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==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.kinkybootsthemusical.com/ Official website]
*[http://www.kinkybootsthemusical.com/ Official website]
*[http://www.ibdb.com/show.php?id=493286 Kinky Boots] at [[IBDb]]
*[http://www.theatermania.com/chicago-theater/shows/kinky-boots_192670/ ''Kinky Boots''] at Theater Mania
*[http://www.theatermania.com/chicago-theater/shows/kinky-boots_192670/ ''Kinky Boots''] at Theater Mania
*[http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/13982/Kinky-Boots ''Kinky Boots''] at Playbill Vault
*[http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/news/articles/2013-03-22/201303231364001129565.html ''Kinky Boots''] at [[Tony Awards]].com
*[http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/news/articles/2013-03-22/201303231364001129565.html ''Kinky Boots''] at [[Tony Awards]].com


Revision as of 23:11, 7 November 2013

This article is about the musical. For the film it is based upon, see Kinky Boots (film).
Kinky Boots
Chicago preview promotional poster
MusicCyndi Lauper
LyricsCyndi Lauper
BookHarvey Fierstein
Basis2005 film Kinky Boots
Productions2012 Chicago
2013 Broadway
2014 US Tour
AwardsTony Award for Best Musical
Tony Award for Best Original Score

Kinky Boots is a musical with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper and a book by Harvey Fierstein.[1] Based on the true story behind the 2005 film Kinky Boots,[2] the musical tells the story of a struggling shoemaker and his drag queen business partner.[3][4][5]

Following its conception in 2008,[6] the Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig-produced original production of Kinky Boots opened at the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago in October 2012 with direction and choreography by Jerry Mitchell.[2] It made its Broadway debut at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on April 4, 2013 following previews that began on March 3, 2013. The production earned a season-high of 13 nominations and 6 wins at the 67th Tony Awards, including Best Musical as well as Best Score for Lauper, making her the first woman to win the composing category solo.[7] The musical is expected to go on a US tour in 2014.

Background

Kinky Boots is based on the 2005 British film[8] of the same name which is about a struggling, family-owned English[9] shoe factory that avoids bankruptcy when its young boss, Charlie, develops a plan to produce custom fetish-type footwear for drag artists rather than the men's dress shoes that his firm is known for.[1] In order to save his workers from losing their source of income, Charlie partners with Lola, a drag queen, to save the business he inherited.[10]

Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein have been friends since 2003.[11] The musical was conceived in 2008.[6] When producer Daryl Roth sent director Jerry Mitchell the DVD of the film, Mitchell was enthusiastic about adapting it for the stage. His first wishes were to get Lauper and Fierstein on board.[1] Lauper wrote the music and lyrics while Fierstein wrote the book. Fierstein said that there are some slight differences between the film "about the saving of a factory" and the musical, which includes "drag queens singing as they pass along the assembly line."[1] The main difference is that the musical is, "at its core, about two young men who come from seemingly opposite worlds who figure out that they have a lot in common, beginning with the need to stand up to their dads."[1] Lauper's inspirations ranged from South Pacific and West Side Story of her youth to contemporary entertainer Lana Del Ray.[11] The pre-Broadway trial was announced in February 2012 as scheduled for October, and the notice mentioned that the show had been given readings.[12]

Production history

Chicago and Broadway

Kinky Boots on the marquee of the Al Hirschfeld Theatre

The original production of the musical was directed and choreographed by Mitchell; scenic design was by David Rockwell, costumes by Gregg Barnes, lighting by Kenneth Posner and sound by John Shivers. The music director and orchestrator was Stephen Oremus. The creative and design team had gained previous critical acclaim and theatre or music awards: Mitchell had won a Tony Award for choreographing the 2005 revival of La Cage aux Folles; Fierstein won acting and writing Tonys for Torch Song Trilogy and for writing the book of La Cage; Lauper is a Grammy Award-winning musician; Barnes and Posner had won Tonys; and Rockwell had been nominated.[2][3]

The production was rehearsed at the New 42nd Street Studios in New York City in September 2012 before beginning its pre-Broadway run at the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago, from October 2, 2012 until November 4, 2012.[1][3][13] The Broadway debut started previews on March 3, 2013 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, with the official opening on April 4, 2013.[14][15] Both the Chicago and original Broadway casts starred Billy Porter as Lola, Stark Sands as Charlie and Annaleigh Ashford as Lauren.[3][16] The Broadway performances run 2 hours and 20 minutes, including one intermission.[17]

The New York Times noted that in the 2012–13 season, most of the new Broadway musicals were "inspired by movies or books".[18] The paper found the show timely for its treatment of problems that parallelled those at the time of its production, including "chronic unemployment, financial distress and the collapse of manufacturing".[19] In the weeks following its June 2013 Tony Award wins, the show became so popular that by the beginning of July a special ticket lottery system was created to keep fans from camping outside the theatre.[20] On October 3, 2013, the show announced that it had broken even on its initial investment of $13.5 million, 30 weeks after it began its broadway run.[21] The show continued to be one of the top draws on Broadway that month.[22]

US National tour

A US national tour is planned to begin at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas during September 2014.[23] No other tour destinations have been announced.[24][25]

Synopsis

Act I

Charlie Price grows up as the fourth-generation "son" in his family business, "Price and Son", a shoe factory in the English Midlands. Simon also grows up in the Midlands, but the young Black lad's strict father is puzzled by the boy's high spirits. Charlie's father is ageing and hopes that Charlie will take over the factory, but Charlie insists on moving to London with his status-conscious fiancée, Nicola. Charlie's father dies suddenly, and he hurries home for the funeral to find that factory is near bankruptcy, amidst hard economic times. The factory makes good quality men's shoes, but they are not stylish, and the market for them is drying up. Good-hearted Charlie cannot imagine how to save the business. He wants to shut the factory down, but he also wants to save the workers' jobs. The workers don't understand why Charlie had moved away in the first place, and some of them see Charlie as spoiled.

In London, Charlie is inadvertently involved in a street altercation, which leads him to meet a drag performer, Lola, and her backup troupe of drag queens, the "angels". Charlie notices that the performers' high-heeled shoes and boots are not well-designed to hold a man's weight, but Lola explains that the expensive and unreliable footwear is an essential part of the act. In fact, Lola says, there are more drag queens out there than one would suspect, and all of them yearn for sturdier high-heeled footwear. Lauren, who works in the factory, has a crush on Charlie. She suggests that other struggling shoe factories have survived by entering an "underserved niche market". This gives Charlie an idea, and he invites Lola to come to the factory to show him exactly what kind of boots she craves. Lola and the angels arrive to help Charlie and his workers update their style sense. Charlie begs Lola to stay for three weeks, until the prestigious Milan footwear show, to design a new line of "kinky boots" that could save the factory. Lola reluctantly agrees. Nicola is angry and bewildered that Charlie will not sell the factory and return to London to marry her and live the good life.

Act II

Many of the factory workers are not enthusiastic about the radical change in their product line. Some of them give Lola, whose birth name is Simon, a hard time, making him/her feel very unwelcome, especially the imposing Don. Lola challenges Don in front of all the workers with a unique wager to see who is the better "man": Lola will do any one thing that Don writes down, while Don must do one thing that Lola writes. Don's challenge is for Lola to fight him in a boxing match at the pub. Lola challenges Don to "accept one person for themselves". It turns out that Simon/Lola has had extensive boxing lessons from his father and even a short boxing career. He easily scores against Don in the ring but ultimately lets Don win the match. Afterwards, in private, Don asks why he did so, and Lola replies that he could not be so cruel as to humiliate Don in front of his mates.

Some of the factory workers have been dragging their heels, so to speak, on executing the new designs, and Charlie is getting frantic that he will not be ready for the Milan show. Lola has been making some decisions about production and preparation for the show without consulting Charlie, and Charlie blows his top, insulting Lola and the factory workers. Lola storms off, saying "we're done!", and the factory workers go home. To make matters worse, Nicola finally leaves Charlie. Charlie is despondent; it looks like he will have to sell the factory after all. Lauren finds Charlie and tells him to come back to the factory. It seems that Don has persuaded all the factory workers to return to work and to up their game. Charlie is astonished and grateful. He asks if Don has fulfilled Lola's wager by accepting Lola. Lauren explains that, no, the person that Don has accepted ... is Charlie!

It is a sprint to get ready for Milan. Charlie feels terrible about the things he said to Lola at the factory. It turns out that many of the decisions that Lola had made were just right, and Charlie knows that he was a fool for not listening to her. He knows that it will be more difficult to sell the boots to the buyers in Milan without Lola and the angels. Meanwhile, Lola finds her father, who had never accepted her, dying in a nursing home, and reaches some sense of closure. Charlie and Lauren leave for Milan. Just as the footwear show starts, Lola arrives to save the day, and the whole company celebrates the success of the "kinky boots". Lauren and Charlie share their first kiss.

Music

A New York Times critic said of the music "Though there are plenty of hooky, rousing numbers, the emotional heart of “Kinky Boots” is several ballads about the weight of parental expectations."[11]

Musical numbers

‡Song not featured on cast album.

Instrumentation

The musical uses a twelve-member orchestra consisting of keyboards, percussion, bass, guitars, reeds, violin, viola, cello, trumpet, and trombone.[27][28]

Cast album

A Broadway original cast album, produced by Cyndi Lauper, William Wittman and Stephen Oremus,[29] was released on May 28, 2013.[30] On release it premiered at number one on the Billboard Cast Albums Chart and number fifty-one on the Billboard 200 chart,[31] making it the highest charting Broadway cast recording since The Book of Mormon's album was released two years earlier.[32] "Land of Lola" was released as a dance remix by Wayne G. & LFB in June 2013.[33] The album received favorable reviews in Playbill from Steven Suskin.[34]

Untitled
No.TitleLength
1."Price and Son Theme / The Most Beautiful Thing in the World"6:20
2."Take What You Got"3:18
3."Land of Lola"3:07
4."Charlie's Soliloquy"1:17
5."Step One"2:48
6."Sex Is In The Heel"4:34
7."The History of Wrong Guys"3:48
8."Not My Father's Son"5:57
9."Everybody Say Yeah"4:19
10."What A Woman Wants"3:54
11."In This Corner"4:56
12."Charlie's Soliloquy Reprise"0:49
13."Soul of a Man"3:22
14."Hold Me in Your Heart"3:04
15."Raise You Up / Just Be"6:09

Principal roles and original cast

Character Original Broadway Cast[35]
Charlie Price Stark Sands
Lola/Simon Billy Porter
Lauren Annaleigh Ashford
Nicola Celina Carvajal
Mr Price Stephen Berger
Simon Senior Eugene Barry-Hill
Don Daniel Sherman
George Marcus Neville
Pat Tory Ross
Harry Andy Kelso
Trish Jennifer Perry
Richard Bailey John Jeffrey Martin
Milan Stage Manager Adinah Alexander
Young Charlie Sebastian Hedges Thomas
Young Simon Marquise Neal

Critical reaction

Upon its October 2012 Chicago opening, Chicago Tribune critic Charles Jones described the show as a "warm, likable, brassy, sentimental, big-hearted and modestly scaled" production.[36]

The musical's Broadway debut received mixed reviews, with Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty criticising Lauper's "novice mistakes" with a score that "never establishes a compositional through line" and saying that while "Fierstein's heart is in the right place ... the show's earnestness sinks it", adding that "if [the show] weren't such a cheesy commercial mess, it might actually be fun".[37] Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote that Lauper's "love- and heat-seeking score" wowed with her "trademark ... mix of sentimentality and eccentricity", and that the costumes and boots courtesy of Gregg Barnes made for "big red scene stealers". Brantley, however, did not extend his praise to Fierstein's script, writing that his "sticky, sermonizing side" comes through in the second half, where "all the clichés stand naked before you."[38] Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News wrote that while the "script has issues like a pair of shoes" that don't quite fit, "Mitchell's production moves lickety-split" and "Porter ... is a force of nature as Lola." But, he added, Lauper's "multicolored, surprising and fun" score outshines the fancy footwear and proves to be the "real star of this show".[39]

Awards and nominations

The Off-Broadway and Original Broadway productions were jointly recognized with Drama League Award nominations for Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical and with Distinguished Performance Award nominations for both Billy Porter and Stark Sands,[40] and they were awarded the Outstanding Musical Award.[41] The Broadway production received nine Outer Critics Circle Award nominations, winning three.[42]

Kinky Boots received two Drama Desk Award nominations, with Billy Porter winning for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.[43] The show received a season-high 13 Tony Award nominations, winning a season-high 6, including Tony Award for Best Musical.[44] The show received an Artios Award nomination from The Casting Society of America for Outstanding Achievement in Casting, New York Broadway Theatre – Musical.[45]

Original Broadway production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2013 Drama League Award Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical Won[41]
Distinguished Performance Award Billy Porter Nominated[41]
Stark Sands Nominated[41]
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding New Broadway Musical Won[42]
Outstanding Book of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) Nominated[42]
Outstanding New Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway) Won[42]
Outstanding Director of a Musical Jerry Mitchell Nominated[42]
Outstanding Choreographer Nominated[42]
Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical) Gregg Barnes Nominated[42]
Outstanding Actor in a Musical Billy Porter Won[42]
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Daniel Stewart Sherman Nominated[42]
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Annaleigh Ashford Nominated[42]
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical Billy Porter Won[43]
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Annaleigh Ashford Nominated[43]
Tony Award Best Musical Won[44]
Best Book of a Musical Harvey Fierstein Nominated[44]
Best Original Score Cyndi Lauper Won[44]
Best Actor in a Musical Billy Porter Won[44]
Stark Sands Nominated[44]
Best Featured Actress in a Musical Annaleigh Ashford Nominated[44]
Best Scenic Design of a Musical David Rockwell Nominated[44]
Best Costume Design of a Musical Gregg Barnes Nominated[44]
Best Lighting Design of a Musical Kenneth Posner Nominated[44]
Best Sound Design of a Musical John Shivers Won[44]
Best Direction of a Musical Jerry Mitchell Nominated[44]
Best Choreography Won[44]
Best Orchestrations Stephen Oremus Won[44]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Jones, Chris (2012-09-27). "Cyndi Lauper working out the kinks in 'Kinky Boots'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  2. ^ a b c Hetrick, Adam (2012-07-11). "Cyndi Lauper Musical Kinky Boots May Stomp Broadway's Al Hirschfeld Theatre". Playbill. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  3. ^ a b c d "'Kinky Boots' Chicago Premiere: Cyndi Lauper, Harvey Fierstein Musical Begins Pre-Broadway Run". The Huffington Post. 2012-10-02. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  4. ^ "Hear Cyndi Lauper's new song from the upcoming 'Kinky Boots' musical". Miramax. 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  5. ^ Snetiker, Marc (2012-06-21). "Hear the first song from Cyndi Lauper's new Broadway musical 'Kinky Boots' -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  6. ^ a b Jones, Kenneth (2008-07-08). "Kinky Boots, the Musical, Walking Toward Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  7. ^ "Cyndi Lauper's 'Kinky Boots' Gets National Tour". billboard.com. Billboard. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  8. ^ "Cyndi Lauper-Harvey Fierstein Musical Kinky Boots Opens in Chicago Oct. 17; Broadway Is Next". playbill.com. Playbill. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  9. ^ "Delightful Kinky Boots Kicks Up Its Heels in Pre-Broadway Engagement". huffingtonpost.com. The Huffington Post. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  10. ^ Borcherts, Julia (2012-09-28). "Cyndi Lauper, Harvey Fierstein get 'Kinky Boots'". RedEye. Retrieved 2012-010-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ a b c Ryzik, Melena (2013-03-14). "So Unusual for a Theater Tunesmith". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  12. ^ Healy, Patrick (2013-02-23). "Artsbeat; 'Kinky Boots' Musical Has Tryout in Chicago". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  13. ^ Gordon, David (2012-09-12). "Harvey Fierstein, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Porter, Stark Sands Preview Kinky Boots". TheaterMania.com. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  14. ^ "Kinky Boots". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  15. ^ Isherwood, Charles (2013-02-21). "Hard Times Come Again, With Song". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  16. ^ Jones, Chris (2012-06-28). "'Kinky Boots' announces full cast". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  17. ^ "Kinky Boots". playbill.com. Playbill. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  18. ^ Healy, Patrick (2012-08-15). "'Kinky Boots' Sets April 4 Broadway Opening". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  19. ^ Isherwood, Charles (2013-02-21). "Hard Times Come Again, With Song". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  20. ^ Hetrick, Adam (2013-07-03). "Tony-Winning Musical Kinky Boots Announces New Ticket Lottery Policy". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  21. ^ Gans, Andrew (2013-10-03). "Tony-Winning Musical Kinky Boots Recoups Initial Investment". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  22. ^ Simonson, Robert (2013-10-16). "Broadway Box-Office Analysis, Oct. 7-13, 2013". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  23. ^ "Tony Winner Kinky Boots Will Raise Audiences Up Around the Country; National Tour Launches in Vegas". broadway.com. Broadway.com. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  24. ^ "Tony Award-winning 'Kinky Boots' opening national tour in Las Vegas". lasvegassun.com. Las Vegas Sun. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  25. ^ "'Kinky Boots' to launch national tour in Las Vegas next year". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  26. ^ After previews, a song called "What Else Can I Do?/Bad Girl" was replaced by "The Land of Lola" (reprise)."Kinky Boots". Playbill. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  27. ^ "Kinky Boots". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  28. ^ "Inside the Playbill: Kinky Boots Opening Night at Al Hirschfeld Theatre". playbillvault.com. Playbill. p. 4. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  29. ^ "Kinky Boots Cast Album Coming Soon!". masterworksbroadway.com. Masterworks Broadway. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  30. ^ ""Everybody Say Yeah": Kinky Boots Broadway Cast Album Released May 28". playbill.com. Playbill. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  31. ^ "Kinky Boots Broadway Cast Album Debuts at #1 on Billboard Chart". playbill.com. Playbill. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  32. ^ "Kinky Boots Debuts At No 1 On Billboard Cast Album Chart". top40-charts.com. Top 40 Charts. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  33. ^ Hetrick, Adam (2013-06-28). "Kinky Boots' "Land of Lola," With Billy Porter, Released as Dance Remix". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  34. ^ Suskin, Steven (2013-08-04). "On The Record: The New Broadway Cast Album of Kinky Boots and Audra McDonald's "Go Back Home"". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  35. ^ "Inside the Playbill: Kinky Boots Opening Night at Al Hirschfeld Theatre". playbillvault.com. Playbill. p. 5. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  36. ^ Jones, Charles (2012-10-17). "'Kinky Boots' kicks up its colorful heels in pre-Broadway premiere". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  37. ^ McNulty, Charles (2013-04-04). "Review: 'Kinky Boots' is unsteady in its Broadway walk". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  38. ^ Brantley, Ben (2013-04-04). "High Spirits, Higher Heels: 'Kinky Boots,' the Harvey Fierstein-Cyndi Lauper Musical". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  39. ^ Dziemianowicz, Joe (2013-04-04). "'Kinky Boots': Theater review: Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein's musical about a struggling shoe factory is tuneful and joyful". Daily News. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  40. ^ Gans, Andrew (2013-04-25). "Nominees Announced for 79th Annual Drama League Awards". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  41. ^ a b c d Gans, Andrew (May 17, 2013). "'Kinky Boots', 'Pippin', 'Vanya and Sonia', 'Virginia 'Woolf? and More Win Drama League Awards". Playbill. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  42. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gans, Andrew (May 13, 2013). Is Big Winner of 2012-13 Outer Critics Circle Awards "Pippin Is Big Winner of 2012-13 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Playbill. Retrieved May 13, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  43. ^ a b c Hetrick, Adam (2013-05-19). "Billy Porter, Andrea Martin, Pippin, Matilda, Vanya and Sonia Win Drama Desk Awards". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  44. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Purcell, Carey (2013-06-09). "Kinky Boots, Vanya and Sonia, Pippin and Virginia Woolf? Are Big Winners at 67th Annual Tony Awards". Playbill. Retrieved 2103-06-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  45. ^ Purcell, Carey (2013-08-19). "The Assembled Parties, Kinky Boots, Glengarry Glen Ross and More Nominated for Artios Awards". Playbill. Retrieved 2103-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links

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