Kinky Anti-Gravity Sneakers

"Be who you want to be. " "Accept just one person for who they are." But whatever you do don't miss Kinky Boots, the brand spanking new musical now in previews on Broadway.

My husband and I took the bus to Manhattan with the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale for a concert appearance on Saturday.  We had Friday evening to ourselves, but we resisted the urge to buy tickets to a Broadway show in advance because, jaded travelers that we are, we knew that you could never predict what might delay your bus from arriving at the anticipated time, especially in early March.

So, we decided to play it by ear.  If we arrived on time and felt up to it, we would go to the TKTS booth located just half a block from our hotel in Times Square, and see what was available.  Of course, we carefully planned for this opportunity to be spontaneous, although one has to ask oneself if true spontaneity can be planned.  Well, I will leave that debate up to greater philosophical minds than mine- or maybe a future blog- but we wanted to know what shows we might like to see based upon availability.

So we narrowed it down to three:  Once, Newsies, or Kinky Boots.  Kinky Boots won out as our first choice precisely because it was a brand new musical still in previews.  The other two choices were established hits and we would definitely have other opportunities to see them either on Broadway or on tour. The future of Kinky Boots was not so certain.

Kinky Boots certainly sounded promising, what with music by Cindy Lauper and a book by Harvey Fierstein, and lots of advance buzz.  I was also excited that one of its stars was the exceptionally talented Billy Porter, a Pittsburgh native.  I'm not bragging but Billy  and I have some mutual friends, (one of whom actually roomed with him in college for awhile) and I've met him a couple of times.

Clearly a lot of other folks were also intrigued, we realized when we purchased our "best  available" seats high in the Mezzanine, an hour before the show.  And Kinky Boots did not disappoint.

Adapted from the 2005 film of the same name by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth, Kinky Boots is the story of Charlie, a struggling shoe factory owner (played by Stark Sands) and a drag queen named Lola (Porter), and how they come to know, like and help each other.  In between exceptional show-stopping production numbers ("Sex is in the Heel") and quiet and affecting ballads ("I Am Not My Father's Son) is a compelling story with a message about fathers and sons, and acceptance and respect.

Sands is engaging as Charlie, a young man in the process of discovering his own dreams among the expectations others have for him, and this man can sing.  Porter is equally effective at portraying the fabulous diva Lola, and the man behind the drag queen Simon.  He brings down the house every time he walks on stage but especially with "Hold Me in Your Heart."

The rest of the cast is equally strong, managing to hold their own with the two leads, but a special shout out must be given to Annaleigh Ashford as shop girl Lauren, particularly for her hilarious rendition of "The History of Wrong Guys."

My prediction is that Kinky Boots is going to be big huge smash hit, and tour for years.  Whether you wear thigh-high bright red boots with impossibly high stiletto heels like Lola, or prefer sensible black Easy Spirit Anti Gravity Sneakers like me, run to see Kinky Boots when you have the chance.  There's room for all of us in the theater...and in the world.