KINKY BOOTS (musical)
Signed performance: 26th April 2018 at 7.30pm
With a book by Broadway legend and four-time Tony® Award-winner Harvey
Fierstein (La Cage Aux Folles), and songs by Grammy® and Tony® winning pop
icon Cyndi Lauper, this joyous musical celebration is about the friendships
we discover, and the belief that you can change the world when you change
your mind.
Kinky Boots live album with the original West End cast is available to buy.
Click to Buy.
(Original London cast, photo by Matt Crockett)
Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots takes you from a gentlemen’s shoe
factory in Northampton to the glamorous catwalks of Milan. Charlie Price is
struggling to live up to his father’s expectations and continue the family
business of Price & Son. With the factory’s future hanging in the balance,
help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola, a fabulous
performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos.
With direction and choreography by two-time Tony® Award-winner Jerry
Mitchell (Legally Blonde, Hairspray), Kinky Boots is the winner of six
Broadway Tony® Awards including Best Musical, Best Score and Best
Choreography.
Opening Night:
Behind the Scenes in rehearsal:
Theatremonkey Opinion:
(Second visit, 19th September 2016) Some actors, including Mr Henry, have
now left the cast.
With much of the cast replaced, only Mr Henry remains - a year in the show has
seen him lose weight and tone up - yet still give that Olivier Award winning
performance. New co-star David Hunter seems to go for less of an ego clash than
his predecessor in the role, and creates a far more human relationship. Nice
work, too, from fiancé Cordelia Farnworth as Nicola.
The only slight weakness, was Elena Skye as Lauren. Amy Lennox is a hard act to
follow, and this theatre newcomer wasn't daffy enough or giving a big enough
performance for the monkey - though it hopes she will learn in the end.
The whole show seemed tighter than when last seen in late preview, and simply, it's as good, if not better, than ever.
(Seen at the preview performance on 3rd September 2015). Some actors have
now left the cast.
The monkey defies anybody to have any issue with cross-dressing, trans-gender or
any other “person who has not yet decided” after this punchy outreach programme.
Certainly, entering with a broad mind will help, but if a person is unconvinced
of just how normal everybody, meaning everybody, is, by the end of the first
half, then their inner bigot needs shooting.
The story is simple, the show’s
construction rather formulaic – ironic as the tale pushes so many boundaries,
but ultimately it mostly pays off.
A slightly grating and long opening
sequence featuring children – Edward Green and Nana Agyeman-Bediako (Young Charlie and Lola respectively).
isn't the kids faults;
they’re excellent, just tired writing. Then, from the first encounter between adult
Charlie (Killan Donnelly) and Lola (Matt Henry) the show suddenly kicks into
gear.
While Mr Donnelly brings a naïve charm to the factory owner’s son role,
it is Matt Henry’s show, night, life and probably an Olivier award at the end of
it all.
Dominating the stage with masterly comic timing, strong singing voice
but most of all deeply convincing character work, make certain you see his
performance if possible. No doubt his understudy is excellent, but this is a
“once in a lifetime” piece of musical theatre acting.
The pair get decent
backup too, and not just from the wonderfully booted “Angels.” Amy Ross makes a
strong, rightly peeved fiancée, while Amy Lennox extracts maximum comedy and
pathos as ditzy factory worker Lauren. In a tiny role, Robert Grose as Simon
Senior grabs a true scene-stealing moment, Jamie Baughan (Don) a strong
storyline (and neat “pre-show” phone announcement, very effective) with a
satisfying end.
David Rockwell’s factory set is also superb – Charlie and The
Chocolate Factory could learn a thing or two - and the boots are fabulous.
The only issues the monkey had (and it is a Lauper fan) is that it found neither
music nor lyric that memorable, neither really driving the show forward as they
should. Expert song writer Lauper seemed to struggle to write lyric which moved
the story on, and used songs to repeat rather than continue speech. The most
irritating example coming before “Not My Father’s Son.” A decent song, but
already done fine in the spoken pre-amble, draining emotion as a result.
Unfortunately, it also has problems with the whole final 10 minutes of the show.
The design fizzled out – a truly horrible “fashion show” set, where curtains and
steel framework (as fashion shows usually have) would have sufficed; and the
story itself vanishes too.
Less experienced theatregoers will no doubt be bought off by the colourful
dance number, but the monkey expected proper closure, a moment where the triumph
of winning against odds is noted, marked and celebrated.
Still, it enjoyed the show very much, laughter, a cracking story and some
sound things to say. Hopefully these (Kinky) boots will be walking for
a long time to come.