BY KAREN BOSSICK
The Magic Lantern Cinemas will bring a slice of Broadway to the Wood River Valley when it presents the high-spirited Broadway musical “Kinky Boots” beginning today—Friday, Oct. 23.
The Tony, Grammy and Olivier award-winning show will be screened for a week with staggered seating and other safety protocols in place.
The musical is loosely based on a true story of a Brit who decided to produce fetish footwear for men to save his family-run shoe factory.
It revolves around Charlie, a mid-20s man who is expected to take over his longtime family shoe manufacturing business in Northern England. Charlie wants to move to London with his snooty fiancé but is suddenly forced into taking over the shoe company when his father unexpectedly dies. When he learns the factory is in financial straits, he resolves to liquidate it. But then fate intervenes.
He goes to the rescue of a flamboyant cross-dressing woman being attacked by hooligans. His offer to fix her high heel launches a heart-warming story that leads to a vision of transforming the shoe factory while respecting each person’s life path.
The “Kinky Boots” book and musical, based on a 2005 British film of the same name, was written by Broadway’s Harvey Fierstein and pop-rock phenomenon Cindy Lauper. It is brilliantly written with humor and humanity, plus themes of transformation and redemption, according to theater owner Rick Kessler. Each cast member is distinct, engaging and important to the story, he added.
It premiered in Chicago in 2012 and opened on Broadway in late 2013 where it enjoyed one of the longest, most successful runs in Broadway history.
The role catapulted renowned transgender actor Billy Porter into stardom. It earned a season-high 13 nominations and six Tony wins in 2013, including Best Musical, Best Actor for Billy Porter and Best Score for Lauper in her first outing as a Broadway songwriter.
For showtimes, visit www.mlcinemas.com.