Kinky Boots is good fun and definitely worth seeing!
UNFORTUNATELY, we were were expecting more and we left the show a bit disappointed.
Our biggest issue was the music. It was neither great nor bad. It felt uninspired – or perhaps a bit too inspired by other songs!
Cyndi Lauper‘s Tony-winning score felt like a pastiche. You have the song that sounded like Turn The Beat Around. The song that sounded like a Jackson 5 song. That other song that sounded a lot like that other song. And, sadly, none of it felt very original.
A Tony award doesn’t always go to the BEST nominee in a category. It is often a popularity contest!
Cyndi’s win at this year’s Tony Awards felt unmerited. Though we love her!
The same can be said of Kinky star Billy Porter. He was really good in the role of Lola. But he didn’t dazzle us with a wholly original and creatively-conceived character. Like Lauper’s score, Porter’s portrayal felt too familiar. It too was a pastiche. A little Tina here. A lot of RuPaul there. And not enough FRESH.
Very solid. But not Tony-worthy, in our book.
Stark Sands, on the other hand, stole the show for us! He was a revelation! An equally great actor – he cried on stage! – and a phenomenal singer.
Director Jerry Mitchell did the best he could with a fun but surprisingly cookie-cutter book by Harvey Feinstein. The staging was fun and the ensemble was engaging.
We liked Kinky but we wanted a bit more of a heel!