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    Theatre Review: Kinky Boots, a Sweet Confection with a Big Heart

    Kinky Boots, the Harvey Fierstein (book) and Cyndi Lauper (music and lyrics) adaptation of the art-house hit film, written by Tim Firth and Geoff Deane and directed by Julian Jerrold, opens in Columbus on October 7 at the Ohio Theater under the auspices of Broadway Across America. It was as much of a crowd pleaser at last night’s press night as it is on Broadway. It’s a dazzling showcase for Kyle Taylor Parker as Lola.

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    Kyle Taylor Parker as Lola in Kinky Boots. Photo by Matthew Murphy.
    Kyle Taylor Parker as Lola in Kinky Boots. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

    Kinky Boots follows the play of the film pretty closely. After a muddled, infodump-heavy opening number that sets up grounding for Lola and Charlie Price’s relationship to shoes, Price (Steven Booth), barely minutes into his new life in London with his fiancée Nicola (Charissa Hogeland) gets a call that his father is dead. Price and Sons shoe factory in his hometown of Northampton, in his family for four generations, is now his responsibility. When he returns home, he finds the situation is dire, with contracts slashed and returns pouring in, but before he can wind down the factory’s operations he gets a pep talk from Lauren (Columbus native Lindsay Nicole Chambers) to find a niche market and finds it through meeting London drag performer Lola (Parker): women’s boots strong enough to support a man’s weight. From that point it’s a race against the clock to get a prototype line ready for an exhibition in Milan as Charlie both finds inner strength in himself and learns he and Lola are cut from the same cloth.

    Lauper’s score handles the variety of voices well. She does her best work here when she zones in on a longing, a wistfulness. The synthpop showcase for Chambers’ Lauren – a firecracker of constant delight I wish we saw more of – “History of Wrong Guys” is a highlight as is the sweat-drenched R&B of “Sex is in the Heel” and “Land of Lola.” The show soars when it goes into one of its gorgeous ballads. Parker’s solo turn on “Hold Me in Your Heart” and his duet with Booth on “Not My Father’s Son” hint at a beautiful, intimate chamber musical underneath the trappings the show sometimes wears awkwardly.

    Fierstein’s book lacks some of the edge his best work has. As admirable as a message to believe in yourself is, and I will never denigrate that, everything is so on the nose the hackneyed clichés fall like predictable dominoes. The show suffers from its length, two and a half hours, and especially its intermission. Things grind to a halt just after momentum starts to build, splitting the 6 best songs in the show in a way that blunts their power.

    The show springs to full life when Lola appears and this is a magical star vehicle for Parker. His rich voice shoots the Tina Turner-echoing grinding numbers right to the rafters and his physical presence reverberates throughout. Booth does a fine job as the point of view character but his character cracks under too much exposition and rapid fire personality changes. The rest of the cast is uniformly fine with particular attention to Sam Zeller’s George and Joe Coots’ Don.

    Director/Choreographer Jerry Mitchell’s commitment to the working class realism of the setting often feels like it hems him in. The drag numbers are a raunchy, earthy delight and everything comes alive when the actors and setting converge, as in a terrific slow-motion boxing match on “In This Corner” and the act-closing “Everybody Say Yeah” using conveyor belts. But so much of the staging just feels static, letting the impressive set do too much of the work.

    Kinky Boots loses steam in the second act and often can’t decide if it’s fish or fowl but there are glittering, wondrous moments. When everything works as one, it’s a sight to see.

    Kinky Boots runs through October 11 at varying times. For tickets and more info, please visit http://columbus.broadway.com/shows/kinky-boots-baa/

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    Richard Sanford
    Richard Sanfordhttp://sanfordspeaks.blogspot.com/
    Richard Sanford is a freelance contributor to Columbus Underground covering the city's vibrant theatre scene. You can find him seeking inspiration at a variety of bars, concert halls, performance spaces, museums and galleries.
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