Interview: Lindsay Nicole Chambers Brings the KINKY BOOTS Tour to a City Near You

The national tour of the Tonty winning show KINKY BOOTS has some big names associated with it - Harvey Fiertsein, Cyndi Lauper, and Jerry Mitchell to name (drop) a few. But the next name that you'll all be talking about is Lindsay Nicole Chambers who is bringing Lauren to life on stage 8 times a week. This week you can catch her at the San Diego Civic Theatre through Sunday, September 28th!

Lindsay is no stranger to funny, energetic shows, having performed in both LEGALLY BLONDE on Broadway and HAIRSPRAY both in the national tour and on Broadway. So what has it been like working on a new project, with Mitchell, whom she had worked on before? "It's been like "Hey old friend," which is a really amazing feeling. To feel like your friends are asking you back. Not that I didn't have to audition, but it is an amazing thing."

Lindsay's character is Lauren, a factory worker who develops a bit of a crush on her boss, and has the initiative to give Charlie some key advice. "Like everyone who works in the factory, they need this factory to survive. As Charlie starts to fire everybody she takes him to task and suggests that he thinks outside the box and try to find a niche market, so I like to think I make the story happen," she says with a laugh.

The role was originated by Annaleigh Ashford, her cast mate from LEGALLY BLONDE, who was also nominated for a Tony Award for this role. How much crazy pressure did all of that add to creating this character for the tour? "You know, Annaleigh, is one of the funniest people you can lay eyes on. We knew each other from LEGALLY BLONDE, so when I saw her randomly in the show, I thought 'she is so freaking hilarious and I want to be this part so bad.' So I am so lucky got the opportunity to do it, and once I got the call I thought 'Annaleigh is a hard act to follow"' But it's been really fun."

The other fun thing about the role is performing her hilarious first act number, written by the amazing Cyndi Lauper, which Lindsay has been loving to perform to an audience in a theatre instead of a rehearsal room. "Performing her (Lauren's) song is amazing. We rehearsed it in New York, and had a couple of invited audiences, which was really great. In the rehearsal room there is no response because they are worried about you doing it right, and hitting your marks, and getting the acting details. So they're watching is not as the audience but as the creative team. Finally having an audience has made it so much fun and so unreal. People have been loving it! For an actor, the greatest moment is when people are laughing at something you hoped would be funny. Sometimes you create this character in a bubble and hope for the best you know? So it has been so fun. It's so fun to sing and it's so funny, and ridiculous in the best way."

So as the tour starts to gear up, what is life on the road like? "The thing that is crazy about tour is that you are in each place for such a little amount of time that you just finally get to know the lay of the land and then you have to leave. What's really cool is that you get to see parts of the country that you wouldn't really get to see. Like I would maybe take a vacation to San Diego one time, but I don't have any family here, and there would be no real reason for me to go unless I wanted to go, you know? So that part of it is really cool. The part that isn't as cool is that leaving your life is really hard. Luckily my husband is a rock n roll musician so he travels all the time too, so he knows how this goes. "

While she was in San Diego once before on the HAIRSPRAY tour, she is excited to come back and experience it again. "It was a long time ago so I am excited to come back. I just remember it being so beautiful everyday, just perfect weather all the time, and beaches and fun things nearby." Hopefully she remembers San Diego just as fondly when they head out to their next city next week!

You can catch Lindsay and the rest of the KINKY BOOTS cast at the San Diego Civic Theatre through Sunday, September 28th. For ticket and show time information go to www.BroadwaySD.com

Photo Credit: Kinky Boots Tour

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