Kinky Boots (Musical)
| Musical dates | |
|---|---|
| Original title: | Kinky boots |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Cyndi Lauper |
| Book: | Harvey Fierstein |
| Lyrics: | Cyndi Lauper |
| Original direction: | Jerry Mitchell |
| Premiere: | October 2, 2012 |
| Place of premiere: | Bank of America Theater , Chicago |
| Playing time: | 2 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | England, present |
| Roles / people | |
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Kinky Boots is a musical in two acts by Harvey Fierstein ( musical libretto ) and Cyndi Lauper (music and lyrics). The work premiered on October 2, 2012 in Chicago . It is based on the real-life film Kinky Boots - Man (n) Wears Boots from 2005.
The play is about Charlie Price, who inherits his father's dying shoe factory and, in order to save the company, is looking for a market niche in which the factory can survive. He finds this niche in the production of shoes and boots for drag queens , travesty artists and cross-dressers who need particularly sturdy footwear that should be fashionable at the same time. In doing so, he first encounters resistance from the factory workers, but receives help from the drag queen Lola.
Kinky Boots ran on New York's Broadway from March 2013 to April 2019 and on London's West End from August 2015 to January 2019 . At the 2013 Tony Awards ceremony , the piece received six awards, including “Best Musical” . The London production also received several awards at the Laurence Olivier Awards 2016, including “Best New Musical”.
In Germany the piece ran from December 2017 to September 2018 in the Hamburg Operettenhaus .
background
Kinky Boots is based on the film of the same name , which in turn was inspired by an episode of the documentary series Trouble at the Top on BBC Two . This documentary, first broadcast in 1999, featured Northampton-based shoe manufacturer Steve Pateman , who specialized in footwear for trans women to save the family business from collapse and to preserve the jobs of the employees.
Daryl Roth, a musical producer, saw the film at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 and immediately took a liking to the story, which saw the potential for a stage makeover. Independent of Roth, the producer Hal Luftig saw the film in London and also thought about making it a musical. Daryl Roth secured the rights and worked with Hal Luftig to make the film into a play.
In mid-2008, Roth und Luftig hired Jerry Mitchell as the director and Harvey Fierstein as the librettist. Jerry Mitchell knew that Harvey Fierstein was a close friend of the singer Cyndi Lauper and due to Fierstein's belief in Lauper's musical range she completed the production team in 2010. Lauper took over the songwriting and made her debut in the musical field.
Director Jerry Mitchell also did the choreography. The set was designed by David Rockwell, with whom Mitchell had already worked on the musicals Hairspray and Catch Me If You Can . The costume design was done by Gregg Barnes, the lighting design was done by Kenneth Posner and the sound design was done by John Shivers. Stephen Oremus was hired as musical director and arranger.
After the first tryouts in Chicago in autumn 2012, the book was revised, some new songs were written and other songs were left out, before the previews began on New York's Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theater on March 3, 2013 , where the official Premiere followed.
In January 2014 it was announced that Jerry Mitchell is planning to bring the play to London's West End in 2015 and was in negotiations to find a theater. On February 6, 2015, it was announced that the play would run at the Adelphi Theater , where the previews will be from August 21, 2015 and the official premiere will follow on September 15, 2015. On April 23, 2015, the main actors Killian Donnelly and Matt Henry and other actors were confirmed. Although the piece is set in England, numerous linguistic adjustments have been made to the US version in order to hit the right note.
action
- Act I.
Charlie Price grew up as the son of a shoe manufacturer in the Midlands ; the business is run by his father in the third generation. Charlie's father wants his son to continue the family business, but Charlie wants to move to London with his fiancée Nicola. Simon, a child of a black family, also grew up in the region. Simon's father is concerned about his son's preferences, who loves to dance and puts on his mother's red high heels. When Charlie's father suddenly dies, Charlie goes home for the funeral. There he learns that the factory is as good as bankrupt. The market for high-quality, but somewhat old-fashioned, men's shoes is dwindling, and Charlie has no idea how he could save the company. He wants to close the factory, but at the same time save the jobs of the employees.
Back in London, Charlie unintentionally gets into a violent argument on the street: Simon, who is now adult and who appears as drag queen Lola, is harassed by thugs. After these have moved away, Charlie also gets to know other drag queens from Lola's dance group, the "Angels". By chance he overhears that the high heels they wear, which were actually made for women, cannot bear the weight of a man and therefore break off the heels. Lola explains to him that these expensive and unreliable shoes are a basic requirement of a drag queen - there are more of them than Charlie would suspect. All these drag queens would long for matching, sturdier high heels.
Back in the Midlands, Lauren, an employee who has a soft spot for Charlie, reports that other shoe manufacturers made their living by specializing in small niche markets. Then Charlie came up with the idea of using high heels for drag queens in just such a niche and so he invited Lola to the factory to explain to him what the shoes she wanted should be. Lola and the "Angels" advise Charlie on questions of style and Charlie asks them to stay until the prestigious show begins in Milan, where Charlie wants to present his new designs. Lola should help him to design a new collection "Kinky Boots". The drag queen agrees, while Charlie's fiancée Nicola is furious because Charlie doesn't want to sell the factory and return to London to marry Nicola, instead planning a new shoe collection.
- Act II
Many of the factory workers are hostile to the radical change in production. Some of them, especially the scary Don, make Lola unwelcome. Lola then makes a deal with Don: she will do something that sets Don apart if Don does something that makes Lola unique. Don determines that Lola has to box him, while Lola wants Don to accept a person for who they are. What Don doesn't know is that Lola / Simon had boxing lessons when they were young and even boxed professionally for a short time. So Lola Don is vastly superior in the fight, but in the end lets him win on purpose. After the boxing match, when Lola and Don are alone, Don asks why she did this. Lola replies that she was not cruel and that she wanted to spare him the humiliation in front of all his friends.
Production is now lagging behind and Charlie fears that he will not finish before the show in Milan. Lola makes some production and preparation decisions without consulting Charlie. Charlie then berates Lola and the workers in frustration. Lola leaves the factory angry and the workers go home too, because without Lola they can no longer see any prospects for the factory. Nicola also leaves the depressed Charlie and it seems as if he still has to sell the factory. When Lauren visits Charlie, she encourages him to come back to the factory, where Don has now brought the workers back and they have returned to work. Charlie asks if Don has redeemed his gambling debt with Lola by accepting Lola, but Lauren explains that it is different: the person that Don now accepts as she is is Charlie.
During the final preparations for Milan, Charlie felt guilty about Lola. He realizes that she made a lot of right decisions and he owes her a lot. He knows that it will be much more difficult to sell the boots without Lola and the "Angels" in Milan. Last but not least, he realizes how deep the friendship is between him and Lola / Simon and that he behaved like an idiot. He calls Lola and apologizes on her answering machine.
In the meantime, Simon has seen his father again while appearing as Lola in a nursing home, who is sitting there lethargic in a wheelchair and is close to death. Although he has never accepted his son for who he is, Simon says goodbye to his father and tells him that he loves him in spite of everything. Meanwhile, Charlie and Lauren set off for Milan. Just as the presentation of Charlie's shoes is about to begin, Lola, who has forgiven Charlie, comes with her "Angels" and saves the situation. The entire workforce celebrates the success of the "Kinky Boots" and Charlie and Lauren kiss for the first time.
music
The music is designed for a twelve-piece orchestra, consisting of two keyboards, drums, bass, two guitars, wind instruments (trumpet, trombone), two violins, viola and cello .
The following pieces of music can be heard in the musical:
- Act I.
- “Price & Son Theme” / “The Most Beautiful Thing” ensemble
- "Take What You Got" - Harry, Charlie & guests in the club
- "Land of Lola" - Lola and the "Angels"
- "Land of Lola" (recapitulation) - Lola and the "Angels"
- "Charlie's Soliloquy" - Charlie
- "Step One" - Charlie
- "Sex is in the Heel" - Lola, Pat, George, the "Angels", Lauren, Charlie & factory workers
- "The History of Wrong Guys" - Lauren
- "Not My Father's Son" - Lola & Charlie
- "Everybody Say Yeah" - Charlie, Lola, the "Angels" & factory workers
- Act II
- "Price & Son Theme" (recapitulation) - Ensemble
- "What a Woman Wants" - Lola, Pat, Don, George & the factory workers
- "In This Corner" - Lola, Don, Pat, Trish, the "Angels" & factory workers
- "Charlie's Soliloquy" (reprise) - Charlie
- "Soul of a Man" - Charlie
- "Hold Me in Your Heart" - Lola
- "The History of Wrong Guys" (Reprise) - Lauren
- “Raise You Up” / “Just Be” ensemble
Leading roles and original cast
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| role | Original Broadway cast | Original West End cast | Premiere cast Hamburg 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lola / Simon | Billy Porter | Matt Henry | Gino Emnes |
| Charlie Price | Strong sands | Killian Donnelly | Dominik Hees |
| Lauren | Annaleigh Ashford | Amy Lennox | Jeannine Michèle Wacker |
| Nicola | Celina Carvajal * | Amy Ross | Franziska Schuster |
| Don | Daniel Sherman | Jamie Baughan | Benjamin Eberling |
| George | Marcus Neville | Michael Hobbs | Tilman Madaus |
| Mr. Price | Stephen Berger | Alan Vicary | Frank Logemann |
| Simon Sr. | Eugene Barry-Hill | Robert Grose | Luther Simon |
| Patient | Tory Ross | Chloe Hart | Steffi Irmen |
| Harry | Andy Kelso | Paul Ayres | Marlon Wehmeier |
| Trish | Jennifer Perry | Gillian Hardie | Kaatje Dierks |
| Richard Bailey | John Jeffrey Martin | Michael Vinsen | Sebastian Krolik |
| Stage Manager in Milan | Adinah Alexander | Verity Quade | Fleur Alders |
| Maggie | Caroline Bowman | Bleu Woodward | Denise Jastraunig |
| young Charlie | Sebastian Hedges Thomas | Beau Cripps, Ben Dawson, Edward Green | |
| young Simon | Marquise Neal | Nana Agyeman-Bediako, James Gava, Tumo Reetsang |
* Today Celina Carvajal only calls herself Lena Hall, the name she used for her music career parallel to her acting career.
Performance history
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The musical was first put on the schedule in Chicago at the Bank of America Theater . The premiere celebrated Kinky Boots on October 2, 2012. Directed and choreographed were in the hands of Jerry Mitchell , the stage set designed David Rockwell , was responsible for the costumes Gregg Barnes responsible for lighting technology Kenneth Posner . The sound engineering was directed by John Shivers . On April 4, 2013, the revised musical celebrated its premiere on Broadway and has since conquered other stages.
Rehearsals for the Canadian version began on May 4, 2015 with mostly Canadian actors and with the assistance of the creative team for the Broadway version. According to previews from June 16, 2015, the official premiere was on June 28, 2015. Initially, it was only planned to run until September 2015, but due to the overwhelming success with critics and viewers, it was announced in early July 2015 that the running time would be extended to November has been. Thanks to the continued high demand, there were further extensions until January 3, March 6 and finally until May 15, 2016.
As early as January 2014 it was announced that director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell would also like to bring the play to London and was in negotiations to secure a theater for a premiere in 2015. On February 6, 2015, it was confirmed that the musical would come to the Adelphi Theater in London, where, following previews from August 21, 2015, it will celebrate its official premiere on September 15, 2015.
Performances
- October 2, 2012 - November 4, 2012: Bank of America Theater, Chicago, USA (first tryouts, after which there were some changes to the book and music)
- April 4, 2013 (previews from March 3, 2013) - April 7, 2019: Al Hirschfeld Theater, New York City, USA (34 previews & 2507 performances)
- September 4, 2014 - June 18, 2017: Tour, USA (parallel to Broadway production in New York)
- December 5, 2014 - February 22, 2015: Seoul, South Korea
- June 28, 2015 (previews from June 16, 2015) - May 15, 2016: Royal Alexandra Theater, Toronto, Canada
- September 15, 2015 (previews from August 21, 2015) - January 12, 2019: Adelphi Theater, London, England
- July 21, 2016 - September 4, 2016: Tokyo, Japan
- September 2, 2016 - November 13, 2016: Seoul, South Korea
- September 3, 2016 - February 5, 2017: Malmo, Sweden
- October 12, 2016 - March 26, 2017: Her Majesty's Theater, Melbourne, Australia
- April 12, 2017 - August 13, 2017: Capitol Theater, Sydney, Australia
- August 22, 2017 - October 22, 2017: Lyric Theater, Queensland Performing Arts Center, Brisbane, Australia
- December 3, 2017 (previews from November 26, 2017) - September 30, 2018: Stage Operettenhaus, Hamburg, Germany (343 performances)
- since September 19, 2018: Tour, Great Britain (partly parallel to the Westend production in London)
- June 11, 2019 to February 2, 2020: Fugard Theater, Cape Town, South Africa
Awards and nominations
- Drama Desk Award 2013
- Award for Billy Porter in the category "Outstanding Actor in a Musical"
- Nomination for Annaleigh Ashford in the category "Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical"
- Drama League Award 2013
- Award as "Distinguished Production of a Musical"
- Nomination for Billy Porter in the category "Distinguished Performance"
- Nomination for Stark Sands in the "Distinguished Performance" category
- Outer Critics Circle Award 2013
- Award as "Outstanding New Broadway Musical"
- Award for Cyndi Lauper in the category "Outstanding New Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway)"
- Award for Billy Porter in the category "Outstanding Actor in a Musical"
- Nomination for Harvey Fierstein in the category "Outstanding Book of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)"
- Nomination for Jerry Mitchell in the category "Outstanding Director of a Musical"
- Nomination for Jerry Mitchell in the category "Outstanding Choreographer"
- Nomination for Gregg Barnes in the category "Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical)"
- Nomination for Daniel Stewart Sherman in the category "Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical"
- Nomination for Annaleigh Ashford in the category "Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical"
At the Tony Awards, Kinky Boots was the favorite with the most nominations (13 in 12 categories). Six awards were given, making Kinky Boots the most awarded production of 2013.
- Award as "Best Musical"
- Award for Cyndi Lauper in the category "Best Original Music"
- Award for Billy Porter in the category "Best Actor in a Musical"
- Award for Jerry Mitchell in the category "Best Choreography"
- Award for John Shivers in the category "Best Sound Design"
- Award for Stephen Oremus in the category "Best Orchestration"
- Nomination for Harvey Fierstein in the category "Best musical libretto"
- Nomination for Stark Sands in the category "Best Actor in a Musical"
- Nomination for Annaleigh Ashford in the category "Best Supporting Actress in a Musical"
- Nomination for David Rockwell in the category "Best Stage Design"
- Nomination for Gregg Barnes in the category "Best Costume Design"
- Nomination for Kenneth Posner in the category "Best Light Design"
- Nomination for Jerry Mitchell in the category "Best Musical Director"
- Award in the category "Best Musical Theater Album"
At the Olivier Awards 2016, the London production of Kinky Boots received seven nominations, three of which could be won.
- Award as "Best New Musical"
- Award for Matt Henry in the category "Best Actor in a Musical"
- Award for Gregg Barnes in the category "Best Costume Design"
- Nomination for Killian Donnelly in the category "Best Actor in a Musical"
- Nomination for Amy Lennoy in the category "Best Supporting Actress in a Musical"
- Nomination for Jerry Mitchell in the category "Best Choreography"
- Nomination in the category "Autograph Sound Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music"
Chart success
A music album was released to accompany the musical, on which the pieces of music from the show, sung by the original Broadway cast, can be heard. The album was released on May 28, 2013, production was handled by Cyndi Lauper, Stephen Oremus, and William Wittman. The album debuted at number 51 on the Billboard 200 and reached number 1 on the Billboard Cast Album Charts.
Sound carrier
- Kinky Boots - Original Broadway Cast Recording (Label: Masterworks Broadway, released May 28, 2013)
- Kinky Boots - Original West End Cast Recording (Label: Sony, released April 1, 2016)
Web links
- kinkybootsthemusical.com - Official website of the New York production
- kinkybootsthemusical.co.uk - Official website of the London production
- Stage Entertainment: Kinky Boots Hamburg - Official website of the Hamburg production
- Kinky Boots in the Internet Broadway Database (English)
- Kinky Boots in the Guide to Musical Theater (English)
- Kinky Boots on Musical Heaven
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kinky Boot Factory , BBC Two, accessed December 31, 2013.
- ↑ Kenneth Jones: Kinky Boots, the Musical, Walking Toward Broadway ( Memento of the original from October 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. July 8, 2008 article on playbill.com, accessed December 31, 2013.
- ↑ Cyndi Lauper Working Out The Kinks In Kinky Boots , September 27, 2012 article on chicagotribune.com, accessed October 5, 2012.
- ↑ Cyndi Lauper Walks into Creative Team for Broadway Bound Kinky Boots , June 23, 2010 article on broadway.com, accessed December 31, 2013.
- ↑ Melena Ryzik: So Unusual for a Theater Tunesmith , article in the New York Times, March 14, 2013, accessed December 31, 2013.
- ↑ Kinky Boots Heading To The West End In 2015, Says Mitchell , article on whatsonstage.com, January 23, 2014, accessed October 3, 2015.
- ↑ Kinky Boots Musical Comes To London , article on BBC News, February 6, 2015, accessed October 3, 2015.
- ↑ Cast announced for West End Kinky Boots , article on whatsonstage.com dated April 23, 2015, accessed October 3, 2015.
- ↑ Odds & Ends: Kelly Clarkson Eyes Broadway, Lena Hall's Next Gig, Stark Sands' Big TV Role & More , article on Broadway.com of February 27, 2015, accessed October 3, 2015.
- ↑ a b Kinky Boots in the Internet Broadway Database , accessed December 31, 2013.
- ↑ Inside the Playbill: Kinky Boots Opening Night at Al Hirschfeld Theater . In: playbillvault.com . Playbill . S. 5. Archived from the original on September 19, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
- ↑ From Celina Carvajal to Lena Hall: The Kinky Boots Rocker Explains Her Recent Name Change , accessed October 1, 2015.
- ↑ tonyawards.com , accessed on 31 December 2013.
- ↑ Kinky Boots Cast Album Coming Soon! . In: masterworksbroadway.com . Masterworks Broadway . March 8, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ↑ Hetrick, Adam: "Everybody Say Yeah": Kinky Boots Broadway Cast Album Released May 28 . In: playbill.com . Playbill . May 28, 2013. Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ↑ Kinky Boots Broadway Cast Album Debuts at # 1 on Billboard Chart . In: playbill.com . Playbill . June 7, 2013. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
