Everybody say yeah, because Kinky Boots is back! The Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein musical raised up thousands of Broadway audiences for six years, but it hasn't gotten the boot for good. This glitzy, sexy, uplifting show is now off Broadway, just over three blocks from its original home. Get Kinky Boots tickets on TodayTix.
Who couldn't use a feel-good show right now? Who wouldn't want to hear music by Tony- and Grammy-winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper? And who doesn’t love a story about drag queens saving a local business? Look no further than Kinky Boots, which delivers plenty of heart, humor, and high heels. This story of the unlikely friendship and business partnership between a shoemaker and a drag performer is all about finding and living your best, truest self unapologetically — a message that never goes out of style. Current Kinky Boots star Callum Francis calls the show "a tsunami of love," and a New York Theatre Guide review of Kinky Boots on Broadway says the show "sweeps you up in their arms and refuses to let you go until you are smothered in a good time."
In the Kinky Boots musical, Charlie Price inherits his family’s nearly bankrupt shoe factory in Northampton, while his snobby fiancée just wants to move to London and escape the perils of small-town life. When Charlie meets Lola, a feisty and vivacious drag queen, at a nightclub in the city, he has an idea: What if the factory entered a niche market?
Fast forward to Lola and her entourage visiting Price & Sons, to some of the workers’ chagrin, to request some reinforced steel in their 4-and-a-half inch heels. “The sex is in the heel,” after all. Together, Lola and Charlie form an unstoppable partnership and teach each other and their friends about love, acceptance, and learning to “just be who you wanna be.” Said current cast member Matthew Michael Janisse, "A show about love and that oozes positivity, and that leaves you feeling happy and connected, especially post-pandemic, is the exact energy we need."
"You can't avoid the happiness" of this musical, said original Broadway cast member Lena Hall, so don your most stylish shoes and get your kicks at Kinky Boots! Get tickets to Kinky Boots off Broadway on TodayTix now.
Kinky Boots evening performances begin at 7 p.m., and weekend matinee performances begin at 2 p.m.
Kinky Boots runs for 2 hours and 25 minutes, including an intermission.
Appropriate for ages 10 and up.
2 hrs, 25 mins (incl. one intermission)
Children under the age of 4 are not permitted in the theater.
26th July, 2022
By: Music & lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, with a book by Harvey Fierstein
Director: Jerry Mitchell
Choreography: Jerry Mitchell
Cast list: Callum Francis (as Lola), Christian Douglas (as Charlie Price), Danielle Hope (as Lauren), Brianna Stoute (as Nicola), Sean Steele (as Don), Marcus Neville (as George)
Design: David Rockwell
Costumes: Gregg Barnes
Lighting: Kenneth Posner
Sound: Gareth Owen
Other info: Hair design by Josh Marquette; makeup design by Darion Matthews; music supervision, orchestrations, and arrangements by Stephen Oremus
Accommodations for patrons who are blind, deaf, partially sighted, and/or have hearing loss; partial wheelchair access, handrail access
Kinky Boots actually didn't start out as a musical — the stage show is based on the 2005 British film of the same name, which in turn is based on a true story. It starred Joel Edgerton as Charlie and a young Chiwetel Ejiofor as Lola; Ejiofor got a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. The film got mixed reviews, but the musical passed it tenfold in success: Kinky Boots won six 2013 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Another major difference between the Kinky Boots movie and musical is that the movie has a soundtrack of existing pop songs — "I Put A Spell On You," "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," and even the showtune "Whatever Lola Wants" from Damn Yankees all feature. But the show's creators avoided going the jukebox musical route. Instead, composer Cyndi Lauper penned all-original music and lyrics for Kinky Boots, which paid off. She became the first woman to ever win the Best Original Score Tony Award solo.
Tony Award-winning actor and writer Harvey Fierstein (Hairspray, Torch Song Trilogy) wrote the book for Kinky Boots, and Broadway legend Jerry Mitchell — known for other fun-loving shows like Hairspray and Legally Blonde — directed and choreographed. The Kinky Boots Broadway production ran for six years, almost to the day, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, and has given way to a West End premiere (which won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best New Musical), a national tour, and international productions.
Three years after the musical left Broadway, Mitchell returns to direct anc choreograph the encore engagement of Kinky Boots off Broadway. With the same creative team all intact, the show hasn't lost any of its original grandeur — especially since it's now at the 499-seat Stage 42, which is nearly as large as a Broadway house.
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