If you are gonna catch just one musical this year – go for KINKY BOOTS

I love musicals and theatres as much as I love movies. And I enjoy all genres – from trashy B-grade slasher films to arthouse classics to Broadway hits to those mass-audience musicals on cruise ships, I watch them all. Some of these I remember them for the wrong reasons, while some I truly enjoy. I am a fanatic when it comes to collecting narratives, good or bad.

This KINKY BOOT musical now showing at Sands Theatres at Marina Bay Sands for the very first time in Singapore, is mostly good.

The musical features songs by Grammy and Tony winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper and choreography by two-time Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell (Legally Blonde, Hairspray). NKY BOOTS is also the winner of six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Choreography.

Some uppity critics find KINKY BOOTS to be too commercial, but I actually think it struck a good balance in appealing to the masses but yet not overly cheesy. Though I got to admit I am a sucker for cheesy love stories…

For me, the music was catchy, the costumes and sets were way out there, the cast were charming and the storyline was coherent – what’s there to complain about? Plus there’s Cyndi Lauper’s involvement. How can you hate someone who gave you classics like True Colors?

The musical is based on the 2005 British film Kinky Boots, written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth and inspired by true events. It is crafted from the true story of British bloke, Steve Pateman, who was struggling to save his family-run shoe factory in Northampton from closure and decided to produce fetish footwear for men.

There’s a fair bit of creative license in the musical, with more characters added in, some soul-searching moments and love stories to spice things up.

The musical tells the story of Charlie Price. Having inherited a shoe factory from his father, Charlie forms an unlikely partnership with cabaret performer and drag queen Lola to produce a line of high-heeled boots and save the business. In the process, Charlie and Lola discover that they are not so different after all.

Lola’s character was clearly a crowd-pleaser due to his/her gender bending role, switching between loud alpha-male moments and sensitive feminine scenes. Sometimes we feel the strength and competitiveness in Lola and sometimes we feel Lola’s vulnerable side.

The cast for the musical is a celebration for diversity, featuring talents of all shapes, sizes and genders, including drags and transgenders. You know those drag cabaret shows that are popular in touristy destinations like Pattaya in Thailand? KINKY BOOTS is kind of like a Broadway version of these cabaret shows with a solid storyline and original music. I like it.

KINKY BOOTS packed some good old feel-good elements into the narrative and you will walk out of the theatre feeling warm and fuzzy inside with the impulse to go tell a random stranger that you love him or her for the way the person is.

At the end of the show on the opening night performance last Friday, KINKY BOOTS received a standing ovation from the audience and I think it was well-deserved.

We are coming to the end of 2018 and if you are just going to catch one musical this year – let that be KINKY BOOTS. To add to the challenge, go out there and learn to accept people for who they are after watching it – with that, we can all probably contribute to making the world a kinder, better place for everyone.

KINKY BOOTS is now showing at the Sands Theatres at Marina Bay Sands till 14 October 2018. Tickets are selling fast. Be sure to grab your tickets ASAP before they are all gone.