User Reviews

Kinky Boots opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in 2013 and took the world by storm with its message and subtle yet flashy performances. This was my first experience with Kinky Boots, but let me just say that when it comes back to my hometown, I will be the first in line to get tickets. There is something so real about this show. Even though it is flashy at times and bursts into songs at odd times, Kinky Boots offers a wholesome experience about acceptance of one and other as well as self acceptance.

The show opens to the Price and Son shoe factory, where Mr Price takes his son charlie around to tour, showing him his future. Charlie is hesitant. Meanwhile another young boy explores his mothers high heels and roams through an alley before being caught by his father. Charlie, now grown up, has a diploma in marketing and refuses to take over the factory. Instead, he moves to london with his fiancee, Nicola. ("Price and Son Theme/The Most Beautiful Thing In The World"). As soon as Charlie and Nicola get settled in to their london loft, news breaks that his father has suddenly passed away, thus making charlie inherit the family business.

Charlie heads back to London to escape momentarily and meets up with an old friend at a bar ("Take What You Got"). On his way home from work one day, Charlie is knocked unconcious by what appears to be a woman being beaten by brawny men. He wakes up backstage at a bar and the woman turns out to be Lola, the headlining drag queen of this bar ("Land Of Lola"). Charlie notices that Lola's heels are expensive, but cheeply made. With no sales back home, Charlie gives all of his workers notices. One employee, Lauren, offers Charlie to find a new niche market. Charlie offers Lola to create a boot under her style. ("Charlies Soliloquy/Step One").

As Charlie gives Lola her newly made boot and she detests it, stating the colour is off-red and not red and that there is no heel. Lola then states that she wears red stiletoes for it is the colour of "sex" ("Sex Is In The Heel"). Lola draws new designs for Charlie as he calls Lola official designer of Price and Son. Charlie thanks Lauren for the idea as Lauren ponders if there are rising feelings for Charlie from inside her ("The History Of Wrong Guys"). Lola shows up the next day in mens clothing and is shunned by his co-worker, Don. Lola finds Charlie as the two repent the harsh past of not following their fathers orders ("Not My Fathers Son"). The first pair of Lola's Kinky Boots are made as the workers celebrate ("Everybody Say Yeah").

The next day, Lola comes in wearing the boots and Don shuns her again. Lola comes towards Don with a preposition, stating that each of them shall do one thing for the other man, in order to feel more "Masculine" ("What A Woman Wants"). Don offers Lola to do a boxing match, and Lola accepts, for she was a trained boxer as a child. At the match, Lola is crushing Don, but lets him win ("In This Corner"). Later, at a bar, Don asks Lola why she let him win. Lola responds by saying that no one should endure the pain of being tormented by their mates. Lola offers her portion of the challenge, making Don accept people for who they are.

With only a week before the big fashion show in Millan, Charlie begins to feel franctic and out of place. Nicola enters, fed up with Charlie's shennangians. Charlie notices that Nicola has bought herself items she knew Charlie couldnt afford. Nicola breaks up with Charlie. Lola enters and has made changes to the plan without Charlie's permission. Charlie embarasses Lola in front of the whole factory and Lola, as well as the other workers leave, stating that Charlie has just become too full of himself and his work. Charlie stands, shaken, alone ("Soul Of A Man"). Days later, Lauren tells Charlie to come back to the factory, showing Charlie that Don took charge to endure that they would meet their deadline for the Millan show. Before hopping on the plane, Charlie calls Lola and offers him an apology, as Lola performs at her fathers retirement centre. ("Hold Me In Your Heart"). Lola introduces herself as Simon, finally ackgnowledging her real roots and name.

At the Millan fashion show, Charlie prepares for the big act. Without Lola's backup dancers, Charlie must go onstage solo, wearing the boots. Lauren finds Charlie and says that none of the workers have shown up except for her as she wishes him the best of luck. Onstage, the show does terribly as Charlie trips and falls, enforcing a power outage. Lola comes to save the day and brings her dancers with her. The workers show up as excess models in the show, including Don in high heels. Lauren and Charlie kiss as Charlie changes the name of the company to "Price and Simon". The group celebrates the success of the product ("Raise You Up/Just Be").

Kinky Boots is a piece of musical theatre which really surprised me. Going in to the broadcast I only knew a handful of songs which consisted of "Raise You Up/Just Be", "Step One", and "Everybody Say Yeah". As the musical progressed I found those to be on my low end of songs. The songs that really personally blew me away were Lauren's "The History of Wrong Guys" and Lola's "Land of Lola". Although it may be on the maturer side of theatre, I think kids will enjoy it for its overall glow and optimistic feel. Sure kids wont understand all of the concepts being thrown at them, but I think it should be fine for the whole family. That being said, Kinky Boots is by far not the best movie or piece of theatre I've ever seen but man is it up there.

Overall Kinky Boots: The Musical gets a final score of 9.1/10