Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell (2004's La Cage aux Folles, Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Catch Me If You Can) directs and choreographs the production that will continue through Nov. 2 prior to a March 5, 2013, Broadway arrival at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
Tony winner Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage aux Folles, Newsies) adapted the film for the stage. Kinky Boots centers on a floundering British shoemaker who has his business saved when he partners with a drag performer named Lola to create fashionable and sturdy boots for some new flamboyant clientele. Grammy Award winner Lauper, whose hits include "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "True Colors," authored the original score.
Kinky Boots will officially open on Broadway April 4, 2013. Tony winners Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig produce.
Stark Sands (American Idiot, Twelfth Night, Journey's End) is cast as Charlie Price, with Billy Porter (Grease, Angels in America, Smokey Joe’s Café) as Lola. The cast also features Annaleigh Ashford (Rent, Legally Blonde), Celina Carvajal (Spiegelworld's Empire), Daniel Sherman (Desire Under the Elms), Marcus Neville (The Full Monty), Paul Canaan (Legally Blonde), Kevin Smith Kirkwood (How to Save the World…), Kyle Taylor Parker (In the Heights), Kyle Post (Rent), Charlie Sutton (How To Succeed...), Joey Taranto (Rock of Ages), Andy Kelso (Mamma Mia!), Tory Ross (Cry-Baby), Jennifer Perry (Mamma Mia!), Josh Caggiano (Les Miserables), Aaron Bantum (Finian's Rainbow), Adinah Alexander (The Wedding Singer), Eric Anderson (South Pacific), Eugene Barry-Hill (The Lion King), Stephen Berger (The Pajama Game), Caroline Bowman (Wicked), Sandra DeNise (Shrek), Eric Leviton (Seussical), Ellyn Marie Marsh (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), John Jeffrey Martin (Hairspray), Nathan Peck (La Cage aux Folles), Robert Pendilla (Wicked), Lucia Spina (South Pacific), Sebastian Hedges Thomas (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), Marquise Neal and Clifton Oliver (In the Heights).
Here's how it's billed: "In Kinky Boots, Charlie Price (Sands) is forced to step in and save his family's shoe factory in Northern England following the sudden death of his father. Help comes from the unlikeliest angel, a fabulous drag performer named Lola (Porter). Together, this improbable duo revitalizes the failing business, while stepping out from their fathers' shadows and transforming an entire community through the power of acceptance."
Musical supervision, arrangements and orchestrations for Kinky Boots are by Tony Award winner Stephen Oremus (The Book of Mormon, Wicked).
Designing the production are Tony nominee David Rockwell (scenic design), Tony Award winner Gregg Barnes (costume design), Tony Award winner Kenneth Posner (lighting design), John Shivers (sound design), Josh Marquette (hair design) and Randy Houston Mercer (make-up design).
For tickets to the Chicago run, visit BroadwayinChicago.com.
