One of off-Broadway's biggest hits in recent memory is coming to The Media Theatre January 28-February 15. "Altar Boyz", a satirical look at a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio, will put pep in your step and a smile on your face during its 90 quick paced minutes.

Performed without an intermission, "Altar Boyz" is presented in real time as the last stop on the boy band's Raise The Praise concert tour. The musical comedy addresses the popularity of boy bands, the commercialism of Christianity, and the marketing of theme-based items in American culture. The names of the boys in the band give insight as to the type of comedy the show is built on: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Juan. The fifth band member, Abraham, is Jewish.

Lee Markham will make his Media Theatre debut as Luke, the bad boy of the bunch. A native of Florida, Lee has been living in NYC for three years where he appeared in the Off-Broadway show "Max and Ruby". He has been on tour in "Smokey Joe's Café" and also does stand-up comedy as well as voiceover work on Sirius Satellite Radio.

During the show, the members of the group address the audience directly and refer to the venue and location in which the performance is taking place. The Altar Boyz perform several songs, with choreographed dancing in the style of boy bands, and present scenes concerning the group and its origins, as well as each member's strengths and demons, as part of the concert. They repeatedly turn to the "Soul Sensor DX-12," which has a display that shows them how many people in the audience are burdened.

"Altar Boyz", like each of The Media Theatre's productions, will be staged specifically for The Media Theatre. "We are not a touring company," explains Artistic Director Jesse Cline. "We bring in our own designers, directors, actors, technicians, musicians, and stage managers for each musical. The production seen at The Media Theatre is of its own design. We utilize professional performers from auditions we have in Manhattan and the Philadelphia region."

The Media Theatre is the first theatre in the Philadelphia region to produce "Altar Boyz" professionally (January 28-February 15). For tickets to "Altar Boyz", call 610-891-0100 or visit www.mediatheatre.org.