11th Hour Theatre Company to Present ALTAR BOYZ, 5/15-6/1

11th Hour Theatre Company presents its only mainstage production of the season, the hilarious, boy-band "holy hit" musical Altar Boyz running May 15-June 1, 2014 at The Arts Bank at the University of the Arts. With a book by Kevin Del Aguila and music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker, Altar Boyz is directed by Megan Nicole O'Brien with an ensemble cast of Robert Hager, Adam Hoyak, Billy Kametz, Michael Linden, and Nicholas Park.

With previews on Thursday, May 15-Sunday, May 18, opening night is on Monday, May 19 at 7:00 PM. Performances run Thursday through Sunday until June 1 with a single Monday "industry night" on May 19. General admission tickets at $31 are available by visiting http://www.11thhourtheatrecompany.org.

Altar Boyz is a foot-stomping, rafter-raising, musical comedy about a fictitious Christian boy-band on the last night of their national 'Raise the Praise' tour. The Boyz are five heartthrobs from Ohio - Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham, trying to save the world one screaming fan at a time. As the Boyz question their loyalty to each other and ask whether or not faith is really holding them together, they finally deliver a message of unity: that 'there is no star as bright as its constellation, no harmony in a single voice.' Filled with angelic voices, sinfully spectacular dancing and a touching story, Altar Boyz satirizes the phenomenon of boy bands and the popularity of Christian-themed music in contemporary American culture.

Altar Boyz premiered at the New York Music Theatre Festival and then moved to Broadway in 2005 where it won the 2005 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical, and the 2006 & 2007 Broadway.com Audience Favorite Award. It ran for five years, making it the ninth longest-running off-Broadway musical of all time.

Robert Hager (Juan) has appeared on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business, Bye Bye Birdie, and Spring Awakening. In addition to being featured in the national tour of Scrooge, he has starred locally at Arden Theatre Company in Parade, Next to Normal, and Sideways Stories of Wayside School.

Adam Hoyak (Matthew) returns to 11th Hour Theatre Company where he was featured in the Next Step performances of Zanna Don't and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. He was understudy for Gabe Goodman in Arden Theatre Company's production of Next to Normal, a role he reprised at Eagle Theatre. A recent graduate at University of the Arts he has starred in several of their musical productions.

Billy Kametz (Luke) has appeared at Philadelphia Theatre Company in Red Hot Patriot. He was also an understudy at the Arden Theatre Company in Next to Normal. He has starred in several productions at Ocean City Theatre Company and Theatre Harrisburg.

Michael Linden (Abraham) has appeared in the national tours of Hair and Spring Awakening. A recent graduate of University of the Arts, he was featured this fall in 11th Hour Theatre Company's concert version of Zanna Don't, and has understudied at Arden Theatre Company in The History Boys and Candide, and at Walnut Street Theatre in The Producers.

Nicholas Park (Mark) returns to 11th Hour Theatre Company where he starred in Reefer Madness and this year in the title role of Zanna Don't. Locally he has also been seen at Walnut Street Theatre in Fiddler on the Roof and in Maukingbird Theatre's Shakespeare's R&J. In New York he has been featured in Bedbugs: The Musical at Chernuchin Theater, Mr. Irresistible at LaMama E.T.C., and Dear Edwina at Daryl Roth 2 Theatre.

11th Hour Theatre Company, now in residence at University of the Arts, is a dynamic, boutique company committed to producing high quality musical theatre that favors intimate, story-driven musicals over flashy, budget-busting spectacles. Now in its ninth season, the company has presented twelve Philadelphia premieres and has received thirty-two Barrymore nominations and eight awards, including two consecutive awards for "Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical" (The Bomb-itty of Errors, The World Goes 'Round), several individual artist awards, and the first-ever June & Steve Wolfson Award for An Evolving Theater.

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