REVISIT, ENJOY, CELEBRATE, SHAMELESSLY LAUGH AT, OR CONFESS YOUR LOVE OF, BOY BANDS
Reviewed by Emily Duncan, 4 Aug 2013 for Theatreview
When I attended form 2 camp at Waianakarua back in the very early 1990s, the girl with the greatest kudos was the one who brought along speakers and plentiful supplies of batteries so that we could all listen to the music from her Sony Walkman. The cassette getting the most play that year was by boy band de jour, New Kids on the Block.
The ballads crooned us off to sleep in our tents at night, while the essentially impotent street-fighting jeers of ‘Hangin' Tough' spurred on our day-tramp prep in the morning. In hindsight, the Knight brothers and their posse were possibly as deluded about the potential of their musical longevity as we were, but that didn't stop us from having ardent adolescent faith in their ability.
Faith is the underpinning message in Altar Boyz, which is having its New Zealand premiere at the Fortune Theatre. The Altar Boyz exemplify the boy band model, which is as old as pop music itself. They are five young men who fit five clear types: the heartthrob wholesome leader, the swarthy Latino, the troubled and mildly dangerous strayer, the ‘intellect', and the charmer whose sexual orientation seems somewhat dubious – if you're still a tweenie.
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