BWW Reviews: KINKY BOOTS THE MUSICAL Captures Nashville's Heart

There comes a moment, early on in the second act of Kinky Boots the Musical (which opened at TPAC's Andrew Jackson Hall last night), during which an in-over-his-head Charlie Price is berating and insulting Lola, the drag queen-turned-designer who has been working tirelessly to change the fortunes of Charlie's family-owned shoe business. As staged in the six-time Tony Award-winning show, the moment is at once tremendously uncomfortable and remarkably eye-opening, making the audience squirm in their seats due to their unease and the sense of voyeuristic embarrassment they feel, as if they have come upon such a scene happening in their real lives instead of seeing it play out onstage. And though it may sound cliché: You could hear a pin drop anywhere in that great auditorium, as more than 2,000 people held their collective breath in anticipation of what was to come.

It's an especially dark and dramatic moment that occurs amid a cavalcade of visually stimulating and colorful moments in the show that speaks to each and every individual in the hall on their own terms - and it represents the sheer force and awesome power of theater to transport audiences to another time and place, to transform what might have been long-held beliefs into something different, perhaps something they never could have imagined. As chilling as that scene is, as discomfiting as it may feel, it's also something bigger and grander, something greater and infinitely more compelling: it's life-changing. And that is what theater is all about.

Contrast the darkness and depth of that scene with the completely joyful and awe-inspiring finale - "Raise You Up/Just Be" - that rivals anything you've previously experienced in the confines of a darkened auditorium and you find yourself caught up in the magic of live theater at its most imaginative. Even the coldest of hearts will be melted by the energy coming off that expansive TPAC stage, and you'll leave the theater with a lightness in your step that betrays you as a musical theater devotee. It's as thrilling as you can possibly imagine, inspiring you to be a better human in the process.

With music and lyrics that run the gamut of pop music and Broadway's best by the iconic Cyndi Lauper and with a sharply focused and witty book by Harvey Fierstein, based upon the film, which in turn was inspired by a true story, Kinky Boots the Musical is brought to life onstage by a superbly cast company of actors under the sensitive and somehow larger-than-life direction of Jerry Mitchell, whose choreography allows the show to soar while keeping it grounded in a heightened sense of reality that serves the source material with respect and more than a little chutzpah.

Riding into Music City fairly afloat upon a veritable tsunami of marketing and public relations endeavors, with glowing notices and rave reviews from every stop on their tour to date and enough awards bling to make Antoinette Perry blush, the Kinky Boots company were greeted by prolonged ovations and exhortations from their legions of Tennessee fans. The roaring approval of essentially every member of their opening night audience proved the show's Tony Awards haul was justified, and underscoring the show's universal appeal - even in the bloody-red-state-conservative-South.

Personifying the show's theme of "just be who you wanna be" (which dovetails nicely into Lauper's 1980s anthem "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" to give your life meaning in the 21st Century), the cast bring their characters to life with such aplomb and panache that the thundering applause with which they were rewarded at the conclusion of the finale seemed only fitting - a mere pittance in comparison to the sincere affection and joie de vivre that had built up during the exhilarating two-and-a-half hours of heartwarming storytelling cloaked in all manner of show business razzle-dazzle.

David Rockwell's scenic design provides the ideal backdrop against which the play's action takes place, whether it's the Price and Sons shoe factory in working class Northampton, England, the pseudo-glamour of a slightly decadent London drag club or a high-fashion showroom in Milan. Consequently, Kenneth Posner's lighting design shows off Rockwell's set to perfection, while it's hard to imagine any actors being more gorgeously lit than they are in Kinky Boots.

Nor can we imagine them being more sumptuously costumed than they are in Gregg Barnes' eye-poppingly gorgeous creations for the world of Kinky Boots. Barnes' designs are so beautifully conceived and so artfully realized that they rival anything we've ever seen onstage, obviously ensuring that each character is carefully and thoughtfully delineated even before the actors create their own sense of magic.

Magic - or, perhaps, theatrical alchemy - might best describe the palpable sense of creativity exhibited by Mitchell's ensemble, from his show's leads (Steven Booth as the stolid Charlie and J. Harrison Ghee in his starmaking debut as the other-worldly Lola) to the Angels (Lola's drag club cohorts who act as something of Greek active/passive chorus) and the habitues of Price and Son's shoe factory, the very working class people of Northampton whose story inspired the whole Kinky Boots saga.

Booth's performance of the grieving Charlie (in the show's first five minutes, we learn his backstory and witness the death of his beloved father, whose passion for shoes fuels the play's action - particularly in the opening number that is a paean to shoes of every shape and size) is winningly measured and controlled, allowing his second act transformation to pack more of an emotional wallop in the process. His onstage chemistry with Ghee, which is noteworthy since their onstage partnership made its first bow in Nashville, is warm and genuine, while he playfully interacts with Grace Stockdale, as his ambitious fiancée Nicola, and Lindsay Nicole Chambers as Lauren, the factory worker who nurses a crush on him throughout the show.

The chemistry between Booth and Ghee is perhaps best on display during "Not My Father's Son," in which the two lament the failings of their own father-son relationships in a scene that draws them together as comrades and compatriots. It's an emotionally stirring number that shows off Lauper's way with words and melody that catapult her to the front ranks of musical theater tunesmwiths.

Ghee is nothing short of spectacular as Lola, a character so exquisitely written and so beautifully coiffed (by hair designer Josh Marquette) and stunningly clad in Barnes' gowns that you cannot help but be awestruck. Clearly, it's a weighty role, and Ghee rises to the challenge of presenting a Lola who is far more than any fictional character (even one based on a real person) and who becomes the catalyst for change - not only among the play's characters, but we hope among the adoring audiences who will fill the TPAC seats this week. Ghee's commanding performance of "Hold Me In Your Heart" is heartrending; you might keep a handkerchief handy just in case you are moved to tears (which, I confess, I was).

Lola's Angels are showy and delightful, strutting around the stage with confidence and gleeful abandon, easily wrapping each audience member around their alluring fingers. Kudos to Darius Harper, Tommy Martinez, Nick McGough, Ricky Schroeder, Juan Torres-Falcon and Hernando Umana, for their fun and flirty performances. Special notice is due also to Joe Coots (as Don, the factory worker whose metamorphosis likely mirrors much of the audiences') Craig Waletzko (factory factotum George, who displays a surprising sense of whimsy) and Nashville's own Blair Goldberg (we can rightfully claim her as one of our own after her Nutty Professor summer spent here in 2012) who will represent our abiding respect and affection for all the Price and Sons' factory workers.

Be sure to keep your eyes on Anthony Picarello and Andrew Theo Johnson (playing the younger Charlie and Lola), who are especially fun to watch in the show's curtain call.

Lauper's score is performed with the requisite flair it calls for by the 17-member orchestra, under the direction of conductor Adam Souza's experienced hand, and featuring five of Nashville's finest musicians along with the estimable touring band. The result is as glorious as you might expect.

• Kinky Boots the Musical. Music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper. Book by Harvey Fierstein. Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. Music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations by Stephen Oremus. Music direction by Adam Souza. Produced by Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig, et al. Presented at Andrew Jackson Hall, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville. Through Sunday, February 8. For details, go to www.TPAC.org. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (with one 15-minute intermission).

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