Principal Casting Announced for UK Tour of KINKY BOOTS

Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail has announced initial casting for the upcoming UK tour of the hit musical, Kinky Boots!

Joel Harper-Jackson is set to take on the role of timid shoemaker Charlie and will play opposite Paula Lane as Lauren, and Kayi Ushe will step into the fabulous shoes of heroic drag queen, Lola!

Ushe will take over from Australian star of the musical Callum Francis, who will launch the tour in September and continue on the road through December 15.

Kinky Boots, the winner of every major Best Musical award, has just announced that it will embark on a UK tour from autumn 2018. The tour will open at Royal & Derngate in Northampton on 19 September 2018, returning to the home of this heart-warming British story, whilst the West End production continues at the Adelphi Theatre.

Royal & Derngate, Northampton (19 September - 6 October 2018) - Public booking opens 2 November 2017

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre (16 - 27 October 2018) - Public booking opens 6 November 2017

Newcastle Theatre Royal (29 October - 10 November 2018) - Public booking opens 10 November 2017

Manchester Opera House (12 November - 1 December 2018) - Public booking opens 10 November 2017

Edinburgh Playhouse (10 December 2018 - 5 January 2019) - Public booking opens 10 November 2017

Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (14- 26 January 2019) - Public booking opens 27 November 2017

Regent Theatre, Stoke-on Trent (28 January - 9 February 2019) - Public booking opens 10 November 2017

Bristol Hippodrome (25 February - 9 March 2019) - Public booking opens 10 November 2017

Further cities and dates will be announced at a later date.

Kinky Boots at the Adelphi Theatre has become a favourite with UK theatregoers having won three Olivier Awards for Best New Musical, Best Costume Design and Best Actor in a Musical for Matt Henry who played Lola. Kinky Boots also won the London Evening Standard BBC Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical as well as three WhatsOnStage Awards for Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical and Best Choreography.

With a book by Broadway legend and four-time Tony® Award-winner Harvey Fierstein(La Cage aux Folles), and songs by Grammy® and Tony® winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper, this joyous musical celebration is about the friendships we discover, and the belief that you can change the world when you change your mind.

Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots takes you from a gentlemen's shoe factory in Northampton to the glamorous catwalks of Milan. Charlie Price is struggling to live up to his father's expectations and continue the family business of Price & Son. With the factory's future hanging in the balance, help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola, a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos.

With direction and choreography by two-time Tony® Award-winner Jerry Mitchell(Legally Blonde, Hairspray), Kinky Boots is the winner of every major Best Musical award including three Olivier Awards, three WhatsOnStage Awards as well as six Broadway Tony® Awards.

Composer and Lyricist, Cyndi Lauper said: "It has been a wonderful adventure and a privilege for me, to play a part in creating Kinky Boots. Everyone can relate to this universal story, and I am overwhelmed that people in the UK have embraced it with open arms. I am thrilled that this fabulous show will be touring the country!"

Book writer, Harvey Fierstein said: "The inspiring story of Kinky Boots will soon complete its full circle journey from Northampton to the silver screen to Broadway and London and now, at last, back home to Northampton as it embarks on a national UK tour. How often does that happen? It's been an absolute thrill to witness the giant heart of our show raise audiences up out of their seats in clamorous joy night after night in the West End and I am now so glad to experience its homecoming."

Director and Choreographer, Jerry Mitchell said: "I am delighted to see this big-spirited musical going on tour. Kinky Boots is very close to my heart, and I am really looking forward to taking this British musical all over the UK ."

Kinky Boots is produced by Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig, James L. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, Playful Productions, CJ E&M, Jayne Baron Sherman, Just for Laughs Theatricals/Judith Ann Abrams, Yasuhiro Kawana, Jane Bergère, Allan S. Gordon & Adam S. Gordon, Ken Davenport, Hunter Arnold, Lucy and Phil Suarez, Bryan Bantry, Ron Fierstein & Dorsey Regal, Independent Presenters Network, Jim Kierstead/Gregory Rae, BB Group/Christina Papagjika, Brian Smith/Tom & Connie Walsh, Warren Trepp, and Jujamcyn Theaters, in association with Cameron Mackintosh.

For more information visit www.kinkybootsthemusical.co.uk/uk-tour.