Review Roundup: KINKY BOOTS Returns Off-Broadway- See What the Critics Are Saying!

Elisabeth Vincentelli, The New York Times: One seemingly big change that turns out not to matter is the shrinking of the band to half of its Broadway size. But here it is perfectly fine to go big on synthesizers because Lauper's songs, packed with hooks, and Stephen Oremus's sharp arrangements and orchestrations always made terrific use of electronics. This is the only score in recent Broadway history that sounds as if it were written by people who had set foot in a nightclub within the past 40 years, and the hi-NRG finale, "Raise You Up/Just Be," sounds like it's booming out of a float at a Pride parade. That's a compliment, of course.

Matthew Wexler, Queerty: Setting up shop at Stage 42, an Off-Broadway theatre approximately one-third the size of Kinky Boots' original home at the Al Hirschfeld, it's unclear why lead producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig resurrected the musical. Besides the profit, of course. The irony is that Kinky Boots is about more than money. Charlie declines a proposition to convert the factory into high-end condominiums, saying desperately to his girlfriend, "I'm asking you to have a bit of faith." With LGBTQ rights facing an uphill battle in the wake of the pandemic and forthcoming midterm elections, faith is a hot commodity right now. And while it may not be the perfect fit, if Lola is selling, plenty of people will buy.

Jonathan Mandell, New York Theater: The Off-Broadway revival of "Kinky Boots," which opens tonight at Stage 42, comes just 40 months after the end of the show's run on Broadway, and is so little changed from the original that it's unlikely to make many people reconsider their view of the musical. That means that fans will probably not be disappointed by this new production. It also means that there's little reason for those who weren't fans to give it a second look.