Kinky Boots
Sunderland Empire
Until Saturday 6th July
2019
A
feelgood hit to start the summer, Kinky Boots is a happy musical that both
entertains and poses some deep questions about identity and acceptance. It has
landed in Sunderland for two weeks and with its live band and fabulous cast, it
is great night out.
Some of
our older readers may recall a BBC tv series called Trouble At The Top?
In one 1999 episode, a struggling shoe company, called W J Brooks Ltd, had
decided to launch a range of male fetish shoes under the brand Divine
Footwear. This inspired Geoff Deane and Tim Firth to write the screenplay
for the film Kinky Boots, based upon that company, which
hit the cinemas in 2005. Fast forward to 2013 and the Harvey Fierstein penned
Broadway musical made its debut, complete with songs from the 80s star Cyndi
Lauper.
In this
tale, Charlie Price (Joel Harper-Jackson) inherits the family
business Price & Sons. He is the fourth generation to run the firm
but it is in a bad way as fewer people are buying well made, but dull shoes for
men. Adding to his problems is that his heart is in real estate and he’d rather
be in London with his fiancée, Nicola (Helen Ternent). A chance meeting with
drag queen Lola (Kayi Ushe) makes him realise that there is a market for very
sturdy stilettos...
The show starts with Don (Demitri Lampra) walking
across the stage, taking a call and pointing out that phones shouldn’t be used.
This was a different way to get the message across and it seemed to work were I
was sitting – a nice chance not to have the glare of a mobile screen distracting
from your view of the stage.
The show has a number of highlights: real
chemistry between the cast’s central characters, a fabulous score played by a talented
live band under musical director Patrick Hurley, a great ensemble which
includes the unforgettable Angels and a fairly decent book.
The main character battles play off nicely.
Central to them all is Joel Harper-Jackson’s Charlie. Helen Ternent plays a
high maintenance girlfriend who is very materialistic. The character is not
that likeable as Charlie has much more heart with regards loyalty to his
employees. Speaking of which there are some great moments between Charlie and
Lauren, played by soap-star Paula Lane, and between Charlie and the factory manager
George (Adam Price).
The show-stealing action tends to be whenever
Kayi Ushe fills the stage with their presence. Playing a larger than life
character, Lola, and with some great songs including The Sex Is In The Heel
and What A Woman Wants, Kayi’s charisma is as much about how it is said –
or not spoken – that makes the difference. Lola had the bulk of the funnier
moments too. The standoff with Demitiri’s Don adds much to chat about on the
way home too.
Cyndi Lauper’s score is not a lazy melody that
repeats the vocal line. The music supports the narrative. It didn’t feel like
padding in the 2 ½ hour show, including interval.
The choreography, especially from Lola’s dancers
‘the Angels’ was in the tone of the rest of the show: both brassy and sometimes
sentimental. The set, mainly of the factory, helped the story to develop
without breaks. I did think performing on the conveyor belts did look
hazardous!
Niggles? It was first night and the sound at the
start had some issues especially with one mic – but it was resolved.
In my opinion, this musical was better than the film. We left
the theatre feeling really positive, even though it was raining the weather
couldn’t dampen our spirits. It may be The Full Monty (without the
stripping) meets Priscilla Queen of the Desert at times but that
distillation of success in the face of adversity is not that easy to get right.
Now we need to add the cast recording to our collection. This show is a lot of
fun.
Review: Stephen Oliver
Photos: Helen Maybanks
Book:
Harvey Fierstein
Composer &
Lyricist: Cyndi
Lauper
Director &
Choreographer: Jerry Mitchell
Musical Supervision,
Arranger & Orchestrator: Stephen
Oremus
Scenic Design: David
Rockwell
Costume Design: Gregg
Barnes
Lighting
Design: Kenneth
Posner
Sound
Design: John
Shivers
Hair
Design: Josh
Marquette
Tickets:
Tickets available in person at the Box Office on High Street West,
Sunderland from the Ticket Centre on 0844 871 3022* or online from our
affiliate ATG Tickets at http://bit.ly/KinkyBSund * #Ad
*Calls cost 7p per minute plus your plus your phone company's
access charge. Booking and transaction fees may apply.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.