Review: ‘Kinky Boots’ kicks up kindness at Theatre Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — “You change the world when you change your mind.” The core message of “Kinky Boots,” which strutted onto Broadway nearly a decade ago, makes the well-heeled musical feel like it was written right now.

The story of how two polar opposites bridge the abyss between them drew whoops and hollers, applause and an instant standing ovation from last Friday’s opening night audience at Theatre Cedar Rapids. The show, full of grit, glitter and glam, continues through March 6, after a two-year pandemic pause that required re-casting some roles.

Fortunately, Cameron Byrd of Cedar Rapids was onboard from the beginning to give drag queen Lola the sass and class she demands and deserves.

The Broadway production, which swept up six 2013 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, sent Billy Porter’s star rocketing skyward, en route to Tony’s Best Actor in a Musical honors.

And now several thousand people who may never have seen a drag show will experience Byrd’s talent and charm on the TCR stage. He’s been performing drag for eight years in clubs and shows, but this one is special.

“This is my dream role — the role that I've been waiting all my life to play,” he told The Gazette while the show was still in rehearsals.

Through his insight and Lisa Kelly’s thoughtful direction, Byrd owns the stage whenever Lola is preaching, preening or performing in a solo spotlight or with his backup queens, the Angels.

Byrd actually has a dual role, as Lola by night and Simon by day, when warranted. He mixes pluck with panache as Lola, and heartbreaking vulnerability as Simon, whose father tried to punch up his masculinity through boxing, pushing his son away in the process.

Will Adams, a fourth-year musical theater major at the University of Iowa, shines in the other lead role, as Charlie Price, who never lived up to his father’s expectations, either.

Charlie tries to come to the rescue when he sees a group of men threatening Lola in a dark alley. He’s the one who takes it on the chin, and is shocked to discover Lola actually is a man dressed as a woman. In the scuffle, a heel breaks off one of Lola’s boots.

As fate would have it, Charlie has inherited his father’s faltering shoe factory in Northampton, 60 miles northwest of London. When he sees the shoddy workmanship and instability of Lola’s boots, he offers to make her ones more suitable to a man’s bone structure and weight distribution.

One thing leads to another, and soon the two shake hands on a partnership that will shake up their worlds. Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets, but the action is far from smooth sailing when she first struts into the shoe factory alone, then later, brings along her Angels, all men dressed as women. The factory workers aren’t quite ready for that.

Along the way, some ugly words are exchanged, including an especially wrenching, angry rant from Charlie to Lola, but gradually, old hurts surface, are acknowledged, and begin to heal when all parties unite behind their commonalities and causes.

Based on a true story, Harvey Fierstein’s words ring true for all characters, and Cyndi Lauper’s Tony-winning music wraps it all up in a blend of kicky and pensive lyrics and melodies.

Theatre Cedar Rapids’ design team, actors, technicians and orchestra have outdone themselves, going over the top in the best possible fashion.

Joni Sackett’s costumes are flowing and flashy, and the boots are amazing. S. Benjamin Farrar’s scenic and lighting design rock out, whether setting the grim mood for disgruntled factory workers or the glittery realm of the drag queens.

Aaron Malec’s choreography is fun and demanding all the way around, and a special round of applause goes to the guys, most of whom are dancing in heels for the first time in their lives.

As winter slides into slush, this is the perfect show to raise you up.

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com