BWW Reviews: KINKY BOOTS in San Francisco

Ladies, gentleman and those who are yet to make up your mind -- strut your stuff down to the Orpheum Theatre and march those stilettos into Kinky Boots! This, mind-bending tour-de-force will open up your mind, open up your heart, and maybe open up your legs -- to dancing in your boots (don't think so dirty!) Playing now through Dec 28th at the Orpheum Theatre Kinky Boots is dazzling, joyous and fun.

What a thrill it was to be there opening night and be a part of the excitement. Winner of six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Kinky Boots follows Charlie (the wonderful Steven Booth), a struggling shoe factory owner who risks everything working to turn his failing business around with help from Lola (Kyle Taylor Parker is amazing), a fabulous drag queen entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos. Together, this unlikely pair finds that they have more in common than they ever dreamed possible... proving that when you change your mind about someone, you can change your whole world.

Hodges and Hodges were out, loud, and proud about their excitement for Kinky Boots!

Linda: I couldn't believe how many audience members came to opening night dressed up in costume. It was fabulous!

Nick: Costumes? Or was that their everyday wear? Maybe we just met a bunch of Lola's!

Linda: LOL. I love this City! All I can say is that all those beautiful bearded women had on some amazingly kinky boots!

Nick: Weren't they fabulous?! I loved the style and sass of the patrons we met. I think I was the most underdressed gay in the theatre.

Linda: You looked dashing as always!

Nick: Well, after seeing all those great outfits, I couldn't wait to see the show. When I walked to my seat the big brick walls with the Price & Son, Northampton, England, Shoe factory sign really grounded the opening for me.

Linda: David Rockwell's set designs worked really well. The factory looked like it had taken over an old church rectory with its many tinted glass windows and refracted light. The exposed iron and metal structures, with hints of rust on seemingly every rivet, were perfect, although I felt like the lighting was sometimes overly dim.

Nick: Rockwell's use of an elevated rolling platform with the staircase going up was genius. It was so well utilized and used in SO many different scenes that it really made the show - set wise. And then the entire stage was magically transformed from a factory to a remarkable stage in Milan.

Linda: But how about the star performer of the night - Lola. Kyle Taylor Parker, who was a member of the original Broadway Company of Kinky Boots, was beyond phenomenal as drag queen Lola. He had the perfect amount of sass, sexiness and sagaciousness. And talk about a voice! To be able to sing like a woman and be so believable and beautiful is a true talent.

Nick: He's a true triple threat (like my triple threat alliteration there - hah!). There wasn't a moment where I didn't connect with Lola and "Simon" on some level and it was wonderful to watch the chemistry between Lola and Charlie throughout the show.

Linda: I liked the character arc that playwright Harvey Fierstein gave Charlie. He gives us a man who doesn't want to step into his father's shoes, but is forced to reconsider doing so after his dad dies. A rag-tag bunch of factory workers who will be out work if Charlie closes up shop are the deciding factor for this dreamer who is suddenly struck by reality.

Nick: And what a great ensemble cast. So many times it's a one-size-fits-all cast with one dancer/singer indistinguishable from the next. Uniformity at all cost.

Linda: But here we had a huge mix of width and breadth adding dimension, depth and distinction to the show. Joe Coots as Don; the factory worker who was the most uncomfortable with Lola and the angels (the other drag queens in her act) was great. As was Bonnie Milligan as Pat, a female factory worker who had a great set of pipes!

Nick: Agreed. You know who was amazing? Lindsay Nicole Chambers as Lauren. She's a factory worker who gets promoted by Charlie and she's looking to promote him to the position of boyfriend. Cute and quirky, her song "The History of Wrong Guys," is hilarious - and yet another reason why composer Cyndi Lauper got her well-deserved Tony.

Linda: And though they had no speaking parts, Lola's Angels made the show pop!

Nick: Yeah, they were something of a Gay Greek Chorus coming in to strut their stuff and bring joy to the world. They had amazing talent and there was no one on stage (except maybe Lola) who had more enthusiasm. Did you notice that during the boxing match how one of the drag queens used one luscious leg as a corner post in the boxing ring sequence?

Linda: The slow motion choreography and flashbulb lighting was a clever trick and the perfect effect for a prize fight. Director/Choreographer Jerry Mitchell, who won the Tony for his work looked like he had a lot of fun with that number.

Nick: The 11 O'clock number (Everybody Say Yeah!) had to be what cinched the Tony win for him! Everything came together in that piece - music, lyrics, choreography, fun. The moving conveyer belts were genius and when the angels used them to make their appearance, the crowd went wild. But what was amazing was that the star in that number was a pair of boots!

Linda: They were just outstanding! Those "two and a half feet of irresistible, tubular sex" were just FAB-U-LOUS!!

Nick: Gregg Barnes outdid himself on the costumes. Each stiletto and boot was bright, colorful and unique and the costumes screamed character for each individual person on stage. Each piece spoke to that person and who they were. I wonder with Queen Elizabeth thought of the British costume.

Linda: A quick shout-out to Nikki West and all the ushers at SHNSF. They are always so courteous and cheerful, adding to the fun of a night out in the City. This theatre critic committed the grievous error of arriving without a pen and Nikki was quick to help out!

Nick: In closing Kinky Boots lifts up tolerance and questions the idea of what it means to be manly, feminine or...? That's why the song "What a Woman Wants" stood out for me. Lola and Don the factory worker go toe-to-toe on this one, each claiming to know what a woman wants. This leads to the challenge that plays center stage in Act Two.

Linda: A last thing about tickets. I've never seen the Orpheum Theatre so packed with people! It is a hot, hot, hot show, so if you're thinking about going (and you should) you better start now! It's a feel GREAT show, because no matter where you are on the spectrum - as Lola would say. . .

Nick: "One never knows what joy one might find amongst the unwanted!" Of course, here in San Francisco, we are a town of misfits, which makes us all fit in - like how life should be everywhere. What I wouldn't give to see this show in a Red State!

KINKY BOOTS
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Music and Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper
Director/Choreographer Jerry Mitchell
Now through Dec 28, 2014
www.shnsf
Photos courtesy of Matthew Murphy

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