Review: KINKY BOOTS Presented By The Gateway At The Patchogue Theatre

The Gateway Theatre ends their dazzling 70th season with the Long Island premiere of Tony award winning musical Kinky Boots. The stellar Larry Raben directed production runs through September 14th at the beautiful Patchogue Theatre. This show, based on the movie with a book by Harvey Fierstein, is indeed a must-see this season.

The tale centers on Charlie, a recent heir to his father's shoe factory that is - shall we say - not doing well. We follow him as he decides to work to turn it around. Charlie finds inspiration to do this when he meets Lola, a drag queen; and he learns about a whole lot more than shoes.

Leading as Charlie and Lola are Lukas Poost and Terry Lavell. They make a great team and expertly perform the Cyndi Lauper score. From Mr. Lavell's emotional "Hold Me In Your Heart" to the joyous "Raise You," it is an emotional roller coaster. Additionally, Claire Adams brings roars of laughter as Lauren. In truth, I could go on and on about the whole company as they are all brilliant.

It is truly special to see that The Gateway acquired the sets, wigs, props, and costumes from Broadway for this production. Seeing them take the Broadway material and have it work so well with the Patchogue Theatre stage is exciting. The incredible live orchestra, led by Andrew Haile Austin, is also fantastic; be prepared for a little dance party at the end of the show.

I'm thrilled this show has graced Long Island. We all need to continue to accept people for who they are and cultivate friendships that make us better. Kinky Boots motivates us to keep on doing that.

Kinky Boots is presented by The Gateway at the Patchogue Theatre through September 14th. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call (631) 286-1133

Book by Harvey Fierstein, Music & Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, Directed by Larry Raben, Choreography by Peggy Hickey, Musical Direction by Andrew Haile Austin. Hair Design by Josh Marquette, Dialect Coaching by Diego Daniel Pardo, Prop Design by Kathy Fabian, Costume Design by Gregg Barnes, Lighting Design by Doug Harry, Scenic Design by David Rockwell, Sound Design by Don Hanna, Stage Management by Caskey Hunsader

Starring Lukas Poost, Terry Lavell, and Claire Adams with Amy Persons (Trish), Mark Bradley Miller (Mr. Price), Sam Zeller (Don), Tom Souhrada (George), Louis A. Williams Jr. (Angel), Kyle White (Angel), Alex Dorf (Angel), Scotty Jacobson (Angel), Alex Zarlengo (Angel), Oz Shoshan (Angel), Erika Peterson (Nicola), Lisa Dyson (Pat) Justin White (Harry) Ivan Thompson (Simon Sr), Brian C. Veith (Richard Bailey), Veronica Decker (Ensemble), Samantha Duval(Ensemble), Briana Gantsweg (Ensemble), Robbie Fernandez (Young Lola), Jacob Passaro (Young Charlie), and Hunter Rasmussen (Young Charlie)

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