As a great lover of all things musical, and the fact I had never seen this particular one, I was ecstatic to find myself at the Opera House, Manchester to watch ‘Kinky Boots’ the musical, book by Harvey Weinstein, music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper. For those of you unaware, this is an adaptation of the 2005 British film bearing the same name.
‘Kinky Boots’ tells the story of Charlie Price, a young man who has inherited his father’s struggling shoe factory and the exploits that ensue once he decides, after meeting the marvellous Lola, to change direction and design boots for drag queens. As you can imagine, this does not go down well with some of his more ‘traditional’ factory workers such as Don, who questions this decision and hereby our story is set.
The set design was multi-purpose, with the internal architecture of the factory as the main visual scenery. The set designer David Rockwell added in levels through the use of a truck that could be manoeuvred around the stage, doubling as lockers on one side, and toilets on the other with the factory office placed on top. Set changes were moved around with ease by the cast which kept the pace and momentum of the production moving.
I found the costumes designed by Greg Barnes to be quite amazing, particularly the outrageous drag queen outfits. The structure and fitting of these were outstanding and the quality was obvious for all to see. I also loved the way he cleverly used symbolism through the juxtaposition of the factory workers in earthy work wear, with the bright and colourful drag queens. The moment that Lola reveals himself as ‘Simon’, clearly highlighted this as he transforms to conform with the factory in beige shirt, brown trousers and orange jersey sweater, also when the other ‘Angels’ arrive, they do so in beige trench coats.
As a fan of Cyndi Lauper’s music, I was intrigued as to how her song writing skills would translate on to stage and I was not disappointed. I found the music to be powerful, from the rousing intro, ‘The Most Beautiful Thing In The World’ to ‘Sex Is In The Heel’ and the finale ‘Raise You Up’. It was a dance anthem spectacular! The 80’s pop inspired ‘The History Of Wrong Guys’ showed Lauper’s comic side and her storytelling ability, which was brilliantly sung by Paula Lane portraying the role of Lauren. Special mention has to go to the two ballads ‘Not My Father’s Son’ and ‘Hold Me In Your Heart’ which showed Lauper’s class as a songwriter, exquisitely written and beautifully sung by Callum Francis. Lighting was effective and served its purpose, no particular moment wowed me, but it did its job and cues were slick and well rehearsed.
So to the main event, the acting. What can I say? Callum Francis was astounding as Lola. From his entrance, to his comic timing and neutral facial expressions whilst delivering some of the funniest lines, to moments of real intimacy with the audience whilst as ‘Simon’, revealing another depth to his characterisation. Jealous? Yes I was, of that voice, those legs! Spectacular. Joel Harper- Jackson portrayed Charlie very well; he had a warmth and likeability factor that put the audience at ease. The rapport that Joel and Callum had on stage was heart-warming and infectious and they were a delight to watch together. Demitri Lampra as ‘Don’ played the chauvinistic male to a tea, but also added multiple layers to the role therefore he remained a likeable character. Paula Lane was hugely successful as Lauren, she played the comic love interest of Charlie nicely, her facial expressions and reactions were laughable and thoroughly enjoyable to watch. The ensemble as a whole performed brilliantly and the ‘Angels’ dancing was superb, all credit to Jerry Mitchell’s choreography.
There were some fantastic moments in the show, too many to describe in great detail, and also I do not want to give everything away, but the slow motion fight sequence between Don and Lola is comic gold. The use of slow motion and heightened body language and facial expression was superb. The solo song ‘Hold Me In Your Heart’ performed by Callum Francis towards the end of the show was reminiscent of Whitney Houston and the finale definitely had undertones of Beyonce in it.
‘Kinky Boots’ was a stunning show, from start to finish, I want to go and watch it again. It was fun and flirty but also had a valuable life lesson. This was clearly delivered in the lyrics of the last song with the Price and Simon six steps to success, the final one having the most resonance “ You change your world when you change your mind” which, funnily enough was sung by Don, having undergone a transformation and realisation of what was important in life.
Please go and watch this show, it is joyous and poptastic!!
Reviewer - Cathy Owen
on - 13/11/18
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