Kinky Boots opened on April 4, 2013 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. The feel-good musical is based on a 2005 British film that in turn was based on a 1999 BBC documentary. Two award winning producers, Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig, saw the film and thought it would be perfect fodder for a musical. Amazingly, Roth saw the film in Utah while Luftig saw it in London. Despite the miles between them, they partnered and eventually hired Harvey Fierstein to pen the book and Cyndi Lauper to write the music and lyrics. This was Lauper’s first foray into the world of musical theater composition.
For a rookie, Lauper did quite well. She won the Tony Award for Best Score making her the first woman to win the award all by herself. In total, Kinky Boots received 13 Tony Award nominations. It won six including Best Musical. The show’s success at selling Kinky Boots tickets, and wining Tony Awards, was something of an upset. The musical Matilda was drooled over by critics and picked up 12 Tony Award nominations—it was the early favorite to run table at the Tonys. In the end, it was Kinky Boots’ heart that won out.
It’s fitting that Kinky Boots is something of an underdog musical. After all, the show is about Charlie Price, a young man who inherits his father struggling shoe factor. To keep the factory from closing, and to save the livelihood of its employees, Charlie decides to partner with Simon/Lola, a drag performer. Together they will design and manufacture a line of women’s shoes for men called “Kinky Boots.” To save the shoe store, Charlie must find common ground with Simon/Lola and earn the respect of the factory workers who think he’s a spoiled rich kid.
The original Broadway cast starred Stark Sands as Charlie and Billy Porter as Lola/Simon. Both actors were with the show when it started in Chicago. The cast album dropped on May 28, 2013. It debuted at number 51 on the Billboard 200. That may not sound very good but it was the best performing Broadway cast recording since The Book of Mormon.