The musical based on the movie with the same title was first shown on the Broadway in 2012, and has won the Drama League’s ‘Distinguished Production of a Musical’, Outer Critics Circle Award’s ‘Outstanding New Broadway Musical’, ‘Outstanding New Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway)’, and a Tony Award for ‘Best Musical’, ‘Best Original Score’ in 2013, as well as a Grammy for the ‘Best Musical Theatre Album’ for its score composed by none other than the girl rock icon of the 1980s, Cyndi Lauper.
Kinky Boots tells the story of a shoe factory in Northampton, which turns its fortune over when deciding to cater to drag queens. Charlie Price finds himself inheriting a shoe factory from his father, one which is at the brink of going down. In an unexpected turn of events, Charlie is knocked out when trying to save a woman accosted by two drunks. When he comes to, he finds himself in a night club with the woman he tried to save, Lola, who is a Drag Queen, performing with her backup troupe of drag dancers, the “angels”. This is where he notices Lola’s boots – cheap, unreliable footwear, but crucial to their drag act. Upon returning to the factory and starting to lay off his workers, Charlie is confronted by one of his employees, who suggests that he should enter an “under served niche market” to survive. This makes Charlie think of the high heel boots he saw in Lola’s dressing room, which leads to the girls being invited to the factory and a new design for kinky boots to be entered into production. Things get a bit complicated from here on – but instead of spoilers, I think I’d better let you see the show.
The London production of Kinky Boots will be staged at the Adelphi Theatre, which has recently announced the closure of Gemma Arterton’s musical Made in Dagenham. No cast has been announced for the musical at this point. “We are thrilled and deeply honoured to be bringing Kinky Boots back home to British shores, where this inspirational story is set,” producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig said in a statement cited by the BBC News. “The show is big-hearted and filled with joy and we trust that it will be warmly embraced by audiences in the UK.”
The tickets for Kinky Boots will go on sale starting March 2, and the show will begin previews in August. There is no word on what will fill the gap between Kinky Boots and Made in Dagenham. Until then I guess we have nothing to do but play Platinum pokies and guess.
