TV: First Look at Tiki Barber in KINKY BOOTS

On Friday evening, January 18, 2019, Kinky Boots welcomed to the stage for the first time, Tiki Barber, a former American Football running back who played for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. Barber plays the role of "Don" in the Tony Award®-winning musical at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street) for a limited run through Sunday, March 3, 2019.

We've got your first look at clips of Barber in the show, and taking his first bows. Check out the video!

Barber has taken over the role from original cast member Daniel Stewart Sherman who has temporarily left to appear in My Very Own British Invasion at Paper Mill Playhouse. He will return to the role of "Don" on Monday, March 4, 2019 and stay through the show's final performance on Sunday, April 7.

"I am so excited to be making my Broadway debut in Kinky Boots," Tiki Barber said. "I was very fortunate to be part of the New York Giants for 10 years and feel incredibly lucky to be part of another New York institution: Broadway."

Tiki Barber serves as co-host of CBS Sports Radio's national afternoon program, "Tiki & Tierney," alongside broadcast partner, Brandon Tierney. The show, heard across the country from 3p-6p, ET, airs on the nation's largest 24/7 major-market radio network, and is simulcast on CBS Sports Network. Barber graduated from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce (Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society), with a concentration in Management Information Systems in 1997. At UVA, Barber excelled both academically and athletically on the football field. In 1996 he was named the ACC Player of the Year. After leaving Charlottesville, he began a 10 year NFL career with the New York Football Giants, retiring in 2007 as the Giants all-time leading rusher, and all- purpose yardage leader. In 2010, he was inducted into the New York Giants Inaugural Ring of Honor class. And in January 2011, he was enshrined into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. Barber began his broadcasting career in 1999 working for CBS RADIO's WFAN, which led to stints at WCBS-TV, Sirius Satellite Radio, the YES Network and eventually as a morning host on Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends. Upon retiring from the NFL, Barber signed a contract to work as a correspondent for NBC News and Sports, primarily The TODAY Show and Football Night in America, but also covering the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing for MSNBC. Barber is also an entrepreneur, co-founding Julius, Inc & Thuzio, Inc.
Julius is a SaaS solution for influencer search and procurement. Thuzio, a membership event and content creation company, produces memorable live and unfiltered conversations with legends in sports and entertainment.

Barber is a board member of the Fresh Air Fund, and KultureCity - an nonprofit focused on creating acceptance and inclusion for individuals, and their families, with autism. He is consistently involved with his alma mater, and is on the Emeritus Board of Managers of the University of Virginia Alumni Association, as well as Larry Sabado's Center For Politics Board of Advisors. Tiki is also an author, co-authoring, with his twin brother, Ronde, three successful children's books and eight young-adult novels. He also released an memoir of his playing days, "Tiki: My Life in the Game and Beyond," in September 2007.

Kinky Boots most recently announced that the Tony Award-winning, record-shattering Broadway production will play its final performance on Sunday, April 7, 2019. At the time of its closing, the musical will be the 25th longest-running production in Broadway history, having played 2,507 regular performances and 34 previews.

Kinky Boots continues playing on stages throughout the globe and is currently represented with a London production in its fourth year (having won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Musical), a North American National Tour in its fifth year and a Japanese production returning to Tokyo and Osaka for a second season this coming Spring. Previous international productions of Kinky Boots include a UK & Ireland Tour, a Germany production, a Korean production which completed a third successful season this past spring, an extended run in Toronto (winner of the Dora Award for Best Musical) and an award-winning Australian production. The Grammy Award-winning Original Broadway Cast Recording of Kinky Boots is available on Sony Masterworks Broadway.

The winner of six 2013 Tony® Awards, including Best Musical, Kinky Boots features a Tony® Award-winning score by Cyndi Lauper, a book by Tony® Award-winner Harvey Fierstein and direction and choreography by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell.

Based on the Miramax film written by Geoff Deane & Tim Firth, Kinky Boots tells the uplifting and heartwarming tale of Charlie Price, a young man reluctantly taking over his family's struggling shoe factory and looking for a fresh idea. Charlie meets and finds inspiration in Lola and together, they discover that it takes a good friend to make a great pair.

The design team for Kinky Boots includes Tony® Award-winner David Rockwell (Scenic Design), Tony® Award-winner Gregg Barnes (Costume Design), Tony Award-winner Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design), Tony® Award-winner John Shivers (Sound Design), Josh Marquette (Hair Design), Randy Houston Mercer(Make-up Design), Telsey + Company (Casting), with Musical Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations by Tony and Grammy Award-winner Stephen Oremus.