Review: KINKY BOOTS, King's Theatre

Strutting its way into the King's Theatre in Glasgow for one week only is the new production of Kinky Boots. First opening on Broadway in 2013, Kinky Boots is based on true events with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper. 

Charlie Price (Dan Partridge) is expected to take over the family business- Price and Sons Shoes. The problem is that Charlie isn't keen on staying in Northampton and is even less keen on shoe production. He sets off for London with his girlfriend and then receives the news that his father has passed away and he needs to return to run the factory. Unfortunately, the factory is in dire straits and there isn't the same demand for well-made brogues as there once was. 

Charlie is set to sell off the factory and give the workers their two weeks notice when he meets Lola (Johannes Radebe). A force of nature, Lola is a sassy drag queen and when Charlie attempts to come to her aid in a dark alley, he realises that her high-heeled boots are poorly made. This sparks an idea- making women's shoes that are built for men/drag queens. 

With some of the workers having a small-town mindset, the idea doesn't exactly go down well with everyone in the factory. At its heart, Kinky Boots is an uplifting story about learning to accept people for who they are. 

With original choreography from the Broadway production by Jerry Mitchell, there's additional choreography from associate choreographer Johnny Bishop. To have a dancer like Johannes Radebe leading your cast and not ramp up the dance in this production would be criminal. It's also clear that Radebe hasn't taken his musical debut lightly- he's working his (fabulous) boots off. He's got brilliant comic timing and brings the emotion to songs like "Hold Me In Your Heart" and "Not My Father's Son". 

Dan Partridge does a brilliant job playing the complex character Charlie. You could initially feel quite sorry for this young man who finds himself responsible for the livelihoods of the workers he's known since he was a child. What follows is some pretty appalling behaviour and then (spoiler) redemption. Partridge takes us on this character's journey and belts outsome cracking numbers such as "Soul of a Man" and "Step One".

The ensemble tracks like "Everybody Say Yeah"; "The Sex Is In The Heel" and "Raise You Up" are a lot of fun and what makes this such a feel-good show. It's a brilliant cast with some great vocal talent from the likes of Courtney Bowman as Lauren and Scott Paige as George. 

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