‘Kinky Boots’ tells story of unlikely pair at NorShor Theater

DULUTH, MN. (Northern News Now) - The Duluth Playhouse is the first Minnesota-based company to put on a production of the Tony-winning musical.

The musical tells the true story of a London-based shoe company that has sluggish sales, needing a boost from an unlikely character.

“Kinky Boots is a wonderful celebration of individuality and what makes us all unique and special,” Phillip Fazio, the Artistic Director of the Duluth Playhouse, said. “The flip side of that is the second message of the show is that underneath we are all the same. It’s a beautiful message.”

The owner of the shoe factory gets help from a drag queen in London, which ends up bringing big business to the company.

Fazio said they started rehearsals months ago, preparing for their debut last weekend.

“We began working on it we had production meetings with our design team about six months out and we started rehearsals about five weeks ago,” he said.

The musical features music written by Grammy Award Winner Cyndi Lauper, who also won the award for “Best Musical Theater Album” for “Kinky Boots” in 2014.

During opening weekend, Fazio said the crowd fell in love with the music.

“They start leaning forward, they start tapping their feet,” he said. “When the show is over, the audience is dancing down the aisles as they leave, they just the songs are getting inside your head and they don’t leave and you don’t want them to leave because it’s a party.”

Some of the biggest numbers in the show feature actors dancing on stage in the famous high-heeled boots from which the show gets its name.

When they first got the shoes, the actors were excited.

“It was Christmas day like we rolled in this giant wagon and we had boxes with everyone’s names on it,” Fazio said.

After they laces up their boots, some were ready to dance, others, not so much.

“Some of them were like this is the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said. “It was a really fun day and then just watching them grow and progress and take on the challenge of wearing these amazing boots.

“Kinky Boots” has two weekends left at the NorShor Theater, playing July 20-23 and July 27-30.

If you would like to buy tickets, you can visit the Duluth Playhouse website here.

The American Sign Language performance is July 28 at 7:30 p.m.

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