Theater Review – September 1, 2019

“KINKY BOOTS” DAZZLES IN SMASHING LOCAL PRODUCTION

“KINKY BOOTS”
Mainstage Theatre, The Phoenix Theatre Company
Phoenix, AZ

The Phoenix Theatre Company’s smashing staging of the entertaining “Kinky Boots” musical is one of the first regional productions of the hit Broadway tuner that won a slew of 2013 Tony Awards.  The local version explodes with energetic choreography, a superlative cast that delivers dynamic and comically delightful performances, contains sharp staging that give the show a dazzling performance.  Even the remarkable sets look just like the original show while splashy costumes amuse as they capture the characters with superlative definition.

Like I’ve said over and over with many recent TPTC musicals, Broadway arrives locally with the sharp-edged and wildly amusing production.  “Kinky Boots” is not a profound show as it traces a rebel son, Charlie, who inherits his father’s men’s shoe company.  To keep the now fledgling company afloat, Charlie must find a new twist to reinvent the business.  That hook materializes when he meets statuesque Lola, a dynamic female impersonator, who transforms himself into a sashaying femme fatale who must have well made boots to support his physique.

Charlie crowns Lola as his designer and they develop a sturdy but kinky boots that turns the company vibrant again.  There’s a series of non-critical challenges and squabbles that allow Harvey Fierstein’s silly book and Cyndi Lauper’s ebullient score to create elaborate production numbers that zestfully entertain even though the plot’s conclusion is telescoped right from the beginning.  By the expected ending, a gigantic production number makes everything right with the world as Charlie and Lola create an industry show smash.

Pasha Yamotahari’s dazzling production has the spunky effervescence of the original staging that starred Billy Porter as Lola.  In the more intimate TPTC theater, the show is brought right into the audience’s lap as it should be.

The cast assembled for the local production is utter perfection including Darius Harper’s spritely swishy Lola, as the show’s center piece.  Andrew Poston’s squarely worrisome Charlie is also right on and the two performers stop the show with a touching “Not My Father’s Son” where the pair begin to understand each other.  And the leads bring a rousing exuberance to the show’s zesty finale “Raise You Up/Just Be” that propels the audience into a well earned standing ovation at the show’s conclusion.  There isn’t a cast member who isn’t brilliant.

The Phoenix Theatre Company’s “Kinky Boots” is smashing entertainment that audiences will cheer through its October 13 finale.  For tickets, call The Phoenix Theatre Company box office at 602-254-2151 or order tickets online at www.phoenixtheatre.com.

Grade: A