BWW Reviews: KINKY BOOTS at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
By: Michael Rabice Apr. 22, 2015
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THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR DANCING
Shimmering and strutting with drag queen elegance, the TONY Award winning Best Musical of 2013, Kinky Boots, opened at Shea's Buffalo Theatre last night to rapturous applause by the near capacity audience. With an infectious score by 80's pop icon Cyndi Lauper as well as a fun and often touching book by Harvey Fierstein, Kinky Boots tells the dual story of a failing men's shoe factory in suburban England run by the son (Charlie) of the recently deceased owner and his chance encounter with an over the top drag queen named Lola. These two unlikely characters meet at a time when both need each other's help. Charlie is struggling to find a niche market for his shoe factory and Lola and her fellow drag queens are in need of some boots that can support a man's physique.
Based on a true story that was also made into a feature film, this show took home 6 TONY Awards in the 2013 season and has been playing to packed houses on Broadway ever since. This first national tour is as close to the Broadway production as one is going to get and Buffalo is lucky to get it during it's first year of touring. The large cast easily navigated the complex and ever moving factory set by David Rockwell. TONY Award winning Director and Choreographer Jerry Mitchell has created mesmerizing dance sequences, demonstrating he knows how to build a production number. Having choreographed Broadway's HAIRSPRAY to great acclaim, KINKY BOOT's ACT I finale "Everybody Say Yeah" was fascinating to watch, as the cast expertly maneuvered the stage and danced on moving conveyor belts effortlessly.
J. Harrison Ghee as Lola embodies the role with humor and sarcasm. When dressed as a man (named Simon) the sparkle of Lola is gone, and the vulnerability of a troubled childhood rears itself. Ghee navigated between the flamboyant drag queen diva and a self conscious man searching to find a balance between stage life and everyday work life in the shoe factory. As Lola, he shone as a cross between Whitney Houston and RuPaul. His smokey voice was in full command of Lauper's Act 2 power ballad "Hold Me In Your Heart."
Steven Booth was Charlie, the shoe maker's son who is torn between abandoning the family business for a life in London with his overbearing fiancée. Not as well respected as his father, Charlie is the quiet nerd who takes the length of the show to develop into a powerful boss. Booth's singing voice was on the light side, but bloomed as the evening progressed. Booth and Ghee developed great chemistry as each ultimately learned of the others plight. Charlie's unfamiliarity with drag queens and transvestites, causing him to slip up and call them "trans-veterans" was as funny as Lola's unfamiliarity with how to dress as a man working in a shoe factory. Their duet "Not My Father's Son" was poignant and leant the necessary drama to understand how this union and friendship was needed by both men.
Lindsay Nicole Chambers was Lauren, the factory worker with a secret crush on Charlie. In one of the funniest numbers in the show, "The History of Wrong Guys," Chambers proved to be a great physical comedian full of tics and self deprecating humor. She had the audience in stitches as the underdog who goes on to win the boy. Joe Coots (Don) was the "man's-man" of the factory who takes on the effeminate Lola. His taunting of Lola ends up in a challenge-- a boxing match. Yes, the drag queen boxes with the bully! The outcome decides the ultimate fate of the factory. Coots was perfectly cast and was a force to be reckoned with. With Lola's 6 drag queens in tow, known as the Angels, this impressive group of men were put through their paces executing Mitchell's detailed choreography flawlessly. They amusingly served as the MC's and cheerleaders during the onstage boxing match, "In This Corner."
The ever talented Costume Designer Gregg Barnes spared no expense in his TONY nominated costume designs, most impressively for Lola's many costumes and the Angels over the top drag outfits- not to mention the now iconic design of those red Kinky Boots that are part of the show's logo.
The finale on a runway in Milan ties up the evening neatly and the fashion show that ensues brings on the entire cast, including the factory bullies, Don and his posse, in full thigh high Kinky Boots in every color of the rainbow. "Raise You Up/Just Be" was infectious and the audience was in full agreement in it's acceptance of the factory workers and drag queens new alliance.
KINKY BOOTS plays at Shea's Buffalo Theatre from April 21-26, 2015. For tickets (from $33 - $83), call 1-800-745-3000, go to www.ticketmaster.com or the Shea's Ticket Office, 650 Main Street, Buffalo. Information: www.sheas.org
Performances are Tues. - Thurs. at 7:30 p.m., Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
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