When something is deemed “feel good,” it’s almost an automatic eye-roll, isn’t it? Because “feel good” can’t be authentic, can’t be important, and can’t carry weight.
Well, I’ve got good news for you guys. Kinky Boots– directed and choreographed by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell, and playing a lightning-fast engagement at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre- skips right past “feel good” and soars to a new plane I like to call “heart-burstingly wonderful.”
The premise is simple. Charlie (played by the adorable and ridiculously talented Adam Kaplan) has inherited the family shoe business; staid, exceptionally British and, insofar as factories go, not doing so hot. The solution is slightly more surprising, what with the introduction of Drag Queen extraordinaire Lola (J. Harrison Ghee, who should pretty much be handed whatever role he fancies for the rest of his stage career) and the idea that perhaps the factory could get a boost from some high, high heels.
I expected to like it; after all, with a book by Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein and a score by Grammy winner Cyndi Lauper (who also, incidentally, won a Tony for samesuch score), it was bound to be fun. I didn’t expect, however, to alternate between laughter, tears, and cheers- sometimes within the same song. “The Most Beautiful Thing in the World,” an ode to shoes, was rollicking and set the perfect tone for a group of people for whom shoes are, quite literally, the entire world, while “Not My Father’s Son” was a heartbreakingly raw and honest moment between Lola and Charlie about fathers, hopes, and dreams. (No names, but the guy I happened to come to the theater with spent the majority of that number pretending he wasn’t choking back Man Tears.)
Credit: Matthew Murphy
Another standout (in a show incredibly stacked with them), was Tiffany Engen as factory gal pal Lauren, who convinces Charlie to think outside the box/sensible heel. Her “The History of Wrong Guys” is comedy at its finest, and you root for her- and her killer range- from that point onward. Lola’s crew of dancing backup Angels are pitch perfect, gorgeous as heck, and made me wonder if I shouldn’t be shooting for a little bit more glam in my day-to-day life.
Kinky Boots is a must-see, and one which will guarantee you’ll be humming the incredible score for days. This glittery, warm hug of a production is everything we love about “finding your true self” tales; powerful, satisfying, and with a few extra doses of fabulous, to boot.
***
Runs through September 4th
at the Oriental Theatre, 24 West Randolph, Chicago
www.broadwayinchicago.com
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