Altar Boyz Manila Reviews

The Catholic Priest
Fr. Bogey Cabrera, MSC ( Missionaries of the Sacred Heart)
Although he considers some parts to be “blasphemous,” such as the Confession scene and the part where Luke munches on the “Body of Christ,” he concedes that it is a play, and a Western one at that, so the musical comedy can be given some artistic license.

Fr. Bogey Cabrera would probably recommend it for a field trip for Catholic students, but recognizes the possibility that some conservative Catholics might have a “problem” watching it.

The Catholic Nun
Sr. Bubbles Bandojo, RC (Religious of the Cenacle)
Sr. Bubbles Bandojo said that she was “entertained” and did not find Altar Boyz “offensive,” but she did disagree with some points, and found “inaccuracies.”

Sr. Bubbles recommends Altar Boyz for the youth from those in high school to college to young professionals, and when asked what she would say to them before watching it, she immediately exclaimed, “I will not caution them. I will let them watch it. I will not try to condition them, but challenge them to ask questions. I’d rather that they ask questions, confused yet ask.”

Disclaimer: However, all opinions expressed above does not reflect the views of the whole Catholic Church, nor of their respective parishes or congregations, but are the personal views of each person concerned in exercising their right to free expression and speech. For more Catholic reactions, please click here.

The Atheist Who Is A Student of Medicine
Benj Espina of Atheista.net
Benj Espina of Atheista.net is of the opinion 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. 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.”

The Atheist Who Mocks Boybands
Helga Weber of Ditz-Revolution.net
Helga Weber of Ditz-Revolution.net “was an hour late,” so she resolved that “I’ll be watching it again. I was thoroughly entertained by the little that I saw of it (the singing! The dancing! The script! The punchlines! The drama!), and as Fritz said: the audience was in stitches from start to end. I’m not about to start listening to Christian pop, though. Heh.”

The Girl Who Loves Boybands (specifically NSYNC)
Julie Cruz of This.Is.Jeanne
Julie Cruz of This.Is.Jeanne gushes, “Altar Boyz was awesomecakes slathered in awesomesauce, deep fried in awesome and topped with awesomecream. With a side of awesome. I’m gonna watch it every single week, that’s how much I love it!”

Julie generously offers her circle of friends, “And I’m feeling so magnanimous (”God put it in me!”) after this whole soul-cleansing experience that all you have to do is text me and tell me when you’re free so I can watch the show with you and make libre a ticket for you. ”

The Other Girl Who Loves Boybands
Sharline Bareng of Amehanashi
Sharline Bareng of Amehanashi squeed, “Altar Boyz is actually a “ploncert”–a concert within a play, with the Altar Boyz interacting with the audience, boy band style. At one point, Matthew even pulled a girl out of the audience and serenaded her onstage (mental note: must get front seats next time, haha). It made me laugh as hard as Avenue Q did. So I’m watching it again because I was laughing so hard, I missed some of the lyrics.”

The Political Blogger Who Digs Japanese Boybands
Arbet Bernardo of AWBHoldings.com
Arbet Bernardo of AWBHoldings.com comments, “The play-within-a-concert (or is it a concert-within-a-play) is entertaining, funny, and hilarious but with a serious undertone, as satires should. It plays on the boyband stereotypes, from matinee idol leader, to a gay member, to an ethnic member. Add religion to the mix, and you get satire at its best.”

The Straight Guy Who Works in the Corporate World
Fritz Tentativa of Fritzified
Fritz Tentativa of Fritzified enthuses about the play and pokes fun at himself, “I enjoyed falling off the edge of my seat laughing at its OMGFTWBBQLOLCAT brilliance. And, quite literally, this is a re-view because I’ve already seen the show twice. (Oh, look! A fluffy gazelle prancing behind a pink flamingo on a rainbow colored, diamond studded pavement! Also, lacey parasol!)”

The Gay Guy Who Works in the Corporate World
AJ Matela of BaklaAko
AJ Matela of BaklaAko admitted that his “right eyebrow would immediately rise every time I heard the words Christian and boyband used in the same sentence.”

After watching the press con, where the Altar Boyz performed two numbers, AJ wrote, “By golly, was it very entertaining that even before the boys finished their performance, I was already looking forward to watching the full “concert.””

The Senior Editor Who’s Experiencing LSS (Last Song Syndrome)
Jocelyn Dimaculangan of Philippine Entertainment Portal
Jocelyn Dimaculangan of Philippine Entertainment Portal sent me a SMS that she’s suffering from LSS of The Calling song and also noted in her review, “The Altar Boyz use rap, hip hop, and pop music to entice viewers to look for the miracle within. Telling Biblical stories has never been this hip and cool before.”

Altar Boyz Manila Details
Playdates: 04-27 April 2008

Venue: OnStage Greenbelt Makati

Time:
8pm on Friday and Saturday
3.30pm on Saturday and Sunday

Ticket Prices:
Gold (reserved seating) Php 550
Silver (free seating) Php 350
Balcony (free seating) Php 250

Altar Boyz 26 April 3.30pm GOLD Tickets To reserve Altar Boyz GOLD tickets for the 26 April Saturday 3.30pm show, please contact Lorna Lopez thru:
(Globe) 0917.9256505
(Sun) 0922.3875729
(email) cranegoddesscorp@gmail.com

Repertory Philippines Contact Details For further inquiries, please call Repertory Philippines at 887.0710 or visit their website

Acknowledgements I would like to say thank you once again to all my guests for taking a chance and accepting my invite to watch Repertory Philippines production of Altar Boyz. A special thank you goes to Fritz Tentativa for providing the email addresses of Helga Weber, Arbet Bernardo and AJ Matela. Also, special thanks goes to Sr. Merle Salazar, George Gabriel and Rhona Trinidad for inviting members of the Catholic faith on my behalf.

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