The Clark State Performing Arts Center invites you to come kick up your heels and enjoy a high-energy performance of Broadway’s award winning Kinky Boots on Thursday, November 2.
Executive director of the Clark State Performing Arts Center Adele Adkins said for her, Kinky Boots is as close to a “perfect musical” as possible.
“This is truly a show for everyone – kids to grandparents,” she said. “The show’s message, music, story, dancing – everything - appeals to people of all ages, men and women, creed or color.”
Based on a true story and the indie film of the same name, Kinky Boots follows young Brit Charlie Price who abandons his family’s shoe factory to live with his demanding girlfriend in London. After the unexpected death of his father, Charlie returns to the struggling factory and finds it’s up to him to figure out a way to keep the business alive. Enter Lola, a fabulous drag queen, who gives Charlie the idea to create women’s shoes for men. Soon, the factory is turning out “kinky boots” under the supervision of Charlie and Lola. Can this harebrained scheme actually work? Can these two extremely different men find a common ground and become real friends?
Adkins said Kinky Boots may seem like a musical for women, but men who attend often have more fun than anyone else; this musical is actually more concerned about the human condition.
“Kinky Boots goes beyond telling the story of saving a struggling family business,” she said. “The important themes are friendship, father/son relationships, being true to yourself and accepting others for who they are.”
Eighties music artist sensation, Cyndi Lauper, wrote the music and lyrics for Kinky Boots. “Everybody asks the question about pop songs and theater songs,” said Lauper. “I just think that, in some ways, they’re very similar, and in other ways, they’re not. You need to be economical; you have to say something simply. I believe you still can have poetry.”
Lauper said the Kinky Boots story appealed to her, and writer Harvey Fierstein is a wonderful storyteller. “One minute you’re bawling your eyes out and the next minute, it’s hilarious,” she said.
“The audience will leave the theater feeling happy and optimistic about the world,” said Adkins. “Something we can all use these days.”
Kinky Boots begins at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 2 at the Clark State Performing Arts Center, 300 South Limestone Street in downtown Springfield. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com and range in price from $32 to $66.