By Pam Harbaugh
Kinky Boots is made of such strong stuff that it survives time…and politics. In fact, Riverside Theatre’s winning cast and crew find the heart and fun in its flawless production of the Tony Award-winning musical and rightfully gets its standing ovation.
Nevertheless, those who are sent to the swooning couch at the mere mention of the term “drag queens” may want to dress warmly because their minds will be opened.
Written by Harvey Fierstein with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, Kinky Boots is layered with self-acceptance, courage and a huge dollop of delight. It links plot, character and music with Fierstein’s trademark flamboyant humor and warmth like that seen in his play Torch Song Trilogy, in his Tony Award winning book for La Cage aux Folles and in his Tony Award-winning portrayal of Edna Turnblad in the stage musical Hairspray.
And Lauper’s Tony Award-winning score fit ecstatically into this show. If you only know her for “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” you will go away impressed at her music and lyrics, which are fresh, winning and speak with heart. There’s the fun little number “The History of Wrong Guys” through to the grand show-stopper “Hold Me in Your Heart.”
The storyline is set in an old English shoe factory in Northampton, about 60 miles outside of London. The factory is already teetering on the edge of insolvency when the owner suddenly dies and his son, Charlie, begrudgingly takes over.
Enter the inciting incident: Charlie comes to the rescue of who he thinks is a woman being threatened by a couple of thugs. However, the person is actually a drag queen named Lola who has a mean right hook and has no problem taking care of herself. Charlie forgets to duck and gets knocked out. He comes to backstage at a drag queen show with Lola and her Angels.
And that’s when the show whips into fourth gear. A bevvy of dancing, finger snapping, oh-no-you-didn’t drag queens strut to the edge of the stage and take over. It is quite impossible not to at least tap your foot when they perform. They are so much fun, you’d like to nestle down with one or two and have them read you a fairy tale.
It also launches the plot into unexpected territory when Charlie realizes that the shoe factory could serve a niche market — cross-dressers and drag queens who want to wear dazzling stiletto heels.
Riverside’s Kinky Boots has some terrific performances, especially by Darius Harper as Lola, the drag queen who likes to quote Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself, everybody else is taken.” Lola helps the shoe factory create boots that are all about S.E.X. Harper gives it all in his performance. He also has a most touching scene with the factory bully.
But here…oh boy…you also get a final number, “Hold Me in Your Heart,” that leaves Beyoncé in its dust. It’s there, where Harper, dressed in a long, white, flowing gown, stands down center in the spotlight, singing out his heart, soul and body, as if he’s molding his persona with every line. You might have seen Harper perform already in first national tours of Kinky Boots, The Book of Mormon and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Josh Canfield makes a perfect Charlie. While his character is on the surface awkward and arrogant, Canfield brings a winning and likable quality to the young man who has been thrust into running a large business and being responsible for its employees. He’s especially endearing in his sincere friendship with Lola. He makes it all look so easy, even in his show stopping “The Soul of a Man,” in which he laments being hurtful to others: “I’m all used up, I’m chaffed and chewed up/Who’s just screwed up, the same old Charlie hitting the ground.”
There’s the lovely moment when Charlie and Lola, who on the surface are night and day different, discover they are very much alike when they sing “I’m Not My Father’s Son.”
Emily Bacino Althaus is both adorable and appealing as the factory worker Lauren, who discovers she has a crush on Charlie. In “The History of Wrong Guys” she sings about all the wrong men she’s dated and how she’s destined to do it all over again because Charlie is not only her boss, but he’s also engaged. Bacino Althaus is hysterical in this number as she uses a pneumatic device to dry off her sudden perspiring underarms and then blow back her hair while she sings à la J.Lo. She’s got a sly comic gift and perfect comic timing. Her background is mostly in regional theater, but keep an eye out for this confident talent.
Other standouts in the show are Dane Agostinis as Don, a luggish factory worker who turns his head around and learns to respect the man called Lola; and the bevy of marvelously festooned dancing drag queens who backup Lola, especially Sam Rohloff — the one in the green dress and red wig in the second number. He is take-no-prisoners fantastic and will he please take that character and make an exercise video.
Director/choreographer DJ Salisbury moves “Kinky Boots” with crisp pacing without weakening the more tender moments. The show focuses in on the characters and the heart. His choreography is some of the best he’s done, and that’s saying a lot when you consider the breadth and depth of his work from shows like Carousel (that ballet in the second act is unforgettable) and last season in Man of La Mancha.
Music director Jeffrey Campos delivers solid work in both his direction of the singing and in leading the 10-piece pit orchestra.
Scenic designer Cliff Simon, lighting designer Yael Lubetzky and costume designer Kurt Alger work so sublimely together. The visuals they bring to Kinky Boots are exciting, beautiful and perfectly designed. The design for the Milan fashion show is stunning and sleekly sophisticated.
And a shout-out to the Wojcik Casting Team in New York City. It is refreshing to see real people inhabiting the roles of the factory workers.
This is a fun show. It has talent and it has heart. You don’t want to miss it.
Kinky Boots runs through March 17 at Riverside Theatre, 3250 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach, Fla. Tickets start at $45. For more information, call 772-231-6990 or visit RiversideTheatre.com.
This is a version of Pam Harbaugh’s review running in VeroNews.com.
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