Put On Your Dancing Shoes 

Kinky Boots

I first saw Kinky Boots, the uplifting, foot-stomping musical with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, in its 2013 Broadway production.  The stage show, with book by Harvey Fierstein, is based on the enjoyable 2005 film of the same name starring Joel Edgerton and Chiwetel Ejiofor.  The movie, in turn, was loosely based on the true story of an English manufacturer of traditional brogues, which were rapidly going out of fashion, who resuscitated his business for a time by manufacturing women’s boots in men’s sizes for drag queens and male cross-dressers.

So the new production by the Highland Park Players in the new Leemputte Theater at the McGrath Family Performing Arts Center, directed by Connor Giles, tells a story that many in the audience will already be familiar with.  Even those who have never seen Kinky Boots will, regardless, find the story arc highly familiar.  Tales of distressed, working-class British individuals and institutions mounting an unexpected comeback thanks to an out-of-left-field creative inspiration (one that the colorful but conservative townsfolk initially resist, usually with a cry of “are ye daft, man?”) are close to a contemporary cliche; among others, Billy Elliott, the Full Monty, Calendar Girls, the Committments and Brassed Off all are not only in the same genre as, but, at least in their broad strokes, practically the same story as, Kinky Boots.  

So why, if it’s so familiar, is Kinky Boots so much fun?  Partly it’s because Cyndi Lauper, a national treasure, wrote the music.  Partly it’s because stories of overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles while reinventing oneself (as shoe factory owner Charlie Price, played by Ben Frankart, does when he converts his shoe factory into a workshop for fancy women’s boots intended for men) are quintessentially American — and, well, British; the idea that one can transcend one’s straitened and seemingly hopeless circumstances by means of a brilliant flash of inspiration never gets old.

And partly because the trans Tik Tok star Anania Williams — who plays the role in the Highland Park Players production of Lola, the drag queen and “flash of inspiration” who brings the spangled-boot concept to Charlie Price — rips up the stage with an inspired, high-energy performance.  Williams and Frankart, who (as the stereotype always has it, is initially resistant, uptight and stylistically clueless, before coming around) complement each other perfectly.  Both are given a memorable moment in the spotlight, and both respond with brio and beauty.  Williams’ rave-up rendition of “Hold Me in Your Heart” brought the entire theatre to its feet.

Oh, and speaking of feet, the original boot designs for this show are (even from the perspective of a plainly shod, Charlie Price-type guy like me) dazzling. 

The first act of Kinky Boots felt a little slow and tentative to me.  But stick around for act two — you’ll leave the theatre floating, no matter what kind of footwear you’re fitted with.  The trumped-up controversies about drag queens encountered in the news lately will likely seem completely irrelevant to audience members; this is a show about optimism, inventiveness and triumph over the odds that should appeal to everyone. 

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Michael Antman

Presented by the Highland Park Players at McGrath Family Performing Arts Center, 1100 Laramie Avenue, Wilmette.

Tickets are available at www.highlandparkplayers.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.