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 Altar Boyz, the irreverent musical comedy that has taken New York by storm, is finally here. Choreographer Antony Ginandjar speaks to Garrett Bithell.
While Sydney is girding its collective loins for the arrival of the papal motorcade and thousands of cross-bearing pilgrims for World Youth Day next month, Altar Boyz is sure to bring an entirely different kind of worship to our fair city.
The hit off-Broadway musical comedy, one of the longest-running and most critically-acclaimed stage productions the Big Apple has seen in years, is centred on a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio. It satirises, with tongue firmly in cheek, the phenomenon of boy-bands and the popularity of Christian-themed palaver in American culture. It’s an all-singing, all-dancing, all-male spectacular.
“Altar Boyz is an electric musical comedy with dancing, dancing and more dancing,” choreographer Antony Ginandjar tells SX. “The show is based around a religious boy-band performing at their final concert, so you can expect to see choreography that encompasses the essence of this style of commercial dance – with some occasional religious iconography thrown in for good measure!”
Suffice it to say, Altar Boyz is deliciously camp, always precariously treading the fine line between cringe-worthy and hilarious. It is now in its fourth record-breaking season in New York, and won the Outer Critics Circle Award for best off-Broadway musical in 2005. It was also nominated for seven Drama Desk awards in the same year, and honoured with two Drama League awards.
Indeed, the tight harmonies and frenetic choreography never let up, with styles veering from disco to Latin, hip-hop to gospel, and rock to soaring power ballads. According to Ginandjar, the material is highly demanding on the cast.
“Put it this way, the audition notice stated for every character brief outline: ‘Dancing – intense’,” he says. “And it is very, very intense. Just like any boy-band concert, they dance throughout almost every song in their set list. And they’re definitely not flouncing around. It’s all high-impact, high-energy choreography – so fantastic to watch such intensity!
“The catch is, they obviously have to sing and dance at the same time! That’s where the demanding part comes into play. To get though such a physically-demanding show, a performer must be ‘show fit’, as we call it in the industry. Your level of aerobic fitness and endurance must be at its peak.”
The dynamic (and fit) young cast includes Cameron MacDonald (Matthew), Dion Bilios (Mark), Tim Maddren (Luke), Andrew Koblar (Abraham) and Jeremy Brennan (Juan), a seasoned Sydney-based cabaret performer and actor.
“I almost threw up during my audition because the choreography is really full-on,” Brennan tells SX. “The entire show demands so much from those triple-threat skills, but I’m looking forward to flexing all those muscles. I play a fiery, flirty Spanish guy, which is a lot of fun. I get to do a lot of strutting!
“The whole show is just so camp and subversive. It’s bloody funny the way they take the piss!”
This hilarious dissidence lies in the music and lyrics written by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker.
“It’s just such an entertaining show,” Ginandjar says. “Hilarious from start to finish, and it appeals to all ages. Whether you enjoy musical theatre or going to watch a pop concert – Altar Boyz offers a little bit of both. Oh, and did I mention it’s hilarious!
“Even if it doesn’t look like your kind of thing or you don’t usually go to watch musicals, go out and buy yourself a ticket – trust me, you’ll love it!”
Altar Boyz plays the Everest Theatre in the Seymour Centre (corner Cleveland Street and City Road, Chippendale) until August 2. For tickets call (02) 9351 7940, or online at seymourcentre.com.au or ticketmaster.com.au. For more information go to altarboyz.com.au.
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