BWW Interviews: Lindsay Nicole Chambers of KINKY BOOTS at Dallas Summer Musicals

In just over two weeks, a parade of long-legged men and women will march into Music Hall at Fair Park, delivering Dallas the national tour of Kinky Boots. As part of Dallas Summer Musical's 75th anniversary season, the show features music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper (yes, that Cyndi Lauper!) and a book by Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein. Kinky Boots is the dazzling, smash-hit Broadway musical based on the 2005 film of the same name.

Yesterday, I spoke with Lindsay Nicole Chambers, who stars as Lauren in the Kinky Boots tour. With three Broadway shows under her belt (Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Lysistrata Jones), and now three Broadway national tours (Elf, Hairspray, Kinky Boots), Lindsay is known for her incredible versatility and her incomparable comedic talent. She's also appeared onscreen in Across The Universe, and in Submissions Only, a comedy web series about the casting and audition process for Broadway theatre (written by and featuring some of Broadway's greatest artists). Lindsay is also no stranger to Dallas, having performed at Dallas Theatre Center in the pre-Broadway run of Lysistrata Jones (which was known as Give It Up in Dallas).

Name: Lindsay Nicole Chambers

Hometown: "New York now, but I grew up in Worthington, Ohio. It's a suburb outside of Columbus."

Current Role: Lauren in the national tour of Kinky Boots.

Kyle Christopher West: Growing up, what first inspired you to perform?

Lindsay Nicole Chambers: "I've just always done it. My mom once got us karaoke microphones for Christmas. I remember being really young, singing and dancing around. [Also, I had an] inspirational teacher, Bronwyn Hopkins, who was brilliant. We did 9-14 shows per year in high school. We had several class periods a day devoted to theatre. It was the coolest way to grow up. We got our hands in so much. That's where I really figured out that this was something I could do for a living."

Kyle: Before performing professionally, did you play any memorable roles?

Lindsay: "One of my favorite ones in high school was Peter Pan. When I heard Peter Pan was happening on TV, I was like, 'Obviously, I'm as famous as Allison Williams; I'm probably going to get Peter Pan. But I was doing Kinky Boots [laughs].' Right after I graduated [from Otterbein University in 2002], I did a summer as an intern at Maine State Music Theatre. I was non-equity at that point, and that was my first experience working with equity actors. It was really good watching and learning how these people behave and interact and perform."

Kyle: Jumping ahead, can you tell me about your character and the role she plays in the story of Kinky Boots?

Lindsay: "[My character, Lauren], is one of the factory workers. They've sort of all grown up together. She thinks [her boss' son], Charlie, is a spoiled twit - and she tells him that in the show, which is hilarious. He's firing everyone, and [she encourages him] to think outside the box, keep the factory open, and keep the town alive. My husband told me I should say she's the lynchpin of the plot. I'm definitely the reason the whole show happens: that's what I tell myself [laughs]."

Kyle: How familiar were you with the show before creating the role on tour? Had you seen the movie and/or the Broadway cast?

Lindsay: "I got a ticket to see it on Broadway because I knew so many of the people involved: I had worked with Jerry [Mitchell, the director], before and I was in Hairspray, so I know Harvey Fierstein [who wrote the script]. I [also] know Annaleigh [Ashford, who created "Lauren" for the Broadway production] from Legally Blonde, so I was really excited to see her. The week before I went, I happened upon Kinky Boots [the original film on which the musical is based] on television. I watched the whole movie and I was in love with it! Then, I got to see the Broadway show and see the song-and-dance version of it. It's a heightened, glittery, more fantastical version. I had never auditioned for the show, but I saw Annaleigh onstage and thought, 'I must do that role, please!'".

Kyle: Having seen the show, how challenging was it to create your character for the tour?

Lindsay: "Well, it's always a bit of a challenge, in a good way, when the show is set. You're not creating the movement or the blocking; you're doing a show that's already been created. My number is super props-heavy: there's a conveyer belt and I have shoes on my hands when I'm singing the song. There is so much "shoeography." It was a good and fun challenge [to] think of another way I could get in this character's head."

Kyle: How similar is the Kinky Boots tour to its Broadway counterpart?

Lindsay: "It's exactly the same, and I think that's what they wanted to do. They wanted to bring the same smash hit that took over, and is still taking over, Broadway. [I think they wanted to] bring it to people who can't necessarily get to Broadway. We are all different actors, so our characters are specific to us, but it's the same great, glittery fun that you'll see in New York."

Kyle: If you had to pick a favorite moment in the show, what would it be?

Lindsay: "It's the same favorite moment as in the movie: it's when Charlie and Lola are in the bathroom. Lola has [been] trying to be something he's not. They're both talking about their fathers and realize that, [although] on the outside they seem so different, everyone has the same heartaches and troubles. The song in the show that they sing together is so great!"

Kyle: Can you tell me how different audiences across the country have reacted to the show?

Lindsay: "It's been so interesting, actually. The one thing that has been consistent is that every crowd has loved it, but they vary, [so] it's funny. We were in Des Moines last week and, at two performances, the crowd stood up and was clapping in the middle of the finale. We hadn't bowed; the show hadn't ended; the story was still going on, but they were on their feet. It was unlike any theatrical experience I've ever had: I've never seen that happen. Everyone onstage was in tears, trying to sing a happy song at the end of the show. Every walk of life, honestly, [has enjoyed the show]. We have families, we have husbands and wives, and we have drag-queens in full dress come. At our opening night parties, I always get a tap on the back from a dude who says, 'I just wanted to say that my wife dragged me here. I didn't really want to come. This is the best thing I've ever seen!' We've been winning people over, [and] changing people's minds. It's been a really great experience on that front."

Kyle: Having previously toured with Elf and Hairspray, do you have a favorite city that you've visited?

Lindsay: "When I did Hairspray over ten years ago, my favorites were San Francisco, Chicago and Boston. I couldn't even tell you why, but I just remember them so fondly."

Kyle: What's the most challenging aspect of performing in a national tour?

Lindsay: "Living in a hotel! It sounds so glamorous, but every once in a while, you think, 'Remember my bed?' I'm married as well, and every once in a while it would be so nice to go home and sleep in my bed with my husband and play with my cats. Actually, I keep teasing my husband that I miss my cat-time a little bit more [than him], because my cats can't come out and visit."

Kyle: In all of your experience, can you remember any onstage mishaps or mistakes?

Lindsay: "Last week, we had come off of a really long stretch of shows in a row. A lot of us had gotten sick, [and] everyone was a little exhausted. In my song, I sang words that were not words. They were certainly not lyrics to the song, and I'm pretty sure it was gibberish. Also, during Hairspray, Charlo [Charlotte] Crosby was playing Motormouth Maybelle, and she got stuck in the elevator for her big entrance. Come time for her entrance, she doesn't come in, and Seaweed is dancing around and just ad-libbing. Finally, on mic (and she sounds like she's in a corridor), she says, "I'm coming, Seaweed" while stuck in the elevator. People were frantically working to try to get her out. Oh God, that was so funny [laughs]!"

Kyle: How long are you with Kinky Boots, and what's next for you?

Lindsay: "You know, I don't really know. It's kind of far away at this point, but I would love to do a little TV show. I haven't really done that, except for Submissions Only. I think it would be a really to explore that completely different medium."

Kyle: Speaking of Submissions Only, are there any plans to bring [your character] Gail Liner back in a fourth season?

Lindsay: "That's a question for [creators] Kate Wetherhead and Andrew Keenan-Bolger, but I'm on the road for a year. Who knows? At every city we've been in, people have come up to me at the stage door and said, 'I love Submissions Only!' I had no idea that the little thing that we started as friends turned into this huge thing that everyone's loved. It was a really cool thing to be a part of."

Kyle: What do you hope people take away from seeing Kinky Boots?

Lindsay: "I hope that they are inspired and that they are empowered. On top of that, I hope that they have a lot of fun! [We] sneak in a great message, while people just have a good time!"

 

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