By Becky Evans
Kinky Boots is inspired by a true story and a motion picture that was originally shown at Sundance Film Festival in 2006. It inspired a book by Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein and a rocking score by Cyndi Lauper. Kinky Boots tells the story of Charlie Price (Alma Lambson) who inherits a shoe factory from his father and forms an unlikely partnership with a drag queen Lola (Andre-MarQuis Mitchell) to produce a line of sturdy high-heeled boots in order to save his business. This is Utah’s premier local production of this warm, likeable, brassy, glitter-filled Tony Award-winning musical brought to us by directors Jordyn Aspyn and Jeremy Sidwell/(Poison Grace). Aspyn and Sidwell do a great job combining Aspyn’s traditional musical theatre storytelling with numbers by Lola’s angels who are in their own right Queens trained with Poise and Grace.
The show starts out with some cute youngsters Grant Davis (Young Charlie) and Penelope Gunn (Young Lola) who have great stage presence and energy on stage. Charlie grows up and moves out with his girlfriend (Chelsea Jurkiewicz) who is making her debut at Ziegfield and transitioning to musical theater from film. This show is the first musical for several of the actors, though you would never guess without reading their bios. Charlie (Lambson) demonstrates a great character arc as he matures and develops passions and personality throughout the show. Jake Oaklyn plays Harry who encourages Charlie to do what’s best for himself even if that means selling out. His number, “Take What You Got” is full of energy and fun.
When Lola (Mitchell) takes the stage, I was so impressed by his professionalism, stage presence, and vocals. He’s beautiful and poised, sassy and vulnerable. The scenes with the Angels (Samantha Stratford, Jezuz Gomez- Villalobos, Israel Melchor, Jack Mergens, Mejai Perry, Poison Grace) really are highlights of the show. As an ensemble, they have energy, sparkle, pizzaz, and passion. Perry stands out for their precision dance moves, flexibility, and athleticism. Come to find out he’s the choreographer for Kinky Boots! Not only did he make the Angels shine, he made everyone look great in the large ensemble numbers. The ensemble (Wennerholm, Auman, Martell, Broadhead, Fowers, Durham, Harris, Oaklyn and Peacock) work well together to tell the story and bring out individual personalities throughout the performance. I was particularly impressed by the cast’s British accents and I could tell they worked with a dialect coach (Paul McGrew) as their accents add rather than distracted from their characters.
A standout character is that of Lauren played by Sydney Lorraine Vance. When she starts her number, “The History of Wrong Guys” I was enthralled. “Where has this song been? I need to add it to my playlists NOW.” Vance’s character choices are strong, vocals on point and she is perfectly suited for this role.
One of the crowd favorites is Don (Richard Marsh) who is a rough redneck man’s man who learns to tolerate Lola. Though he initially rejects Lola, Don learns to accept someone for who they are, which is a major theme of this show. Marsh is frustrating at first but transitions to a charismatic, loveable character. One thing I love about the Ziegfield Theater is their willingness to use diverse characters in their shows including persons of various sizes, shapes, orientations, disabilities, and color. They have been known to have performances and shows performed in both English and ASL. Britton Auman is a Deaf actor who plays George B and performs his lines in ASL. I really enjoyed how the cast interacts and uses correct ASL appropriately to include him without distracting from the piece in any way.
Kinky Boots has the talented Christopher Rose as music director and Sydney McAllister stage managing as well as running marketing and box office. Caleb Parry and Morgan Parry should be proud producers of such a timely show. Presenting a show that highlights diversity in this month celebrating LGBTQ pride is a perfect time to remind people to celebrate your life triumphantly and to accept people the way they are. This show is rated PG-13 due to minimal adult humor and the nature of the Drag Queens.
If you are in the mood for some glittery fun, do not miss this one! Kinky Boots is sure to leave you grinning from ear to ear. Don’t believe us? See for yourself! Grab your tickets today at zigarts.com/kinkyboots
The Ziegfield Theatre presents Kinky Boots, book by Harvey Fierstein, music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper.
Ziegfield Theatre, 3934 Washington Blvd, Ogden, UT 84403
June 9 – June 24, 2023, 7:30 PM. See site for individual performance details.
Tickets: $24.95 Adults / $22.95 Children
Contact: 855-944-2787
Ziegfeld Theatre Facebook Page
After this run of Kinky Boots in Ogden, this show travels to the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, UT for another run. See it twice! Or more!
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