BWW Reviews: A Joyous, Crowd-Pleasing KINKY BOOTS

The sex is still in the heels.

"Kinky Boots," which began its out-of-town tryout here in Oct. 2012 before conquering Broadway and racking up a few Tony awards, has it's glittery red boots laced up for it's return here. The show is a feel-good romp that will have you on your feet. It runs through July 26.

Charlie Price (Steven Booth) can think of nothing but leaving the family-owned shoe factory and hometown behind for a new life with his shoe-loving fiancé Nicola (Grace Stockdale). The move to London is short-lived as his father's death forces Charlie to return home and settle his father's affairs. It's then that he realizes how bad things are at the factory. Their major account has just returned the latest order of shoes (adding to the previous season's return) and the factory is about to go belly up .

A plucky factory worker Lauren (Lindsay Nicole Chambers) convinces him the solution is in finding a niche market, though. After Charlie has a chance encounter with the drag queen Lola (Kyle Taylor Parker), he realizes who his niche market is. But is the North Hampton town ready to produce heels for women who are actually men? There in lies the plot of the show.

There isn't much in the way of an antagonist -short of Charlie and Lola's self-inflicted insecurities. The song "Not My Father's Son," which appears late in the first act, is still the emotional core of the show. Lola spent half her life trying to be the son her father wanted her to be (namely, a professional boxer) and Charlie never really had an interest in anything his father did, either. The point in which each recognizes their shared humanity (reflected in Lola's lyric "We're the same, Charlie boy, you and me.") is a breathtakingly beautiful moment that just might have you reaching for the tissues.

Parker's Lola is equal parts James Brown and Eartha Kitt (with a splash of Whitney Houston for good measure). His Lola has faced adversity with grace, humor and determination and when he sings, he demands your attention.

As Charlie, Booth is a bit more "everyday-man" than Stark Sands (who originated the role both here and on Broadway). It makes the moments when he sings that much more extraordinary (and rest assured, Booth sings the heck out of the score).

Chambers' performance of "The History of the Wrong Guys" is a show stopper. Chambers has some great chemistry with both Parker and Booth as well.

As with any show when you go back a second or third time, you begin to notice other things and this time around it was some good comedic work from Florrie Bagel as factory worker Pat.

I would also be remiss not to mention Lola's angels: Joe Beuregard, Darius Harper, Tommy Martinez, Ricky Shroeder, Juan Torres-Falcon and Hernando Umana. Dressed in Gregg Barnes' scene-stealing costumes, the angels bring high energy to Jerry Mitchell's challenging, Tony Award-winning choreography -all in high heels, no less.

With it's mantra of "be who you want to be," "Kinky Boots" remains a joyous celebration of both our difference and our shared humanity.

KINKY BOOTS plays the Cadillac Palace Theater (151 W. Randolph) through July 26. Tickets, $25-$108. Call 800-775-2000. kinkybootsthemusical.com.

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