Kinky Boots: AKA: Time To Get Kinky!

It's no secret in my late teens early/twenties I was, what I affectionately refer to as, a "theatre rat". Theatre, Broadway in particular, was my life. I saw at least a show a month, more often than not it was a show a week. Usually it was with cheap tickets acquired by rushing or playing lotto, but there were also splurges. There were even a handful of shows I've seen multiple times.

Then life kicked in, I got a job, curbing my ability to rush/lotto shows, I met The Boy & I moved making the trek into the city longer and the trains less frequent. All and all there are more demands on my time and money, and so unfortunately don't get out to the theatre as often as I'd like. I haven't completely abandoned Broadway, I still see quite a few productions a year, but to be honest though, it isn't the same. I rarely see any show more than once, and on the now rare occasion that I do, it's usually because someone I know and love is going on as a lead. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a show and walked out wanting to go right back and see it again. Until last night.

Wednesday night after work I scurried over to the Al Hirschfeld theatre on 45th, to go see Kinky Boots. It was a show I'd been wanting to see for quite some time, and had a bit of a struggle getting tickets too. Everyone I spoke to who had seen it seemed to love it, and I was excited to finally get to experience, what was described to me as a combination of Billy Elliot and Pricilla Queen of the Desert.

The show is set in a small town in England, which of course means everyone sports a British accent, which of course warms my anglophile hearts, primarily in Price & Sons Shoe Company factory, with a few quick jaunts to London and a big finale in Milan.

The story centers on Charlie Price played by Stark Sands (Broadway's American Idiot and HBO's Generation Kill) who has no intention on taking on the family business, until after moving to London with his fiancé Nicola, learns of his father's sudden death and is forced to return home and run the factory. It is only then that he learns that the family business is drowning their largest retailer has canceled their contract and returned all their inventory. Suddenly Charlie is placed in an impossible situation, with no one buying their product, it looks like he'll have to close down the factory and lay off his employees, people he has known his entire life.

Or at least that's what he thinks, until one of his soon to be laid off employees, Lauren, tells him to do something about it, find a niche market, and after a chance encounter with a feisty drag queen named Lola, which may be to date, my favorite sentence I have ever typed, Charlie knows exactly what to do.

The music and lyrics, written by the fabulously unusual Cindy Lauper, was the perfect mix of catchy, fun and sweet. Stand outs include "The History of the Wrong Guys", sung to hysterical perfection by the adorably comedic Annaleigh Ashford (Broadway's Legally Blonde and Off-Broadway's revival of Rent) as Lauren, and Charlie's show stopper "The Soul of a Man" which comes near the end of Act II. Props have to be given to Stark Sands for singing the shit out of that song.

Of course no musical production can be properly discussed without mentioning dancing. The choreography of the show was at times nothing short of amazing. The best example of this being the ridiculously energetic Act I finale "Everybody Say Yeah". The upbeat music combined with the amazing acrobatics, is enough to male anyone want to get up out of their seat and dance along. Also there is even treadmill dancing! Yup, you read that right, treadmill dancing.

The show also features the increasingly more important message of accepting others. This is best illustrated by the character of Don, played by the brilliantly funny and endearing Daniel Sherman. After several clashes, over what "being a man" is, Lola challenges Don to "Accept one person for who they truly are". Daniel's portrayal of Don's transformation, which culminates in a brilliant reveal in Act II heartfelt and real, never feeling rushed or forced. Definitely as stand out performance in a cast comprised of talented performers.

Side Bar: Can we just take a moment to appreciate the ensemble of this cast? They all look like they are having the time of their lives up on stage, and some of the males are better at jumping/dancing/walking in heels then I will ever be. I mean we are talking stilettos here. That being said, could they please start mass producing the actual boots and selling them to the public? Because I want like all of them, okay? Thanks.

Overall Kinky Boots was the most fun I've had at a musical in a long time, and certainly the first one in recent years that had me itching to go back and see it again the min the final bows ended. So if you haven't seen it yet, GO! Then come back and tell me what you thought.