Ladies! Gentlemen! And all those who have YET to decide!
On February 9, 2017 I caught my first musical of the year: Broadway hit, Kinky Boots – a flashy, showy delight with entertaining and poignant musical numbers. There couldn’t have been a better show to set the stage for 2017! (It’s definitely set the bar high being the winner of 6 Tony Awards, including BEST MUSICAL!)
This is the story of Charlie Price, son of a shoemaker with no interest in following in his father’s footsteps. He leaves his home in Northampton, lured by the more exciting prospects of London living and, more honestly, by his materialistic fiancee, Nicola. But his father’s death yanks him back and proclaims him the owner of Price & Sons, the last place on earth he feels he belongs.
Enter: Lola. A vibrant drag queen who is absolutely comfortable in her skin – but not in her boots made for female bodies. A chance meeting between Charlie and Lola sets both destinies in motion but the road is bumpy with ignorance, fear, and childhood trauma. Kinky Boots is a timely backdrop for current issues that plague society, but with messages that had the audience clapping, exclaiming, and in the end, on their feet for a well-deserved standing ovation.
[Tweet “@KinkyBootsBway: If you can change your mind, you can change the world. #IntermissionTweets”]
It was a pleasure to be swept up in the many sides of Cyndi Lauper through her music and lyrics for this performance. From wild and lively to heartrending and mellow, the score is truly spectacular.
And those BOOTS! To take the name of one of their songs, ‘the sex is in the heel’, and those boots were all that! Wonderful artistry by costume designer Gregg Barnes, hair designer Josh Marquette and make-up designer Randy Houston Mercer. Well done!
Of course, without the enormous talents of the performers the magic of this show would not have been what it was. Hats off to Curt Hansen (Charlie Price), J. Harrison Ghee (Lola), Tami Dahbura (Trish), Katerina Papacostas (Nicola) and the rest of the crew that brought this story to life. They worked together with incredible chemistry and talent; their desire to give their audience the greatest show they could was evident from the first scene.
The young boys who played Young Charlie and Young Lola – Landon Maas and Sebastian Maynard-Palmer, respectively – blew my mind! Learning that this was Landon’s National Tour Debut made my own mama heart burst! And Sebastian already has quite an impressive dance and performance resume in the fourth grade! Truly, the arts are the backbone of any civilization, and the involvement of these young actors indicates that our civilization is alive and well! Congratulations to them and I am sure I’ll see them on stage again!
Thank you, Kinky Boots, for starting my musical year off so well!
