Kinky Boots is a musical with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper and a book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the 2005 British film Kinky Boots, written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth. It tells the story of Charlie Price, the reluctant heir to his father’s failing factory. The show won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical in 2013 and ran on Broadway until 2019. Now in Manassas, the runway is smaller than it was on Broadway, but the energy is still high and the songs just as entertaining in this glittering production directed by Kimberly Kemp and presented by The Art Factory/Rooftop Productions at the Hylton Performing Arts Center.
As Charlie’s story unfolds, it paints a picture of a rather uninteresting life in North Hampton. The shoe factory is struggling with a falling sales market and inevitable layoffs until Charlie, played by Christian Rodgers, meets Lola, played by Chris Maulden. With Lola as his designer, Charlie discovers a way to save the business. The two “pair up” in an unlikely partnership to design boots for drag queens, and the fun ensues.
The Hylton Center stage is convincingly transformed and provides a symbolic contrast between the starkness of the shoe factory and the glamor of the sparkly promise to come. While Ashton Schaffer’s lighting design did provide some lights along the staircases, it left the audience wanting a little more decoration for the atmosphere of Lola’s nightclub. However, the show is all about the shoes — well, sort of. Costume Designer Nicole Andres pulls together a collection of delightful boots, but the glitz doesn’t end there. Lola and her entourage, the “Angels,” don some fabulous frocks as well to keep the party going. Standouts were Brandrick Jos. Levy and Danny Seal with their lively performances. Some of the Angels’ wigs, however, seemed ill-fitted and got in the way of the choreography at times.
The ensemble was collectively solid overall, with good character acting and strong vocals. Reilly Cooper is a convincing Don, a manly factory worker trying to deal with the changes in his company and the appearance of Lola in his workplace. Hope Blahusch plays Nicola, Charlie’s overbearing and somewhat clueless fiancé. Blahusch was in the final number and revealed herself an excellent dancer. Her talents may have been under-showcased as Nicola, but it’s understandably hard to dual-cast a lead into the ensemble, and her portrayal of glamorous albeit a little clueless Nicola was done well. Choreographer Alex Mills put together some enjoyable high-energy production numbers, including “Sex Is in the Heel,” and “Everybody Say Yeah!” with rolling factory tables that were simply fun.
As Charlie, Rodgers is a clean-cut figure you can’t imagine going to a drag show — this creates a clearer contrast between him and the rambunctious Lola. Rodgers portrays Charlie with robust and clear vocals while maintaining the boyish charm needed to execute the character, although his accent was a bit inconsistent at times. As Lola/Simon, Chris Maulden is nothing short of fierce; his heartfelt vocal during “Not My Father’s Son” was a highlight of the show. Maulden was also unflappable during unfortunate microphone-popping issues during the show. Sophia Sharaa’s powerhouse vocals were stellar, and she’s as cute as a button as factory worker Lauren, who has a secret crush on her young boss.
Kinky Boots is loosely based on a true story. In the 1990s, English shoe manufacturer Steve Pateman created the Divine Footwear line for drag queen customers in order to save W. J. Brooks Ltd, the Northampton shoe-manufacturing firm that had been in his family for a century. But, he did not partner with a drag queen to do it. He was responding to a request from a “fetish shoe shop” in Folkstone for women’s shoes in men’s sizes. And the factory was not saved by the new shoe line; it shut down anyway.
So Lola is a wholly invented character. However, we can’t have this show without her, and we can’t write about this production without speaking about its relevance in our current political and social climate. While the show’s overall theme is about tolerance and friendship, I did some research and found that people responded on social media after a performance of the original cast at the Macy’s Parade in 2013, saying the performance of the musical was “unfit material for the holiday parade broadcast.” The cast’s response? Billy Porter and some of his cast mates marched over to Macy’s the day after their performance in the parade and proceeded to do some Black Friday shopping. Almost all of the male actors were outfitted in their sky-high stiletto boots and Porter was in full drag.
Kinky Boots is sometimes criticized as oversimplifying social issues such as tolerance and even friendship, but it can’t be denied that the Rooftop Productions cast does credit to the show as a fun, catchy musical with poignant moments mixed in. After all, the shoe must go on.
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission.
Kinky Boots plays through October 29, 2023, presented by the Arts Factory Rooftop Productions performing in the Gregory Family Theater at Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, VA. Purchase tickets ($30 adult; $25 senior; $20 youth, 18 and younger) online or call the ticket office, 703-993-7759 (Tues. – Sat. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.).
