Review: Kinky Boots in Denver, Colorado
By: Trish Brunk
If you have a penchant for drag queens, red leather and sparkles (and who doesn’t love a good “spahkle”?), make sure to see Kinky Boots at the Buell Theater, now through November 9th. For an old broad like me, I mean, an old Broadway patron like me, it is a nostalgic turn in the land of drag queens, complete with Oscar Wilde quotes, big hair, and tall boots…very tall boots.
Based on the independent film of the same name, the story starts off with our vanilla, milquetoast hero, Charlie Price, who takes over the family business of making men’s shoes. The factory is about to go bankrupt, until Charlie meets his antithetical self, the chocolate firecracker, drag queen, Lola. Upon breaking Lola’s boot heel, Charlie is inspired to take the company into new directions…mainly UP. A shoe fit for a drag queen, literally; with the strength to hold up even the show’s token overweight, homophobic factory worker, Don. (There’s one in every show, isn’t there?)
Winner of 6 Tony Awards, including Best Musical (2013), this show is advertised as, “when you change your mind about someone, you can change your whole world!” The characters’ lives might change, but life-changing and new material, this is not. At first, I was afraid this was going to be a drag of a show (pun intended), as it is a bit slow getting started. But by the engaging song, “Sex Is in the Heel”, it was winning me over.
Speaking of music, I was surprised that the music wasn’t more innovative. Cindy Lauper’s (True Colors, Girls Just Want to Have Fun) turn at the Broadway musical was more classic Broadway, with a bit of funk sprinkled in there, than I had imagined. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. There are a couple of really good songs in there. Song lyrics about shoes, though, are hard-pressed to change one’s life, well, at least mine. Now 30 years ago before bunions…
If you go with the right expectation, this musical is well worth the money you will pay to see it. Watch for Linday Nicole Chambers’ performance as Lauren. There’s always one character that really steals the show and she is it. I wanted more of her. And the highlight? The conveyor belt dance sequence. I was waiting for a YouTube face plant any moment. It still delivered, despite.
