Altar Boyz: Daniel Torres as "Mark" the good, the bad, and the hilarious

[Juliet2170]

Posted: 4/5/05 at 11:26pm

yes, it is i once again. please try to act surprised i started an ABz thread :) *mega spoilers ahead for those who want to be cautious. its pretty much a play by play*

i never see a show alone but if i had to do it once, this is the one! no one would come with me because its exam week and well, they've all seen it before because i wouldn't let them off the hook.

First up, the opening "we are the ABz" song, there's a sequence where everyone does the "praying hands" and Daniel missed a beat and all the Boyz clapped their hands together at the same time. They were so supportive everyone thought on their feet so quickly and no one could tell but probably me because I was watching him so intently. lol

When Daniel did the next "Mark" thing which was the "oh Matt just TOUCHED me let me go savor the moment" act people laughed so long the Boyz had to wait a good while before speaking again! There were a great many times this happened again in the show, I can't count them. Abraham had to repeat his lines because the crowd laughed at Mark's whimsical-ness so long it went into his lines.

Genesis of the ABz: there's a costume difference between Daniel and Tyler's outfit. Daniel had the cute blue hat on all through the show and Scott says to him, "Is that a new hat you're wearing?" and he replies, "What do you mean, it's the same hat I always wear." "The color looks really good on you." LOL

During the love song, Scott pulled the perfect girl out of the audience. she actually sat way into the right side because oh my goodness, no girls were within his reach in the front seats tonight! he had to backtrack and physically pull her out of her seat because he had to make up some time. she played along very well! she crossed herself for her good fortune of being picked and as he was singing to her, she slyly placed her left hand on his backside and he looked down totally surprised without breaking song and she quickly withdrew and crossed herself again in penance! LOL she kept wanting to run back to her seat and scott had to pull her back twice. when Daniel sung the last part of the song and overshadowed her she was really on to him! she kept looking back at him periodically after he said "just say no." after she got Scott's towel she sniffs it and swoons and walks briskly towards the steps and Daniel had to chase her down and swipe the towel quickly in one big motion! lol i bet he was nervous about her leaving and missing the towel bit!

Okay the big number Epiphany: Daniel's voice is lower and deeper than Tyler's. his song was very different and so full bodied! his Mark was incredibly animated though the audience was a little cautious to laugh at the Pope jokes due to recent events. i LOVED the "its not a choice" line!!! you guys should have seen his expression it was truly hysterical. at one point he tried to get a hand from the an audience member sitting in the front row and they apparently didn't understand and it took him three tries. at the end of the song his last note resonated through the theatre and i can say hands down, that is the most notable, deep, clear and "glorious" note of the whole show tonight! i didn't know that dodger stages theatre could house such a sound because it was so rich. the audience cheered again, longer than usual, and when he was done the Boyz gave him a monstrous hug. David Josefsberg gave him the biggest bear hug i have ever seen and i was genuinely surprised Daniel didn't fall over! it was like a football hug! :)

The plug about going solo when Mark was supposed to say "But wait i'm going solo too" Daniel hesitated and Scott paused for a split second and started to say "So I want everybody to know.." and ad-libbed to give him more time. The camaraderie is amazing!


"I believe" of course, brought the house to its feet and we all remained standing through the remix and a while into Ryan Duncan's speech about BCEFA. there are now signed posters for $40 available after the show and the master dance class is $75 and he did a plug of it tonight. i missed luke's hat by 2 seats!! and abe's yarmulke doesn't quite launch into the middle rows lol well i actually wasn't supposed to sit in the front center anyway but the theatre wasnt sold out today and i sneaked up 10 rows. what does this have to do with Daniel? before i changed seats (the head usher said i could!) i sat next to a group of people who were browsing through the playbill and saw that Mark was played by an understudy and said "Daniel Torres? I didn't come to see an understudy." i thought to myself "oh boy..." when the show was over and I walked up the stairs and heard them all laughing together and commenting on what a fantastic time they had! they also gave Daniel's basket a good lump of cash for BCEFA and congratulated him!! Daniel sold many a poster tonight! :) he was also greeted by many friends afterwards and he was so exhausted from "smiling that whole time!" i never thought of it but that's pretty hard on your jaw muscles. okay i think this concludes my review but i'm sure i left out a lot even though it's been like 5 pages. CONGRATS to DANIEL TORRES!! everyone please look forward to seeing him on stage! you will absolutely have a blast!















Updated On: 4/6/05 at 11:26 PM

[CattleCall]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 1:57am

wow juliet, you sure are thorough!!! i was at the show too tonight and i thought daniel was phenomenal. i was there the day he went on the first time in the role and thought he was good, but he really steppd up his game tonight and had the audience rolling.

a few mishaps now and then, like the ones juliet mentioned, and a couple others like him almost falling off his chair during "something about you", but things like that are what make the show great and also things you wouldn't notice if you were seeing the show for the first time.

i really thought daniel did a great, great job and while i was walking out of the theater, a man in front of me was talking to his friend and saying, "this is the best show ever. literally the best show i've ever seen. THE BEST SHOW I HAVE EVERY SEEN."

That made my night.

[carymetorent2]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 2:12am

Daniel said the workshop is actually going to be 50 dollars. ANd glad you guys liked him - he is such a talent and he deserves all the praise!

[CattleCall]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 2:29am

they announced at the show tonight that it would be 75.

[Che2be]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 2:33am

THIS SHOW IS AMAZING! PERIOD.

[carymetorent2]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 2:58am

Sorry I know that they announced that at the show, but they are probably lowering it to 50 bucks and it just hasnt been made official yet - but we will both be there no matter what the price right cattlecall? so its for charity and thats just 50 bucks more on our end for bcefa. :)

[CattleCall]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 3:06am

50 sounds good to me! but really, 50,75,100, as long as the price doesn't edge towards 1,000, I will happily be there, looking like a jackass.

[courtneyanne]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 3:23am

Thank you for this!

[CattleCall]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 3:29am

Oh Juliet, I just reread your post and I agree -- that last note during "Epiphany" was crazy!!!!! TOTALLY noticed that when i was in the theater and was very impressed -- and am very pissed at myself for not commenting about it before!!

Bad BWW poster, I am. Bad!

[TabooWickedFan]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 6:03am

yea! spread the Daniel love, so happy for him. I can't wait to see him in a role.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 9:22am

Excellent review, you guys.

I love Altar Boyz!!!

[Elizabeth_DeBris]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 2:44pm

Juliet... you have NO idea how happy that review made me. So much detail... *drools*

*cough* You'll have to excuse me. I live vicariously through others who see things that I desperately long to. Great review.

[SWTaffy]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 2:47pm

I saw Daniel as Mark the first time he went on and I thought he was fabulous. I would be curious to see him in some of the other roles.

[carymetorent2]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 3:21pm

Daniel's Juan is just as amazing - the boys got talent!

[Juliet2170]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 4:19pm

thanks everyone for actually reading my review through! lol i looked at it this morning and was like, what the h-e-double hockey sticks, no one is going to want to read that :)

i normally don't ramble this much but i was being extra observant yesterday and i wanted to say something more than just "he was awesome! yay for the show!"

glad you all enjoyed! i can't wait to see him in other roles too especially Juan since there have been such good talk about him doing that role though i wouldnt want anything to happen to Ryan Duncan who's Juan is outta this world.


Updated On: 4/6/05 at 04:19 PM

[Elizabeth_DeBris]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 5:48pm

Never hesitate to ramble about Altar Boyz. Please.

[CattleCall]

Posted: 4/6/05 at 6:10pm

I agree with Elizabeth_Debris! Anyone who ever wants to write a long rambling analysis of Altar Boyz is certainly welcome here :)