Drama Club

Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper’s New Musical, Kinky Boots Couldn’t Get Gayer

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The thing is even called Kinky Boots. And honey, we can’t wait.

Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper’s new Broadway-bound musical sounds as gay as you’d expect from the writer of Torch Song Trilogy and La Cage Aux Folles, and the fabulous ’80s pop icon. Kinky Boots is about a man who has to save his family’s shoe store with the help of an African-American drag queen named, of all things, Lola. You know this bitch is going to be full of shocking sass, but, since there are so few representations of black gay men in entertainment, please God, give Lola more dignity than Hollywood Montrose from the Mannequin movies.

It’s based on a 2005 British flick, with Fierstein writing the book, and Lauper the music and lyrics. Although we spent our childhood dancing to her beat, the thought of Lauper writing a stage musical gives us pause. Fierstein is a savvy theatrical writer, though, so he should be able to help stage-novice Lauper with the score.

Stark Sands (Die Mommie, Die!) plays the shoe-store owner, while the flaming drag queen is played by the always debonair Billy Porter. Jerry Mitchell directs and choreographs, so you can bet your stiletto heels the dancing will high-kick butt. Mitchell will hopefully suggest Sands do a shirtless scene or two. Boy is fine!

Performances being in Chicago this October, with Broadway in its sights soon after.

To whet your appetite, here’s a song from the show, “Sex is in the Heel,” sung by Cyndi herself.

 

Kinky Boots plays at Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre Oct. 2 – Nov. 4