Put on Some Kinky Boots
“You want to change the world? Change your mind first.” The quote from one of the songs of the Broadway show in sequin-studded gowns couldn’t be more timely.
Those audiences who had fallen head over heels (pun intended) for the English indie film of 2005 (written by Geoff Deane & Tim Firth and directed by Julian Jarrold), will relive the energy, excitement and awakening of the cinematic comedy-drama. Chiwetel Ejiofor played majestically on screen the inspirational drag queen Lola, who becomes a designer and saves a shoe factory; just as enthralling is the stage performance by youtuber and eclectic performer Todrick Hall, who rose to prominence during the ninth season of American Idol.
The book by Harvey Fierstein along with the music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper are spectacularly directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. The plot is universal in the way it conveys the message: never stop pursuing your dreams, outshine prejudice, embrace visionary entrepreneurship and add some sparkle in your life － as Blanche DuBois would have said “I don’t want realism. I want magic!”
In this case we are in the British suburbs, where the lives of two small-town boys intertwine to revolutionize the fashion industry. Charlie Price (brilliantly played by Killian Donnelly) reluctantly takes over his family’s failing shoe factory in Northern England, following the sudden death of his father. Simon a.k.a. Lola will help Charlie not only to revitalize the nearly bankrupt shoe-business, but will also transform an entire community through the power of acceptance.
The performances full of verve, irony, compassion and elegance of the Hall-Donnelly duo － along with the brilliant Taylor Louderman, Daniel Stewart Sherman, Shannon O’Boyle, Marcus Neville － play on the entire emotional spectrum. The stage fills with colors, as the exceptional humanity of the characters creates an osmotic magic with spectators. A synesthesia of sensations is conveyed through rage-red, greed-orange, fear-yellow, willpower-green, hope-blue, compassion-indigo and love-violet.
It doesn’t surprise that Kinky Boots, ever since it opened on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in 2013, won six Tony Awards － the most of any show that season, including Best Musical, Best Score (Cyndi Lauper), Best Choreography (Jerry Mitchell), Best Actor (Billy Porter), Best Orchestrations (Stephen Oremus), and Best Sound Design (John Shivers).
The Original Broadway Cast Recording was also awarded with the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album. In addition to the Broadway production of Kinky Boots, the show is conquering audiences worldwide, as it is simultaneously touring the United States on its First National Tour, and playing in Toronto at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, in the West End at London’s Adelphi Theatre, and at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne.
The musical, based on a true story, poignantly grasps the moment when many Northamptonshire factories collapsed and the old, distinctive buildings turned into flats. Real estate and property speculation was what jeopardized the WJ Brookes four-generation-shoe-factory that Steve Pateman inherited from his father in 1993. But life can be stranger than fiction: a telephone call changed the fortunes of all the people working at the factory. A woman from a fetish shoe shop in Folkstone asked Steve if he could supply her with ladies’ shoes in men’s sizes. The niche market of erotic footwear saved the company and all its employees. The story was documented in the BBC’s Trouble At The Top program, which was spotted by the Calendar Girls’ producers at Harbour pictures, and the rest is showbiz history: those “kinky boots” inspired incredible storytelling for the silver screen and musical theatre.
Skin-tight, knee-high, stiletto-heeled, shimmering-shining, the boots made for walking (and prancing) bring an enlightening perspective not only to the LGBQT movement. They glorify self-assertion, embracing our true vocation despite the preconceptions that come from family members or the community. Thus, the ensemble of artistically adroit drag queens entertain with pirouettes, somersaults, splits and dance sequences that tribute the importance of self-expression with grace, and remind all the world of femininity how “The shoe must go on!”
