KINKY BOOTS - THE ROAD TO BROADWAY to Premiere 1/10 on CUNY TV

CUNY TV's ARTS IN THE CITY, hosted by New York entertainment reporter Pat Collins, goes on location to Sardi's Restaurant in Times Square to assemble key principals responsible for the success of Broadway's "Kinky Boots." In Kinky Boots - The Road to Broadway, premiering Friday, January 10 (2014) on CUNY TV, the cast and creators recount the musical's genesis - from a 2005 indie film to a winner of six Tony Awards, including "Best Musical."

ARTS IN THE CITY will be broadcast and cablecast at 10am, 3pm and 8:30pm; repeated Sunday 1/12 at 12 noon; and beginning Friday 1/10 is available for viewing 24/7 on www.cuny.tv. CUNY TV is broadcast in the tri-state area over-the-air on digital Ch. 25.3, and cablecast in the five boroughs of New York City on Ch. 75 (Time Warner and Optimum), Ch. 77 (RCN) and Ch. 30 (Verizon FiOS).

Featured in the special January edition of ARTS IN THE CITY are the current "Kinky Boots" stars Stark Sands, Annaleigh Ashford and Billy Porter; the show's librettist Harvey Fierstein; director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell; and the show's lead producers, Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig. Excerpts from the show in performance and from the cast recording session are included.

Roth and Luftig detail the show's eight-year genesis from a screening of the original film at Sundance, where Roth instinctively thought the movie would make a great musical, to the hiring of Jerry Mitchell, Harvey Fierstein and songwriter Cindy Lauper. Mitchell and Fierstein recount the road from workshop, to a six-week run in Chicago, to the show's rapturous reception in New York City, and how the book and production elements were tightened and focused. The actors share recollections of the rehearsal process and what they were able to bring to the show's development.

ARTS IN THE CITY returns in February with an all-new edition. Kinky Boots - The Road to Broadway is produced by Alex J. Diamond and Graham Douglass. Executives in Charge of Production are Susan Iger and Gail R. Yancosek. Executive Producer is Robert Isaacson.

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