REVIEW: Packemin Productions' KINKY BOOTS Delights And Enlightens at Riverside Theatre.

Saturday 10th September 2022, 7:30pm, Riverside Theatre Parramatta

Cindy Lauper (music and lyrics) and Harvey Fierstein's (book) multi award winning KINKY BOOTS is given the Packemin Productions treatment in a high energy production. Under Jessica Fallico's direction, drawing on Tanya Mitford's original direction and choreography, the 2012 musical based on the 1999 motion picture about acceptance and respect is presented with heart and humor.

Reluctantly taking control of Price and Son shoe factory following his father's sudden death, Charlie (Adam Rennie ) initially just wants to cut his losses and shut down the factory and focus on his new life in London with fiancé Nicola (Krystal Meyer) but he gradually realizes that the people he is giving notice to aren't just workers, they are people he's known all his life. When factory worker Lauren (Laura Garrick) refuses to accept that the factory is finished and instead floats the idea of finding a new niche market Charlie remembers Lola (Nat Jobe), the Drag Queen with a broken heel that he tried to help in London, but the conservative South Midlands native needs a few lessons in acceptance and understanding, along with fashion advice, before the collaboration can be fully realized.

While at first glance KINKY BOOTS feels like a brilliant piece of fiction, it is based on the real story of Steve Pateman's efforts to reinvigorate W J Brooks and Co, his family business that had been operating since 1889. Over the years the Earls Barton Northamtonshire shoe factory had served different markets, from waders for fishermen, to warm high boots for Russian Cossacks, brogues and standard dress shoes and government commissions during the Great War and WWII but the speed of fashion changes and increased availability of cheaper imports was affecting business and by 1997 Pateman was laying off staff. While Geoff Deane and Tim Firth's (screenplay) movie took artistic licence with the idea of catering to transgender and drag queen communities coming from a factory worker, W J Brooks and Co was given a brief reprieve after the owner of a clothing store for transgender and drag queens asked for a line of women's shoes suitable to support the weight of a man.

Multi-talented Nat Jobe is a perfect fit for Lola/Simon, the Drag Queen. Jobe has brilliant comic sensibilities, landing lines with precision timing and having a wickedly expressive physicality that can share so much with just a gesture or a look. Jobe's vocals are powerful and seductive, ensuring that the audience sees that when presenting to the world as Lola, they feel fierce, strong and sexy, in contrast to the pure vulnerability the feel when they attempt to 'fit in' to the factory by dressing as Simon in suits and lace up shoes. Jobe's renditions of I'm Not My Father's Son and Hold Me In Your Heart are truly heartbreaking as he expresses the poignant reality that the person he most wants to understand and accept him, his father (Haji Myrteza), can't. Cameron Boxall's chorography is executed beautifully and Jobe is a natural in the six-inch heels and shimmering frocks.

While Adam Rennie initially presents the conservative Charlie with suitable restraint in keeping with Lauren's assessment of his 'pre-Lola' persona as a "limp, lackluster bore", he captures Charlie's growth and awareness of the importance of acceptance and respect and not blindly accepting the expectations and attitudes of society or his high school sweetheart Nicola. Rennie has a wonderful vocal style that definitely suits the more reflective and 'aware' songs like The Soul Of A Man and I'm Not My Father's Son. Given the works are so well known, the Broadway production receiving 6 Tony Awards out of 12 nominations and the West End Production receiving 3 Laurence Olivier Awards out of 6 nominations, it is understandable that Rennie seeks to put his own stamp on Charlie with sublte tempo changes to Step One and Take What You Got.

Lola's Angels are presented by Cameron Boxall, Jackson Buntin, Ethan Dzang, David Green, Tom Gustard, Olivier Rahmé, James Tolhurst-Close and Damon Wilson. The octet ensure that each Angel has their own unique character while still presenting tight ensemble dances. They ensure that the Angels strike a balance between the formidable power of a Drag Queen while having a playfulness and nuanced interaction with Price and Son's factory staff.

As Lauren, Laura Garrick is a breath of fresh air, presenting strong vocals and a fabulous comic timing and physical expression, particularly in her solo The History Of Wrong Guys. She ensures that the audience sees Lauren as 'real', not consumed with image and status like Nicola while still making it clear that Lauren is a strong woman that will speak her mind and stand up to Charlie. While Krystal Meyer's role of Nicola is smaller, she ensures that the interactions express that she's more opportunistic and more concerned achieving the life she's planned out in her head than entertaining Charlie's new ideas. Her expression of Nicola's reaction to Lola reinforces the contrast between Nicola and Lauren as well as a reinforcement of how much Charlie has evolved since meeting Lola even though he still has lessons to learn.

While there were sound tech issues on the night reviewed with body mic's not operating correctly at times, overall this production is presented to a high standard with professionals in the lead and supporting roles. Costumes and set have been sourced from CLOC Musical Theatre's production which draws inspiration from Jerry Mitchell's original Broadway production. For anyone looking for a fun night out, KINKY BOOTS is well worth seeing and any chance to see Adam Rennie and Nat Jobe perform should never be missed.

https://riversideparramatta.com.au/show/kinky-boots/

Photos: Grant Leslie

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