Broadway Review: Kinky Boots - "The best feel-good show since Legally Blonde"

Andy Kelso & Billy Porter / Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy

Kinky Boots

The Al Hirschfeld Theatre

Reviewed on Wednesday 9th April 2014 (matinee)

Billy Porter & Daniel Stewart Sherman
Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy

Kinky Boots is an empowering, inspiring, uplifting and fun musical which hit me with a breath of fresh air. Based on the 2005 movie (which I have never seen), the show follows Charlie Price as he inherits his father's shoe factory which is on the verge of bankruptcy. 

Determined to live up to his father's legacy and to provide job security for his employees, Charlie realises he has to come up with something new. After finding inspiration in the form of Lola (whose birth name is Simon), Charlie discovers his niche market - creating sturdy stilettos for drag queens. 

It's fascinating to watch the unlikely friendship between Charlie and Lola unfold; the pair have a strange connection which is quite endearing. Of course love troubles are also thrown into the mix, with Charlie's relationship in crisis and factory worker Lauren discovering she has a huge crush on her boss…

I haven't had so much fun in a theatre for a very long time. Cyndi Lauper's score is an absolute revelation - it's hit after hit after hit. It's a new, edgy sound for musical theatre but works a treat. The show features some of the most catchy musical theatre songs ever written as well as a handful of big ballads with touching lyrical content. I have been listening to the cast album on repeat.