Cast Set for National Tour of Altar Boyz

Nick Blaemire, Matthew Buckner, Jay Garcia, Jesse JP Johnson, and Ryan J. Ratliff will star in the national tour of the hit musical Altar Boyz. The 30-week tour will begin at Chicago’s LaSalle Bank Theatre, October 10-29; it will then play such cities as Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale, Minneapolis, Dallas, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Pittsburgh.

A spoof of a Christian boy-band (complete with one Jewish member), Altar Boyz has music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker and a book by Kevin Del Aguila, based on a concept by Marc Kessler and Ken Davenport. As in New York, where it continues to play at New World Stages, the show is directed for the tour by Stafford Arima and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli. Altar Boyz was named Best Off-Broadway Musical by the Outer Critics Circle and received numerous Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Award nominations.

Blaemire, who will play Abraham, has recently been seen on stage in Calvin Berger and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Buckner, who will play Matthew, is a Florida-based vocalist who was featured on the UPN reality series The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott. Garcia, who will play Juan, played Princeton/Rod in the Las Vegas company of Avenue Q. Johnson, who will play Luke, has appeared in national tours of Grease and Oklahoma!. Ratliff, who will play Mark, has appeared on stage in Forever Plaid and You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.