Thespi-honest #7: Kinky Boots!
Certified theatre nerd here! I’m going to deep dive into every show I’ve seen in NYC and some memorable tours. Today, I’m going to talk about a show in my Top Ten favorites!
Kinky Boots
Where: Al Hirschfeld Theatre
When: August 2013, April 2015, and October 2017
Favorite Song(s): Raise You Up/Just Be, Soul of a Man, Hold Me in Your Heart, and History of Wrong Guys (honestly every song is great, go listen to the cast album)
The first time I saw this show was when I went to NYC with my grandma. We saw Pippin first, and the following night we saw Kinky Boots. I was dying to see this show! I had listened to the cast album nonstop. I watched any performance I could find online. I was not disappointed.
Kinky Boots is the story of Charlie Price, who has suddenly inherited his father’s shoe factory on the verge of bankruptcy. Charlie tries his best to save the business and live up to his father’s legacy. Charlie meets Lola, a fabulous drag queen who could use sturdy stilettos. Charlie finds his inspiration. Lola turns out to be the one person who can help Charlie become the man he’s meant to be. As they work to turn the factory around, this unlikely pair finds that they have more in common than they ever dreamed possible.
Cyndi Lauper’s score is insanely great. When I listen to cast albums typically, there is a song or two I skip. I never skip a song with this album! The book by Harvey Fierstein is funny, yet heartfelt. The set is well utilized, and the costumes are amazing! The boots are dazzling and catch attention immediately. I could gush about this production all day. I consider myself lucky to have seen Billy Porter play Lola. It was a truly star-making role. Lola is sassy and amazing, but Billy made the audience feel Lola’s vulnerability. Stark Sands is a great performer! He plays Charlie with such likability and pluck. However, there is a moment where you are not on his side and Stark Sands is not afraid to make Charlie unlikeable. Stark’s voice is so pitch-perfect that it sounds like autotune. His vocals are so flawless, even when he plays up the emotions and grit. Both of these characters get 11 o’clock numbers one after the other that is both emotional and powerful. Finally, Annaleigh Ashford plays Lauren and she is fantastic. She has one big solo in the show, History of Wrong Guys that is so funny! Her comedic timing during the whole show was impeccable.
I love this show so much! I have seen Kinky Boots three times. I saw it on Broadway with my grandma, on tour, and again in NYC with my mom when the two leads Billy Porter and Stark Sands came back years later to reprise their roles as Lola and Charlie. It’s so joyful and fun, but also has such a strong heartfelt message to accept people for who they are. What I think stands out about this show is the connection between Lola and Charlie. I love seeing a friendship at the forefront of the plot. It’s so important to show the value of friendship in life. So often in media, we see romantic relationships trump friends and yes Kinky Boots has a love story, but the relationship I want to work out, in the end, is the one between Charlie and Lola.
