As a massive theatre kid, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen the musical Kinky boots, so the other night I watched it on digital theatre, and let me tell you I was blown away!
The Story
The musical written by Harvey Fierstein follows the story of Charlie Price. After Charlie has been left with his father’s shoe factory he enters an unlikely partnership with fabulous drag queen Lola to produce a line of high-heeled boots to save the family business. Through this process, Charlie and Lola discover that they really aren’t as different as they first thought.
The cast and creatives
The smash musical hit, Kinky boots started its West end run on September 15th, 2015, Matt Henry who plays Lola, and Killian Donnelly who plays charlie played their roles for about two years and finished their runs on July 8, 2017. However, both of these amazing actors decided to return from the 26th of November 2018 to the 28th, to be a part of the filmed performance which I’m so glad they did.
Matt Henry’s performance was absolutely out of this world. He tells Lola’s story with so much emotion and care and I couldn’t imagine anyone who is better for the role, he is the perfect mix of knowing when to be funny and knowing when to be serious which makes all the difference when watching this performance. Even though Lola is a confident, beautiful, and sassy woman, through Matt Henry’s performance you are able to see the insecurity that Lola faces in her life which I think it makes her character so much more special as we see even the most confident of people can be insecure sometimes. personally, I think if it wasn’t for Matt Henry I would not have experienced the character of Lola in the same special way I have, Which shows how amazing a performer Matt Henry truly is. I also think his vocals in this show are outstanding, especially in the songs “not my father’s son” and “hold me in your heart” Both these songs really touched me and made me feel really emotional that’s how much I was taken aback by his performance.
Another performance that I really enjoyed was Natalie McQueen as Lauren, I think she is so underrated. she brought so much humor to the role and was so relatable. when she was on stage I couldn’t stop laughing. In my opinion, it felt like the role seemed natural for her which I loved. My favorite moment of hers is when she performs “The history of wrong guys” Her vocals were not only amazing but her storytelling skills were astounding she was able to create the idea of the awkwardness of liking someone so well.
I thought the choreography in this show was phenomenal. Jerry Mitchell knew exactly what he was doing and you can tell. not only did he have to think up some fun choreography for the show he also had to figure out how to incorporate the tall “Kinky boots” into his dances and he has done it perfectly. There is not one bad thing I could say about it, all the dances and movements looked effortless and magical.
Music
The minute I heard the first song on this soundtrack I knew I was going to be obsessed with it and I was right. It is so good! one minute you want to be up dancing and the next you are fully engrossed and tearing up to an emotional song. I would have to say my favorites are “history of wrong guys”, “not my father’s son”, “hold me in your heart”, and “soul of man”. I just can’t narrow it down to one that’s how amazing it is. So be prepared because when you watch this show you won’t be able to get this fabulous soundtrack out of your head. Give it a listen because it has something for everyone to enjoy some upbeat fun ones and some beautiful ballads, you won’t be disappointed when you hear it that’s for sure!
Overview
Overall Kinky Boots was one of the best I’ve watched all year, and I would definitely recommend it! I love the message it gives to people that if you accept yourself that can lead to others accepting you for the way you are. If you are a huge musical theatre then I see no reason why you wouldn’t absolutely adore this like me. The next time you are looking for a good musical to watch turn this on because trust me it is the definition of an amazing musical!
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