Kinky Boots, Oct 22, 2016 ****

MUSICAL THEATRE
Book by Harvey Fierstein, Music & Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper
Based on movie written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth
Presented by Michael Cassel by special arrangement with Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig in association with Cameron Mackintosh

Her Majesty’s Theatre, until Jan 15, 2017
Review by Kate Herbert
Stars: ****

Review also published in Herald Sun online at 10.30pm on Sat Oct 22, 2016. KH

 Callum Francis(centre) with the Angels in Kinky Boots

The glittering, fire-engine-red boots in the musical, Kinky Boots, are ‘two-and-a-half feet of irresistible, tubular sex’, according to Lola (Callum Francis), the high-kicking drag queen.

With his sassy dancing, bold vocals and comedic skills, the willowy Francis is the audacious and flashy star turn of Jerry Mitchell’s Australian production of Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper’s Tony and Olivier Award-winning musical.

When young, ambitious Charlie Price (Toby Francis) unwillingly takes over his deceased dad’s failing shoe factory in the North of England, his new acquaintance, Lola, suggests Charlie change his product to cater for a lucrative, niche market in glitzy, thigh-high boots for cross-dressing men.

Fierstein’s book, based on a true story and the ensuing 2005 movie, is like a marriage of the high campery of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, La Cage aux Folles and Hairspray with the gritty, British working class characters of Billy Elliot and The Full Monty.

The highlights of the show are Mitchell’s vivacious choreography of the drag queen chorus line, the Angels, and Lauper’s spirited pop tunes that range from funk to power ballads with lyrics that illuminate story and characters (music arrangements by Stephen Oremus).

The vibrant drag chorus number, Land of Lola, is deliciously garish, and the flamboyance escalates in Charlie’s drab shoe factory when the sultry Lola leads the provocatively brazen number, Sex Is In The Heel.

Act One culminates with Charlie’s factory workers joining drag queens in the impudent and saucy ensemble tune, Everybody Say Yeah, with its complex and inventive dance routines performed on production line conveyor belts.

The fever pitch finale brings the audience to its feet with Raise You Up/Just Be, a celebration of Charlie and Lola’s kinky boots and the factory workers’ willingness to accept change and tolerate difference.

Toby Francis is suitably nerdy and uptight as Charlie with his principal vocal strength being in his upper register, and his duet with Callum Francis, Not My Father’s Son, is a poignant interlude between the brassy drag routines.

Sophie Wright is feisty and clownish as Lauren, the factory girl with a crush on Charlie, and her rendition of The History of Wrong Guys is warm and witty, while burly Daniel Williston plays tough Don with comic, stereotypical chauvinism.

Fierstein’s book is accessible and funny, although the dialogue sometimes slips into sentimentality and earnestness, simplifying the complex issues of gender, discrimination and acceptance of diversity.

The characters in Kinky Boots are jaunty and engaging, and we want Charlie, Lola and their workers to succeed and shine, not just in Northampton, but also on the critical, fashion catwalk in Milan.

David Rockwell’s set design boldly contrasts the grim, brown-brick factory exterior and its dilapidated shop floor, with the gaudy glamour of Lola and her Angels who are costumed (Gregg Barnes) in bold coloured lamé, sequins and, of course, the titular, kinky boots.

Kinky Boots may be a bit preachy and not the most memorable of musicals, but it should win audiences with its pop melodies, ostentatious choreography, extravagant costuming and simple sentiments.

By Kate Herbert