“Drag queens are mainstream. Just this morning I was offered a gig singing at a nursing home. A nursing home, Charlie. In Clacton.”
It’s taken its time to get here but Kinky Boots has now arrived in some style at the Adelphi Theatre and you can read my 5 star review for Cheap Theatre Tickets right here.
It’s a topsy-turvy world where a British film set in Northampton becomes a Tony-winning Broadway musical but Kinky Boots has finally made its way back to the UK to score a huge theatrical success in the West End. Based on the true story that Geoff Deane and Tim Firth’s film adapted, Harvey Fierstein’s book is undoubtedly a feelgood ride through factory failure, footwear and fate – and the way in which its high-strutting energy conquers the stage of the Adelphi is utterly thrilling to watch.
Life as the scion of a small-town shoe factory manager is getting Charlie Price down, but the moment he leaves for London with his girlfriend, his father’s death sends him back to Northampton. Falling sales and import competition suggests closing Price and Son is the best solution, but a chance encounter with a drag queen named Lola opens his mind to a potentially lucrative market – properly-made women’s boots for men who dress as women – he just needs to convince Lola to design them, the factory workers to make them and his girlfriend to abandon dreams of the capital.
The tale is certainly entertaining but getting Cyndi Lauper to compose the score is the real masterstroke. Though this is her first effort at writing for the stage, she skillfully serves up fierce anthems for drag queens (‘Land of Lola’ is as iconic an introductory number for Matt Henry), quirky character numbers (Amy Lennox nails the amusing ‘The History of Wrong Guys’) and rousing full company numbers to bring the curtain down (you’ll be singing Act 1 closer ‘Everybody Say Yeah’ for days!). Thanks to her superlative work as an LGBT activist, the sincerity that underlines the quieter moments of introspection is utterly heartfelt – the emotive power of ‘Not My Father’s Son’ is just a knockout as Henry and Killian Donnelly’s Charlie connect through their unique but comparably troubled relations with their fathers. Even if Fierstein’s book wraps things up perhaps a little too schematically in the race to the end, Lauper ensures good feeling and fun remains uppermost.
With the vibrant performances of Jerry Mitchell’s production, it is hard to keep from smiling. Matt Henry’s wise-cracking, wig-snatching Lola is strong-voiced and infinitely wise, Killian Donnelly’s everyman charm is perfectly suited to Charlie’s slow-burn awakening and Amy Lennox is a scene-stealing delight as the unlucky-in-love Lauren. Lola’s team of Angels are also striking, especially with Mitchell’s choreography and the thrillingly staged scenes on the moving conveyor belt.
It may have taken its time to get here, but there’s no doubting that this is where Kinky Boots belongs. Warm-hearted and well-judged, who knew footwear could be this much fun? Wholeheartedly recommended.
Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes (with interval)
Booking until 6th February
