Sherlyn Sim
With the use of black comedy and musical numbers with drag queens parading the stage in flamboyant outfits, Kinky Boots might stick out like a sore thumb when compared to classical musicals.
Set in Northampton, the Tony award-winning musical follows Charlie Price who struggles to keep his family’s shoe business afloat and forms an unlikely friendship with drag queen Lola whom he helps produce a pair of stilettos.
Known for musical numbers “Sex is in the Heel”, “Raise You Up/ Just Be” and “Everybody Say Yeah”, the production made its way to Singapore for the first time last week.
Music Director Kevin Casey told The UrbanWire: “Most of the audience are very used to big old classical musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber like Phantom of the Opera. We are bringing something new. A younger vibe, a more modern sound and more prevalent story.”
Revolving around themes of love, acceptance and family, Lola, whose real name is Simon, learns to accept himself while Price learns to accept being not who his father wants him to be.
“The message is universal and timeless. It’s not stuck in 2005 when the movie [of the same name] came out or 2013 when the musical was written. The message of acceptance and respect will never not be relevant,” said Company Manager Andrew Terlizzi.
Unlike most musicals, Kinky Boots also features an ensemble of drag queens known as “Angels”.
Among the “Angels” are Philip Stock and Derek Brazeau who admit that the toughest part of the show is dancing in 6.5-inch heels. They practised 8 hours a day for 3 weeks in preparation for the role.
Brazeau said: “In “Sex is in the heel”, we go full out the entire time. We are singing very high and kicking our legs up to our chins. We only have 30 seconds to breathe between portions. It’s physically demanding but once you practice and get it into your body, you have the stamina needed for this number.
“But it is very rewarding at the very end when we hit our final pose and hear our entire audience go crazy.”
While practice makes perfect, surely there must be occasional falls?
With a chuckle, Stock said that he sometimes sees his co-stars “trip and fall enough to make a difference to know they did not do that on purpose” but laughs it off so the show can go on.
When asked what he wants Singaporeans to take away from the show, he added: “We live such challenging lives so there aren’t many times where we can just smile and laugh. This show has a lot of exciting things that I think people need… I want them to just walk away feeling good.
Kinky Boots is playing at MasterCard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands from October 5 to 14.