The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, located in the heart of Times Square on 45th Street, is currently home to “Kinky Boots.”
“Kinky Boots” is in the midst of its sixth year on Broadway and has had incredible success within the theater community. The show features 16-hit songs, from the singer of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” Cyndi Lauper, and is directed and choreographed by Emmy winner Jerry Mitchell.
The story takes place in Northampton, London, where Charlie Price takes over the family business Price & Son after the death of his father.
Charlie, played by former American Idol winner David Cook, needs to come up with a shoe idea that will be popular enough to keep his company running.
Price breaks up a fight between two drunk men and a woman who happens to be a drag queen named Lola. Played by comedian Wayne Brady, Lola walks around as a drag queen with exquisite outfits and heels that Price notices cannot hold the weight of a man. Price comes up with an idea to create heels that can support a man’s weight and believes that this proposal will be great enough to save his business.
The play includes a wide variety of different songs, from dance tunes to love ballads. Kristen Maldonado, from the a capella group Pentatonix, played Lauren in the musical until April 8. She performs one of the most emotional numbers, “The History of Wrong Guys,” when she finds herself falling in love with Price.
Lauren is a worker on the assembly line at the shoe stop and is approached by Price, who asks her to partner with him in managing the company.
Throughout the musical, Lola and the other drag queens show off their energetic and sassy dance moves. Not only can they sing and dance, but they do so on conveyor belts, which appears difficult to viewers.
During the play, the audience empathizes with Lola because they are made aware of her dad’s intolerance toward her drag career. Lola keeps her head held high and is confident enough with who she is to fight against discrimination and stay true to herself.
The audience learns about a worker at the shoe shop, Don, and his bigotry toward Lola as a drag queen.
Lola challenges Don to accept someone for who they are and the audience is able to leave the theater sensing that there is love and inclusion between the characters.
The play is full of energetic dance numbers, songs and even jokes that have the audience gasping for air. The costumes used in the show are vibrant and the red boots that are worn at the end by each cast member can be seen from the highest seat in the venue. The play is definitely for those who want to have a good laugh and see some fun dancing.
The storyline is not the most entertaining part of the show, but the other elements of the show make up for it. Tickets to see “Kinky Boots” are relatively pricey, but there is an online lottery in which people can enter to win discounted tickets to the show.
Next time you are in the city, definitely take advantage of the shows Broadway has to offer and get yourself a ticket to “Kinky Boots.”
