Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...What makes "Altar Boyz" so funny is that the show's fake boy band--Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham--is every bit as good as the real irony-free bands they're spoofing. And these are just young guys plucked from cruise ships and musical-theater programs."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Stafford Arima's polished direction is pumped up and hard-wired via Christopher Gattelli's sensational choreography, and dance captain Johnson has drilled the Boyz to the point where they are a fabulously well-oiled (yet never soulless or mechanical-feeling) machine. Meanwhile, the "genuine" five-piece onstage band (Michael Sobie, Jeff Trudell, Bob Sutter, Tom Logan and Doug Katsaros) back the Boyz with great verve every beat of the way."
SouthtownStar
- Not Recommended
"...The show offers some energetic rock and rhythm numbers and some foot-stomping gospel songs (my favorite), but if you want to save your soul, there's not enough in this puff piece to make it worthwhile."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Irreverent but never mean-spirited, the catchy, tightly harmonized songs (with lyrics like "Jesus called me on my cell phone" and "Girl, you make me wanna wait") and slick dance moves spoof 'N Sync, Milli Vanilli, New Kids on the Block, and their showbiz brethren. And the witty script, with its intricate running gags, satirizes religious intolerance and hypocrisy while celebrating charity and brotherly love."
Windy City Times
- Highly Recommended
"...You have to give lots of praise and credit to the creators and producers of Altar Boyz. What could have become a tedious 10-minute Saturday Night Live sketch has instead been refined and packaged into a high-energy and very funny 90-minute musical."
Time Out Chicago
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Each has the pinup looks, electric moves and angelic voice of the real thing. (Shameless Ryan J. Ratliff stands out as the boy-band equivalent of the office gay.) Nonetheless, this show that’s supposed to get us gloriously punch-drunk instead resembles a communion wafer—flat, stale and dehydrating."
ChicagoCritic
- Recommended
"...The opening of the first national tour of Altar Boyz got off to a roaring start at the LaSalle Bank Theatre as the young enthusiastic crowd cheered the sheer energy and talent of the five buff boyz. This light weight spoof is entertaining, catchy and pleasant. It is a safe little crowd pleaser long on charm, big grins and mugging."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Ryan J. Ratliff just about walks away with the show as the swishy Mark, bringing bubbly effervescence, style and a muffled longing to his closeted Catholic choir boy. The 5-boy cast and 5 onstage musicians feel distinctly out of place on the large LaSalle Bank (formerly Shubert) Theatre stage, and this modest little rabble-rouser would definitely have been preferable in a smaller venue."
