They’re dazzling, dangerous and devil-red. They’re the infamous footwear giving Broadway’s ever-joyful but sometimes too pointed new musical “Kinky Boots” its name.
Thanks to director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell, the high-heeled traffic-stoppers make their first appearance in head-turning fashion. It’s like a “Hello, Dolly” star entrance, but instead of a staircase, it’s a factory conveyor belt. Hello, Kinky.
The real star of this show, though, is Cyndi Lauper, who wrote the songs to go with Harvey Fierstein’s story. The Queens-born pop diva is known for hits like “True Colors” and “Time After Time,” and Lauper’s first Broadway score is, like her, multicolored, surprising and fun. Songs trek from pop and English pub to R&B, soul and rock and beyond. They pack heart and hooks, add shading to characters and nudge the story forward. If “Everybody Say Yeah” is more marketing tool than great song, Stephen Oremus’ arrangements make it and every tune an ear-tickler.
“Kinky Boots” is drawn from a small 2005 British fact-based film about an English footwear factory in danger of going under, taking with it a family legacy and local jobs. But then, the shoe biz boldly went niche. It shifted from men’s brogues to kinky boots for burly drag queens. The idea comes like a flash — foretold cleverly in a Lauper lyric: “We give good epiphany.”
This show is all about change — how scary, wonderful, hard it is. It makes the point through an unlikely bromance between mild-mannered Charlie Price (Stark Sands), who reluctantly inherits the business after his father dies, and Lola (Billy Porter), a flashy drag queen whose given name was Simon. Charlie’s straight with a girlfriend, Nicola (Celina Carvajal). Lola’s gay with attitude — and gowns. Different worlds. But they share disappointed dads. The wistful, if overlong, duet “I’m Not My Father’s Son” conveys that.
Fierstein (“Torch Song Trilogy,” “A Catered Affair”) knows his way around family dramas. He expertly connects the dots between Charlie and Lola and the factory folks. He wedges in trademark quips, like when Lola declares, “Sex shouldn’t be comfy.” A female line worker replies, “Oh, good. I thought it was just me.”
His script has issues like a pair of shoes: the left fits; the right pinches. After-intermission is a bit of a letdown. Plot twists, including narrow-minded bloke Don (Daniel Sherman), are manufactured. He drives the message of acceptance with a steel-toed boot.
Despite those missteps, Mitchell’s production moves lickety-split, and his dancing drag queens — yes, reminiscent of recent “La Cage aux Folles” and “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” — are eye-poppers. The staging is also a looker thanks to David Rockwell’s sets, which glide from grubby factory to glittery club; Gregg Barnes’ vibrant costumes, and Kenneth Posner’s luxe lighting.
Porter (“Dreamgirls”) is a force of nature as Lola. Sands (“American Idiot”), in the tamer role, makes Charlie wonderfully appealing. Annaleigh Ashford (“Dogfight”) turns her musical lament about choosing the wrong men into a sweet highlight. Andy Kelso is terrific as Charlie’s old pal; it’s too bad he has just one scene.
My favorite scene follows Charlie as he faces his future at the factory in the song “Step One.” It’s another reminder of what musicals have in common with shoes: They can both lift you up. Even with some stumbles, “Kinky Boots” is a high time.
