ROBIN’S SHOW RAVE: KINKY BOOTS
Kick off your heels….and run don’t walk to Kinky Boots at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre where you will find yourself toe-tapping and wanting to get up and dance and cheer, which the audience does at the end.
Witness the coming out party of a Broadway star Billy Porter (Lola – pictured, photo credit: Matthew Murphy) who makes his presence known from the second he steps on stage, with magnetism in abundance, heartfelt emotion, and powerhouse pipes. Not to mention his strut and charisma. We can’t take our eyes off him, nor doe he want us to. He’s a force to be reckoned with, and Charlie (played by Stark Sands), who inherits his father’s failing shoe factory, is literally bowled over by him at their happenstance encounter when he steps in to defend Lola from robbers and gets knocked out. When he comes to, he’s in Lola’s dressing room backstage as she performs with her drag queen troupe…the likes of which Charlie has never seen. What he doesn’t realize at that moment is that it’s a life-changing encounter of the positive kind for the two of them, as they not only become business partners but unlikely BMFs who empower each other to conquer their fears, open their minds, believe in their strengths and uniqueness, and raise each other up (the message of the show’s rousing closing song whose lyrics you will be repeating and humming as you leave the theatre).
Four-time Tony® Award-winner Harvey Fierstein (Book) and Grammy® Award-winning rock icon Cyndi Lauper (Music & Lyrics) have joined forces to bring us a fun, feel good musical Directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots features a talented cast of thirty-two that, aside from Porter and Sands, includes Annaleigh Ashford, Celina Carvajal, Daniel Stewart Sherman, Marcus Neville, Paul Canaan, Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Kyle Taylor Parker, Kyle Post, Charlie Sutton, Joey Taranto, Andy Kelso, Tory Ross, Jennifer Perry, Adinah Alexander, Eric Anderson, Eugene Barry-Hill, Stephen Berger, Caroline Bowman, Cole Bullock, Sandra DeNise, Jonah Halperin, Eric Leviton, Ellyn Marie Marsh, John Jeffrey Martin, Marquise Neal, Nathan Peck, Robert Pendilla, Lucia Spina, Sebastian Hedges Thomas and Timothy Ware.
Inspired by a true story and based on the Miramax motion picture written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth, Kinky Boots features a warm and witty book by Mr. Fierstein and a richly diverse musical score from Ms. Lauper, in her impressive theatrical debut. Ballads like I’m Not My Father’s Son, a gripping duet between Sands and Porter, are hugely affecting…and other songs surprisingly turn into rock numbers.
Ashford as the pretty blond factory worker who develops a crush she wishes she didn’t have on Charlie is delicious and hysterical when she sings about her love for him in The History of Wrong Guys. Her performance is comic genius, and her voice is strong. This is an unexpected show stopper!
Sands gives an appealing and convincing portrayal, and is wonderful when he sings The Soul of a Man. Act II feels a bit fleeting, as everything neatly ties up, as one would expect. No big surprises here. But, it doesn’t really matter. There is jubilation in the air and on stage at the Hirschfeld, as we’ve just been on an over the top ride that we wish wouldn’t end. Mr. Mitchell has things moving at a steady pace, and the choreography, especially when they move about on conveyer belts, is inventive.
The design team for Kinky Boots includes Tony Award nominee David Rockwell (Scenic Design), Tony Award-winner Gregg Barnes (Costume Design), Tony Award-winner Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design), Drama Desk Award nominee John Shivers (Sound Design), Josh Marquette (Hair Design), Randy Houston Mercer (Make-up Design), Telsey + Company (Casting), with Musical Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations by Tony and Grammy Award-winner Stephen Oremus.
Kick off your heels….and run don’t walk to Kinky Boots at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre where you will find yourself toe-tapping and wanting to get up and dance and cheer, which the audience does at the end.
