Interview: New Orleans Gets KINKY with Joseph Anthony Byrd

Throw on some makeup, grab your highest heels, and hold on to your wigs because something fabulous is strutting into New Orleans tomorrow that you won't want to miss! KINKY BOOTS is a fairly new, Tony Award-winning musical production brought to you by creative dream team Jerry Mitchell, Cyndi Lauper, and Harvey Fierstein. Inspired by the true-life events of Steve Pateman, it tells the story of a young man who inherits his family's failing shoe factory. With the help of his glittery friend Lola, Charlie is able to save the business by manufacturing shoes designed for drag queens.

To learn more, I had a chat with a very special Angel from the current national tour cast of KINKY BOOTS. Having been a part of THE LION KING, MAMMA MIA!, and THE LITTLE MERMAID, Joseph Anthony Byrd is no stranger to the stage and gave me an inside look into the life of a touring actor in this dazzling show.

How did you get your start in theatre? What brought you into the theatre industry?
Ok, so, I'm a "foodie," so it was the last period of the day in 6th grade, and I was walking to the bus and I smelled all of this pizza. I look over into the cafeteria and I see boxes and boxes of pizza, and so I asked the woman standing at the door, "What is all this for?!" She said, "Oh, well there's a pizza party if you do the school play." And my greedy self asked her, "Is it all you can eat?" And she said, "Yes." And then I said, "Well, I'm going to do the school play next year." She said, "Ok..." The next year I did the school play, and got my pizza party, and ate like only one slice of pizza. I remember being disappointed in myself, but I got in the play.

What play was it?
It was ROMEO AND JULIET and I was Romeo!

Wow! So your first play and they kind of threw you in the deep end? Your first play and you're the lead in a Shakespeare play!
Yes ma'am, and it was a good time. I remember her saying, "Do you really like doing this, Joey?" And I told her, "Yes, I do." And she said, "Good because this is what you should be doing." So ever since then I just knew this is what I wanted to do, and I pursued it. I did all the school plays, went to Carnegie Mellon University and majored in acting/musical theatre, moved to New York then moved to Chicago, and then here I am today with you.

I'm assuming since you said you moved to New York that you're not from there, so what was it like having to pick up and move to a brand new city and try to find work?
So, you know, for me, I was actually very lucky. I'm from New Jersey, so New York is not... it doesn't feel far from home. It's not like the kids from like Oklahoma or Michigan or California that have to pick up and literally move across the country. For me, it was a much smoother transition, and I also decided to move to New York while I was on tour with THE LION KING, so I had the resources to do it, and I also had my parents literally a 45 minute car ride down the highway... down the New Jersey Turnpike. I didn't have the challenge as far as resources, but it was definitely a step of faith leaving a tour to go to New York to try to really make connections and really see what the business side was about.

How did you get involved with THE LION KING tour?
I remember I was doing MAMMA MIA!, the first installment they had in Las Vegas, and it was going to close, and they said the show that was taking over in that theatre was going to be THE LION KING. I remember thinking, "Oh, I must audition for it. I want to stay in theatre and I want to stay in Vegas." So that's when THE LION KING came into my peripheral. I auditioned and it didn't happen for me there, but a year later I auditioned and I was able to join the tour. So then from there I left THE LION KING to take the step of faith and move to New York City.

So then what was the process of auditioning for this KINKY BOOTS tour and then getting the role like for you?
I moved so then when I was in New York I wanted to do more... I ended up moving to Chicago. From Chicago I submitted a tape, and I had to go back and forth from Chicago to New York for the audition, and it was cool. Every time I went, I learned more about Lola, I learned more about the show, I learned more about the Angels. Finally, there was the final audition in New York, and I had to... I flew into New York again, and auditioned for the creative team with all of the information that I had learned. I had to do the understudy stuff for Lola, then I also had to do the Angels stuff singing the songs that they taught us. The preparation met the opportunity because I was able to get the role, and it's a dream come true.

Did you get to see the show on Broadway before you started with the tour?
What's interesting is that I didn't. What happened was, I came to tour once I got the job, and I got to see the tour cast, and it was amazing. But, then, we had a layoff for two weeks. So, during that two week layoff I got to go back to New York and rehearse on the Broadway stage, and see the Broadway company, and I even got to see Billy Porter as Lola. He was absolutely wonderful. It's so interesting how both casts tell the same story, but even just having different people it has a different ring to it, a different hue, a different color. Same amazing story, just a different color and a different ring. Both casts are amazing and beautiful, and it's really cool to see how the story is always told and the story always comes through no matter who's telling it.

I know on a very basic level what the story is about, but would you give me a summary of what this show is about?
Yeah, so, this young man... his name is Charlie Price... and he has inherited his father's shoe factory. Now, the shoe factory is about to close down, so he's trying to figure out how to save the factory. He runs into a drag queen. Her name is Lola. And then he gets the amazing idea hey instead of making shoes for men, let's go ahead and move into a niche market and make shoes for drag performers or cross dressers. In this, Lola and Charlie find that they have a lot more in common than they thought. The show deals with a lot of father/son issues, it deals with self-acceptance, it deals with the accepting of others for who they are... that's really the central theme of KINKY BOOTS is accepting someone for who they are, and you can change the world when you change your mind.

Now there's also the movie that happened a while ago, but is there any truth to this story? Is it based in something that actually happened, or is it more a product of imagination?
Yeah, it is based in a true story. I believe the gentleman's name... or Englishman, rather... his name is Steve Pateman, and he had his family's shoe factory as well. It was going to close soon, and then one day there was a woman... she just randomly called... and she specialized in transgender glamor wear. She basically convinced him to make a line of women's shoes in men's sizes. His version of the "kinky boots" was branded, designed footwear. I remember I Googled... I believe that he was part of... Steve Pateman was part of the movie as far as helping them when they were writing the movie about the shoe making and about the story. He was able to contribute just a little bit to that, so that was kind of neat for him, I thought.

And, who do you play in the show?
In the show, I am one of Lola's Angels. We are the drag performers. They are fun, they are fabulous, and they are very, very colorful.

I saw the performance from... I think it was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and it was the first time I had seen anything from the show, and the costumes were just so bright and fun and colorful. It looks like some really fun things that you get to wear!
Yes, and what's fun is that it's so inviting... that's one of the things that the Angels serve in the play. We're hilarious, fun... we're just very warm and inviting and very friendly. That's fun getting to do that. That's fun living that out on stage with the audience, and seeing them, seeing the audience kind of go on a journey with you. We first come out and mouths are gaping. It's like oh wow! And then by the end of Act I they literally are blowing you kisses and waving. At the end when we finally come out to say thank you to the audience, and the audience gets to say thank you, they are very, very generous with their thank you. It's really nice to go on that journey with them, with these non-speaking roles essentially. We're like a little troupe, so it's really nice. It really feels very special. It's a special thing that happens.

This show being on tour is kind of neat, I think, because it's sort of introducing people to the drag queen and cross dressing world who otherwise wouldn't really be exposed to it.
Yes, you know, we were just in Arkansas, and they are very conservative, and you know at first we were thinking ok what's going to happen, but when I tell you that they were... they really opened up my mind that you think people are not going to accept something or be able to appreciate something. These older people, you know, they were just fantastic, and that was another moment that felt very special for the whole cast to see them really there and really take it in. We felt so fresh and alive that we were really bringing something special to people and that they were able to receive the message. That just also really... honestly, it's a testament to the story and what Jerry Mitchell and Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper have done. They have really brought a story and gotten to the heart of the matter that makes it palatable for everyone... children 10 and up, families, you know... liberals, conservatives... it really is for everyone. People leave feeling increased... feeling increased, feeling better, feeling ready to go out eager into the world.

Since you mentioned these three awesome people... we've got Jerry Mitchell, Cyndi Lauper, and Harvey Fierstein who have been the head of the creative team for this... have you gotten the opportunity to meet or work with any of them during this whole process?
What's really cool is that when we are in your beautiful, amazing city, Jerry Mitchell is going to come and return to us! Yes, we are really excited. We are so excited. We get to see Bourbon Street and Jerry Mitchell.

Oh yes, you guys are going to have so much fun going out in the city!
Yeah, you have no idea. We are terribly excited to come there! It's such a beautiful city, and everything that you all... just the city has been through, and to come back... it's going to be celebratory for me. I was there in like 2001 for ACT-SO... they have a competition for the afro-academic, cultural, technological, and scientific Olympics. I was there and then, you know, Katrina happened, and now we're here. It's just going to be nice to be back, and yes, we'll get to meet Jerry Mitchell. We're going to get to hear from him, and that'll be nice because a lot of us have not met him yet. We met him either at auditions or even not at all, so to have him and to hear the words come out of his mouth and see him speak with the passion behind KINKY BOOTS is going to be such a... it's going to ignite a lot of passion in the rest of us, I believe.

So Cyndi Lauper wrote the music for KINKY BOOTS. From listening to her music over the years, it's incredibly distinct. She has a distinct style, and her voice is incredibly recognizable. Are her fingerprints all over the music of the show, or did she take it in a direction that separates it from the music that she's done in the past?
Well, you know, yes, her fingerprints are all over it, and that is one of the things that makes the music of KINKY BOOTS stand out because there is not another Broadway show or another musical out there right now that sounds like KINKY BOOTS. She has written true pop tunes that tell stories. You can listen to these songs, and they can stand alone. Of course they serve the story, because that's just what you have to do in a musical. She had that down pat. It's amazing. But, she wrote incredible pop tunes that you will remember and hear and be able to sing. Sometimes you'll hear things and go, "Oh, this is very this song. Or, this is very that song." You can see that she went to that special, honest, truthful place in her spirit and wrote these songs. You'll know. You'll go "Oh, yeah. That's Cyndi. She did that."

We mentioned a little bit about the costumes before, but it looks like a lot of the shows that you have been in with THE LION KING, MAMMA MIA!, and now KINKY BOOTS, you've gotten to wear a lot of really freaking cool costumes.
Yes, I have!

What is it like for you to have been able to wear all these cool costumes? Do you have a favorite one, or is there one that you maybe didn't like wearing so much?
Well you know what, it is really incredible. The one thing that's interesting about a lot of these shows you do... they do get things that fit you... just for you. Things are custom made. As far as KINKY BOOTS, our shoes are all custom made for us. So talk about feeling special! People go, "How do you walk in those heels?" And, it's like well you're using your body in a different way, and you're using your leg muscles in a different way, because I don't walk in heels. But, the thing that they don't realize is that we're not wearing a stock shoe. For the women as well... we're not wearing a stock shoe. We go to T.O. Dey in New York City, and he takes our foot measurements and we go in a few times and those things are molded specially for our feet. So that's kind of cool getting to wear that. And, of course, you know with the design of KINKY BOOTS, you cannot put on these costumes and not just feel fabulous. You look in the mirror and you're like, "Oh, wow, this is amazing!" In KINKY BOOTS, I think my favorite costume would have to be the finale. The hat, the shoes... I look like a glowing, glittery, gaudy Angel... literally.

I know you would never be allowed to do this, but I wish you guys could like go walk down Bourbon in these costumes!
I know! And like... do a parade, and have the people come and have like a KINKY BOOTS parade to get people to come to the theatre!

And you're coming on the heels of Mardi Gras, too!
We are coming the week after. We get there on the 15th.

That almost would've been perfect timing.
Here's the thing, on two show days, the Angels, we are... sometimes when we walk out we may or may not have the makeup, so you may recognize some of us, not in costumes, but we definitely will be very, very pretty.

How long does it take you to get all of the makeup and hair and costumes on?
Well, the Angels, we usually come in earlier. So, in theatre, you know, you have the show time and then you have the call time. The call time is usually one half hour before the show is supposed to begin. Angels, we usually get there the minimum of an hour before half hour. So, if the show time is at 7:30, call time will be 7:00, the Angels will arrive probably no later than 6:00 so that we have enough time to get into makeup. And, some days it's quicker than others. Some days you're trying to move fast, but you want to perfect something here, something's not working there, you have to get your pencils sharpened up, something blended in too much, it didn't fit right, it's too humid or dry, the lighting's off. Some things are just a lot longer than others. There are a lot of variables, but for me to get into everything, it's about an hour and a half.

Do you do your own makeup or do you have someone who does that for you?
We do our own makeup. They teach us, and I'll tell you this, it certainly doesn't look now like it did when I first started. Thank God.

I'm imagining you guys all sitting there trying to learn how to do this. How did they teach you?
Well Sarah [Wolfe], she taught me my makeup plot, and what she told me... she shows you how to put on your foundation, how to contour, how to do your eyebrows and draw them in and using the brush, the precision. And, you learn that. Then what you learn is there's going to be people... I mean, you're going to learn how to fine tune it, and you're going to basically keep the same idea of a plot. But then you'll start to do things... you might want to blend out something a little more, you might want to do better. And, luckily for me, our fantastic actor, our J. Harrison Ghee, who is playing Lola, he has had a lot of experience in drag prior to KINKY BOOTS, so there was a day when he sat down with me and served as my drag mother if you will, and he helped me to really apply the makeup and how to make me look really, really fabulous. I will always remember that day. It was very nice. One actor to another, someone with drag experience to someone without drag experience, a drag mother to the drag child showing me how to do this makeup so that I can look and feel fabulous. I remember that day, I think that day was when the makeup game for me changed. It got much better.

Well, to wrap us up I have a couple of rapid fire questions for you. Are you ready for that?
Yes! I get nervous, I'm like ok... I hope I'm not to slow!

First one, favorite tour city so far...
Oh! Umm... Oh wait, I have an answer... I really do! Honestly? I liked Cincinnati, but it will be New Orleans!

Well of course, that's everyone's favorite! Ok... what's your go-to tour snack?
Brownie Quest bars.

Dream co-star?
You know... I've never thought of that. That is amazing. Wow. Lin-Manuel [Miranda].

High heels or tennis shoes?
Tennis shoes, but it depends on where you're going!

Last one... Describe KINKY BOOTS in 5 words or less.
Friendly, fabulous, energetic, welcoming, glitter!

KINKY BOOTS will play at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans starting tomorrow, February 16, through Sunday, February 21. Visit www.saengernola.com for tickets and more information!

ARTICLE MAY ALSO BE VIEWED HERE: http://www.nolabackstage.com/single-post/2016/02/15/BWW-Interview-New-Orleans-Gets-KINKY-with-Joseph-Anthony-Byrd