token Lance Bass/ Steven Gately ( Mark), an otherwise forgettable leader in Matthew, reformed addict and part-time band van driver and surprise surprise, the scion of the holocaust (hey, this is American Entertainment so you know there had to be a Jew somewhere!) Abraham. It’s a subtle reminder that the church reaches out to a lot of sectors.
• just like the real thing it’s trying to allude to, it’s full of frill, frivolities and fluff. Sure, this smoke and mirror show could in fact make people think that something important is going on, but upon closer inspection and further analysis, it’s clear that the substance that is supposedly behind it is practically non-existent. Of course, the campy fun that the Altar Boyz showed was refreshing. They were a joke - a loose yet extremely entertaining coalescence of faith, music and choreography —that didn’t take take themselves seriously. They knew they were not to be taken seriously and just as Gibbs said, it was all tongue-in-cheek. Don’t you wish the other party was like that too?

That being said, I think that the person who wrote Altar Boyz is an unapologetic Atheist who relishes the idea of making fun of the dense and dumb people who would fail to get the entire point of the show. The story starts off with a short introduction on how the band was formed. Clearly, five guys from totally different backgrounds just don’t form a boyband out of the blue, right? With the divine mandate of spiritual salvation clearly imbued upon them by the voice of Jett Pangan - again, a [rock] god who actually exists (!) — the five collaborate to be the Altar Boyz. The rest of the show develops as a struggle to reduce the number of damned souls as detected by the Soul Sensor Dx-12. It’s quite refreshing that religion and science were tied together - the ridiculousness of the combination just gets emphasized even more.

 

Of course, the number dwindles to zero and everyone is happy that they’re not going to hell. I’m actually scared at the thought that this play could possibly inspire the faith of other people. Seriously though, I’m not ruling. Who am I to overestimate the intelligence of other people? For the most part, the 90-minute show feels like a genuine concert. I’m sure the actors had a work out while singing and dancing through over a dozen songs. The singing isn’t probably the number  one reason for watching this show. It wasn’t that bad, but I guess the dance routines really knocked the wind out of a couple of the performers. It was still pretty effective though, thanks to their commitment to their roles and the exquisitely written lyrics with themes ranging from the politically-incorrect to the downright offensive.

 

I see the play as a bold statement to mock Catholics in general. I don’t think any one in the theater enjoyed it more than I did. Come to think of it, why did these people invite me? If I didn’t like it, people would get the impression that it was probably too nonsecular to have mainstream appeal. I mean, how many go to the theater to be proselytized, right? Counterpoint to that though, my endorsement could also be a kiss of death. Watching this show could be the one way ticket to their non-existent god’s hit list. So Repertory Philippines, I apologize in advance if I single-handedly destroyed this run.

 

Altar Boyz

April 4-27, 2008

8:00 PM on Fridays & Saturday 3:30 PM on Saturdays & Sundays

Venue

OnStage

2/F Greenbelt 1, Ayala Center, Makati City

Director

Chari Arespacochaga

Tickets

Orchestra Center P 550.00 Orchestra Side P 350.00 Balcony P 250.00     Subscribe now and save!   For tickets, call 8870710. Or logon to Ticketworld

 

 

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