INDIANAPOLIS – Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre touts a high-heeled hit this month with its production of the movie-turned-musical “Kinky Boots.”
Based on a true story, Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper’s “Kinky Boots” chronicles the plight of struggling young business owner Charlie Price (Jacob Butler), who at the top of the show takes the reins of the failing family shoe factory he unexpectedly – and more than a bit begrudgingly – inherited.
Charlie’s brilliant strategy – “Let’s keep making shoes!” isn’t enough to buoy the sinking business he inherited from his father, whose empathy for his workers leaves Charlie with plenty of costs and not nearly enough customers.
Price shares little of his father’s business acumen or interest, and his staff challenges him to reimagine the company’s future before it’s too late to save the shop. He finds an unlikely ally in Lola, a drag queen he meets by chance who has an idea for footwear the likes of which Price & Son Shoes Co. has never seen. The sequin-clad drag queen proposes a line of “Kinky Boots” – and make hers red, if you please – that have the hefty hardware to keep a queen on her feet without sacrificing any feminine flair.
Billy Porter originated the role of Lola on Broadway, leaving Indiana native Jonathan Studdard with – we can’t resist this cliché, can we? – some big shoes to fill. Studdard, in his debut on the Beef & Boards stage, does not disappoint. Lola’s larger-than-life presence requires more from an actor than flashy costumes and fancy hair (though both are top-notch in this production – hats off to you, costumer Amy Gaton and wig artist Andrew Elliott), and Studdard has risen to the challenge.
Studdard charms his way through every scene and is at his most dazzling when surrounded by Lola’s “angels,” a talented quartet of dancers who elevate every scene that features them.
Butler presents an appropriately understated, unsure Charlie through much of the first act, then cuts loose in “Step One,” a powerful number that shows off Butler’s vocals as Charlie declares with renewed hope that every new dream has to start somewhere.
And Lola is ready with quite the education, letting Charlie and his traditional crew of shoemakers know the “Sex is in the Heel” (one of the best numbers of the show).
Butler & Studdard’s performances are elevated by a talented ensemble (Sarah Daniels as factory worker Laruen has a featured song that deserves a bow of its own).
“Kinky Boots” drives home a message of acceptance as timely today as it was when the show snagged the Tony for best musical in 2013. We could all use reminding: “You change the world when you change your mind.”
Put your high heels on – you, too, gents, if you like! – and hightail it to the north side of Indy. “Kinky Boots” runs through March 27.
