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AS Vancouver recovers from the Jonas Brothers’ late June GM Place concerts, it’s a good time to contemplate the cultural and metaphysical significance of
Christian boy bands.
While the Jonas siblings’ music is actually better quality than the ‘boy band’ label implies, it is somewhat lacking in the Christian witnessing department.
If you want a band which has no problem proclaiming its faith, and you missed
the Jonas juggernaut, you should check out Altar Boyz, which runs till August 1 at Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre.
This production won’t be rendering Godspell and Cotton Patch Gospel obsolete anytime soon. But while it doesn’t come close to those two productions as a gospel presentation, no saviours were
harmed during the making of this musical.
The show skewers the self righteousness of some Christians; but my trusty
Blasphemometer detected nothing derisive of faith itself. If anything, da Boyz
go over the top in praising Jesus, God – and also “the good people at Sony.”
While the play declares open season on show-biz smarm, and the smugness of some
forms of evangelism, it never mocks the characters’ spiritual beliefs.
Boyz depicts the final show of the band’s ‘Raise the Praise’ tour. We get to see the back story of Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham
(who is Jewish – don’t ask). What little plot there is revolves around the ‘Soul Sensor,’ a device which displays the exact number of unsaved souls in the theatre.
The Boyz are used to their music saving the souls of everyone present; but
something goes wrong – and a few souls are left hanging in the balance; suffice it to say, there is
hypocrisy afoot within the band. Some moments are priceless. In a tribute to
the abstinence movement, one of the Boyz croons “Girl, you make me want to wait.” And Juan, who is played by a Chinese actor, reveals he was orphaned – and raised by peasants who taught him his Spanish accent.
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My favourite moment is a showstopping solo which sets you up to think the singer
is going to confess that he’s gay; instead, he comes out of a very different closet, revealed as something
even more controversial. I won’t spoil it for you.
Like its subject, the play is mostly superficial; but it does have its serious
moments, which are mainly effective. There is a small amount of ribald humour,
but nothing drastic.
Overall, in the hands of an outstanding ensemble cast, this is a terrific piece
of entertainment. The singing and choreography are first rate, and the energy
level is stratospheric.
Christians with a sense of humour will have a blast.
– David F. Dawes
July 2009
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