Kick off your "Kinky Boots"

by Sara Ritsch
Staff Writer

Get a taste of eclecticism with a combination of Broadway, Cyndi Lauper and drag queen theatre in the upcoming performances of Kinky Boots this season. Kinky Boots is a smash-hit musical that brings together the author of the original book, four-time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein and Grammy Award-winning rock icon Cyndi Lauper, who arranged the whimsical and heart-tugging score.

On Broadway, Kinky Boots took home six 2013 Tony Awards – more than any other show that season – including Best Musical, Best Score (Cyndi Lauper), Best Choreography (Jerry Mitchell), Best Orchestrations (Stephen Oremus) and Best Sound Design (John Shivers). The show also received the award for Best Musical from the Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Broadway.com, as well as the Grammy Award for Best Musical Album, along with many other accolades.

Now, it’s coming off Broadway and right home to you - in Fayetteville, Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Charlie Price, a shoemaker, is struggling to live up to his father's expectations and continue the family business of Price & Son. With the shoe factory's future hanging in the balance, help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola – a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos. Lola turns out to be the one person who can help Charlie to become the man he's meant to be.

In their American national tour, the fabulous drag icon Lola is played by J. Harrison Ghee, a North Carolina native who grew up in the church and took his talent to the stage at a young age. After graduating from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, he performed for Tokyo Disney, various regional fringe festivals and on cruise ships before starring in Kinky Boots – but here he has found a true niche.

Ghee says he immediately identified with Lola, certainly due to his five-year-long history of performing drag. “I understand the lifestyle of drag cabaret artists, as well as having to tell my religious family that I’m a drag queen.

“My dad didn’t even know [I do drag] until I booked this show. I explained that drag is a creative art form that I have complete control over. I’ve always been fanciful and bold. After he saw the show, he told me he was proud of who and what I am.”

In that way, Ghee and Lola align in this riveting story of two men, completely opposite, who must come to terms with their fathers’ outlooks.

“I definitely incorporate my background [when playing Lola],” he says, especially when singing the musical number Not My Father’s Son. “The line, ‘With the strength of Sparta and the patience of Job,’ made a personal connection with me. I always say Cyndi must have had someone follow me around in my life.”

Not My Father’s Son, however, is not necessarily Ghee’s favorite number. “That’s like slitting my wrist and pouring myself on stage,” he laughs. “My favorite is actually Land of Lola, where I get to introduce myself and be fun and free and fanciful.” Ghee’s personality comes to life on stage.

In a performance that is critically acclaimed to be both heartfelt and thought provoking, the absurdity is what makes it so successful. It’s relatable, and as Ghee says, “There’s a message.”

Every show is a success, but the most moving performance occurred in Des Moines, Iowa, of all places. In the middle of the finale, “the entire house of 3,000 people was on their feet dancing and singing along. The entire cast was in tears because we had never felt so much energy given to us. We were all caught off guard; looking at each other, crying and smiling. It was like, who would have thought?”

In these upcoming performances, the cast of Kinky Boots looks forward to the same amount of energy. Its brightest moments come with the amount of fun shared – from the actors to the audience, and from the stage to real life.

Kinky Boots opens at Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Tuesday, Jan. 19 and runs through Sunday, Jan. 24. Tickets are $36 to $78 plus applicable fees and can be purchased by calling Walton Arts Center's Box Office at (479) 443.5600.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, shows run from Feb. 2 to 7 at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, January 6 at 10 a.m. and may be purchased by phone (918) 596-7111 or (800) 364-7111, in person at the Tulsa PAC Box Office, or online at www.MyTicketOffice.com.

In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Kinky Boots will be performed at the OKC Civic Center from Feb. 9 through 14. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 8 at 9 a.m. and may be purchased via phone (800) 869-1451, (405) 297-2264, in person at the Civic Center Box Office, or online at www.CelebrityAttractions.com.

The Gayly - 1/10/2016 @ 2 am CST