The 'Altar' boy band is, like, so heavenly!

OMG -- they're totally here. :)

The Altar Boyz, with their heavenly voices and dreamy eyes, are in town for a WHOLE WEEK. For real!

Sorry for the boy-band speak. It just seems the right way to introduce "Altar Boyz," the hit Off-Broadway musical about a Christian boy band gunning for stardom. The show, in a tour that wings its way to the Colonial Theatre tomorrow through Sunday, features Backstreet Boys-inspired songs in five-part harmony, with choreography that will make you nostalgic for the late 1990s. Big numbers have such lyrics as "Girl, you make me wanna wait" and "Jesus called me on my cellphone."

Yes, it's a parody.

But it may feel like a real boy band has descended upon Boston. Like "Rent," a musical with devotees who call themselves "RENT-Heads," "Altar Boyz" has "Altarholics," giddy fans who find one another online at Altarholics.com to chat about their favorite boy and complete online challenges for points called "communion wafers," which can, of course, be "redeemed" for prizes. "Altar" worshipers even include Kevin Bacon, Cynthia Nixon, Liza Minnelli, and Jeff Timmons , formerly of the real boy band 98 Degrees.

We got the chance to chat with the stars playing God's Fab Five -- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Juan -- and, yes, Abraham -- by phone from their tour's first stop in Chicago. They told us they have more in common with 'N Sync, the Backstreet Boys, and other pop acts than they ever thought possible.

"Altar Boyz" runs at the Colonial Theatre tomorrow through Sunday. 617-931-2787, broadwayacrossamerica.com

Johnson, 20, started his career in the touring production of "Grease."

"I always wanted to be in some sort of pop group when I was younger," he says. "This is a combination of everything I wanted to do."

Johnson, who hails from Littleton, Colo., is the youngest of the actors on the "Boyz" tour. He says there's a bit of himself in Luke, whom he calls "the Vanilla Ice" of the Altar Boyz.

"You know, all these guys live in a suburban place, but he's the one who watched MTV and thought the guys looked cool with baggy pants," Johnson says of his alter ego. "He's a little slow."

Luke's dark secret?

"He recently got out of rehab due to 'exhaustion,' " Johnson says wryly.

Buckner, a New York native, now makes his home in Orlando -- a boy band Mecca, home of 'N Sync, the Backstreet Boys, and a group aptly named O-Town.

Until he joined "Altar Boyz," he was playing a werewolf at Universal Studios. The same job has been held by a few real boy-band members, including Joey Fatone of 'N Sync. In "Altar Boyz," Matthew's role is clear. He's the Justin Timberlake.

"I think one review called me a carbon copy of Justin Timberlake," Buckner says. "I've heard it throughout my life."

Matthew's big number? A love song with an atypical promise: abstinence.

"I hope you'll understand, my love, when I sing you this refrain," Matthew croons, "I believe in God, and so I must abstain."

Garcia explains that his character is adopted and that Juan's ridiculously exaggerated accent (think Fez on "That '70s Show") is said to have been taught to him by the nuns who raised him. They decided that's what Latino people sounded like.

"He's not sure if he's Mexican, Puerto Rican, or what," Garcia, says, adding that Juan has a few role models.

"He watches a lot of TV," Garcia says. "He watches Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias and decides they have similar features. He takes on a lot of their traits."

The 26-year-old Garcia joins "Altar Boyz" after a run in "Avenue Q" in Las Vegas. He advises fans to watch out for his show-stopping number, "La Vida Eternal," and his favorite speech in "Altar Boyz," which is about "coveting."

Because the Altar Boyz accept all kinds, they even welcome a Jew. They don't even try to convert him, says Blaemire, 22, who in real life is half Jewish.

Blaemire calls his character a cross between a boy-band type and Weird Al Yankovic . "He's sort of a dork," he says. "He's the one who has taken the magnet classes when he didn't have to. He kind of stumbles upon these guys and is blown away by their passion."

Blaemire, who got his role right after graduating from the University of Michigan, admits he's a boy-band fan. He even has a favorite.

" 'N Sync," he says. "I was a closeted fan for quite some time."

To put it gently, Mark is the Lance Bass of the Altar Boyz.

"Yes. That's it," says Ratliffe. "Mark is exactly that. Sensitive. If there's a confrontation in the group, he's the first one to go bake cookies."

Ratliff, 25, who hails from La Rue, Ohio (population 800), says it's tricky playing Mark because everyone is in on the joke except the people onstage. All the actors have to stay oblivious to the Lance-ness of it all, especially Mark's fondness for frontman Matthew. It's a platonic crush, of course.

"Audience [members] are the only people who are allowed to think he's a closet case and that it's ridiculous," he says.

Ratliff says that he's enjoying the irony of this gig, but that the actors also have stalking, screaming fans who make the shows feel like real boy-band concerts.

"It's so surreal," he says.

Totally.

Meredith Goldstein can be reached at mgoldstein@globe.com.