They’ll feed your fire! They’ll take you higher! They’ll light you up like a live wire! In those sexy, stunning— Kinky Boots! And we’re doing a TheatreBloom live, sit-down exclusive interview with J Purnell Hargrove, playing Lola, and Rob Tucker, playing Charlie Price! It’s fierce! It’s fabulous! And they’re both on fire!
Thank you both so very much for taking time out of your busy rehearsing schedule to show up today and sit down for this interview! Now, you’re clearly both local stage legends in your own right, but have you ever worked together before Kinky Boots or are you one of those unicorn dream-teams who have passed each other by through the years and have known about each other but never actually worked together.
J Purnell Hargrove: Zelda, right? We were together for that!
Rob Tucker: Yeah, Zelda but that was a staged concert so this is technically the first full production we’ve done together.
But you two know each other.
Rob: Oh yeah, we met like a decade ago I’m sure.
J: Yes! I’ve known him forever, we’ve hung out, all that stuff. But it’s our first time doing a big, whole, full show. First time getting to react to each other together on stage.
That’s awesome. So what was it about Kinky Boots that made you both decide you had to go out for it, that made you want to throw your hats in the ring and say, “That’s my show, I’m going out for that.” Why Kinky Boots?
Rob: Ever since I heard the album, ever since I heard Stark Sands (originator of the Charlie Price role on Broadway, 2013) wailing up there? This has become my show. This is my in-the-shower, driving-alone-long-distances album to wail to, every single song. Very quickly along, this became a bucket-list role for me. And I said, “First theatre that does it, I am there.” And it almost didn’t happen for me but it is kind of serendipitous. As you know, Mandy, I was scheduled to direct Newsies at Phoenix Festival Theatre when HCPS just randomly scheduled some maintenance and that production had to be postponed. And originally, if they hadn’t scheduled their maintenance, that conflict would have made this impossible. Let’s call it bittersweet serendipity? Newsies is now postponed a year but that gave me the opportunity to strike this off my bucket-list. And that bucket was getting pretty close for a role like Charlie— I’m in my late 30’s. And Charlie is essentially just out of college. I recommend face lotion. This has always been a bucket-list role for me and I am so thrilled to get to do it.
That’s fantastic and I am so excited to get to see you in one of your bucket-list roles! What about for you, J?
J: For me, it is very similar. It is a bucket-list role for me and it was absolutely “whoever is doing it first, I’m going to do it.” There’s not many roles— and you and I have talked about this before, Mandy— there are not many role out there written specifically for somebody like me with the things that I can do. So when one of those comes around, I’ve gotta try it. And that is really what this role is for me. I’m able to do all of the things I can do and it’s so rare to get the opportunity to do that.
I hear you. And I think this is truly a J role.
J: It is a J role.
And not that I was surprised when auditions for this were announced, I figured Rob would probably be there— having completely forgotten about Newsies— but I knew you were going to be there, J.
J: And the irony is— I almost wasn’t! Similar to Rob, I had some other conflicts and it wasn’t necessarily going to work out.
Rob: How awesome is it that the first local community theatre in Maryland to take a swing at this was in our proximity and it’s here at DCT? It’s well known that DCT is kind, easy to work with, very supportive, you don’t feel like you’re hanging out to dry ever working with them.
I think it’s incredible that this show is getting to make its community premiere at Dundalk Community Theatre; I’m thrilled that Roger (Director Roger Schulman) is on board; as you know, he was received the first ever Theatre Bloomie award for his work with Cockpit in Court’s The Prom last summer.
J: Yaaaas! The Bloomies! I got one of those! I was in that show! Yaaaaas!
Yes you were! Now, Rob, I think we both know that J probably has some experience strutting around in ultra-high heels, but I’m going out on a limb here and I’m going to guess that this is perhaps your first time wearing a drag stiletto?
Rob: While J definitely probably already owns quite a few pairs… for me? My only experience walking around in heeled shoes… are my lifts. As you know, I am a mere five-foot, six-inches tall. There are lots of theaters that are cool with that, they don’t mind pairing up a shorter guy with whoever, but there have been— especially at the beginning of my career and when I was auditioning for more traditional stuff— the occasionally director would require me to wear lifted shoes.
J: Oh my God. Stop it! I did not know that!
Rob: Oh yes. I will never forget it. He’s local— Doc Anderson— I am not remembering the name of his school, but I remember walking into an audition for “BATs” (Babes in Toyland) up at Oregon Ridge and this is literally— Lance Bankerd called, there was no one else, they needed an Alan for their annual Babes in Toyland. I walk in and the very first thing that Doc Anderson has ever and will have ever said to me was, “you got lifts, right?” This was before he ever heard me sing, before everything. His very first look at me, I will never forget it, it is seared into my brain. And by then, I thought, “Okay, whatever, I’m 5’6, it’s a fact of life, who cares?” So that is the very long, round-about answer. Mandy, you know whenever you ask me a question, the answer is always going to come in paragraphs and lengthy sentences. So I’ve worn three-inches, but never higher. And I’m very excited to get to try and go higher. I’m looking forward to getting into my practice pairs!
You can always borrow some of mine, Rob, anytime you want. I’ve got stilettos that go up to seven inches and quite a few heights in-between!
Rob: Okay, yeah, wow—
J: ‘Scuse you—
Hush, J. You have all your own heels. And since we know you have your own heels and wear them often, how is working with them for this show compare to your experience and how long have you been in the ‘drag’ shoe?
J: You know I love a tall stiletto just in life. I’ve got a pair with me today but I’m not wearing them right now. This is a little different because I’m doing a lot more dancing. Rachel Miller (choreographer for Kinky Boots) is not letting me step-touch over there. I’ve noticed the biggest issue I’ve had is crossing the stage without skipping. I need to walk with a little more authority. It’s I need to get from here to there and do it without running and tipping over. That’s been the hardest thing and that’s not even that hard. I have not seen my ‘show shoes’ yet but I am super excited to see them.
I’m excited to see them too! And I cannot wait for you two to see the pair of ‘kinky boots’ that I’m pulling out for me for this show.
J: Oh, girl! I cannot wait either. I know you’ve got some shoes.
Rob: Oh goodness. You’re gonna be 6’10, Mandy!
J: As she should be!
I’m only 5’10. I even wore my flats today because I knew I’d be seeing Rob today!
Rob: Hahaha! How kind!
I love you both. Now we’re all super excited to see some of these costumes. Now, Rob, I know you don’t really get to wear the ‘drag’ costumes, but J, you’re no stranger to drag, right?
J: Mostly in theatre, but I’m no stranger to having some hips and a little corset.
That is so awesome. And J, I’m so excited to get to ask you this question, and I want to reiterate that it comes from a place of love— and of course, I think both of you knew me when I was a fuller-figured size, but J, Lola has been more traditionally cast as a bit more of a bean-poll type girl. So what is it like for you getting to be your larger-than-life self and really fill out this role of Lola against what has been the traditional body-type casting?
J: I like the idea of a more conventionally sized Lola. Because I think that’s more realistic than any of— well— most of the drag queens I know. I know two skinny drag queens. And also Lola is a professional boxer, so you would hope there would be a little girth involved. I’ve always liked seeing people that look like me on stage and now getting to be the person that I wanted to see on stage years ago has been really wonderful and it’s really hitting home for me there. And our costumer said all the right things when we met. Her name is Alex (costumer Alex Chernow), she does a lot of burlesque costuming, she’s going to make us look RIGHT.
Rob: Style has no size!
Yes, thank you for that! Now, where is the cross-section of these characters for the two of you. Where, Rob, do you and Charlie intersect? How are you bringing yourself to Charlie? How is Charlie bringing himself to you? Where are you different, where are you similar?
Rob: I think everyone wants to see eye to eye more with their parents, to some degree. Now, my upbringing is nowhere near the division that Charlie has between him and his dad. But I did see a lot of similarities in my own relationship with my father. We are politically opposed. However, our working relationship is one full of love. For one it’s him full of hope and support. And it’s really not unlike Charlie’s experience. Charlie wants to realize his father’s hopes and dreams.
Now where it departs is, I’m pretty sure I’ve made my dad proud of what I do and how I do it. I do know that he will come and support my work. He supports my education work. Enough that we can discuss things regarding these topics and he will come out seeing my point of view. I think everybody wants a closer relationship with their parents or to understand what they see in them and how they in some unique way can come to embody the spirit of hope that a parent has for a child. That’s where Charlie intersects for me.
Also, who can’t relate to someone like Charlie, as a person who didn’t really find his permanent career at age 28 when I started working at Edgewood.
J: That’s still early AF!
Rob: I know it is still early, but I tried a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I did some vocal, I did some performing, but I didn’t know. I had this feeling that I was going to wander aimlessly until I stumbled into ‘it’. And that’s a source of anxiety because you sit there and you think, “how’s your life going to go?” You get out of college, you work 30 years, you retire, and then what? What’s funny is literally none of that has happened to me. I didn’t pop right out of college into a job like so many of my generation. I didn’t pop out of college into the thing that I would do for the rest of my life. Who knows if what I’m doing right now is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life. Life throws you curveballs. Life is unexpected. And we get taught that in the first five pages of this show. Charlie has almost closed the book on his life’s plans when it gets torn open again. And lo and behold, it’s mostly blank pages.
That is a really profound way to put that, Rob. What about for you, J? Where do you cross-section with Lola? How are you bringing yourself to Lola, how is Lola coming to you? Where are the differences, where are the similarities?
J: We’re both performers so there is that aspect of having a largess, having a way that people already view you before you even come into a situation. I think that that’s where I am with Lola; that’s where we connect. As Rob said, we all have parent issues in one way or another. I guess, in a way that is similar to Lola, I recognize my parents for being people earlier than a lot of my friends did. So they became people but also my parents, so that their faults didn’t throw me off the way that it has for other people. I would say that’s where we are connected. Other than that, it’s getting to just live out the dream of being the most fabulous person in the room.
I feel like you do that every day of your life.
J: Sometimes. If we’re feeling it!
You and Lola both take up all of the air in the room. In the best way possible.
J: That too! And of course, Lola and I are both very supportive of the people we’re working with. I like to create a huge family whenever I work on something. And we’re already so tight over here, which has been great.
Rob: Absolutely! It is an instant family. And it is very fun to watch J generate material or ideas that maybe they’re there one time but they may be out the window the next. It’s very fun to watch that kind of creative process.
I love hearing all of this. The family, the safe-space cultivation; I am thrilled! Now, what are some of the challenges that you two have had up to this point? I know you’re still in the middle of the rehearsal process so there will be more challenges, possibly, as you get closer to opening the show, but what have been the big challenges so far?
J: This is going to sound weird but I haven’t really had any. Not any major big ones yet! I guess piecing it all together? Like I’m watching this and seeing that piecing some of these pieces together are going to be like WOOF. And it’s not even me I’m worried about, I’m more worried about that for Rob than I am for me because Rob has to spend more time on stage than I do. Although, when I’m not on stage I’m changing costumes so it’s not like I’m not doing anything.
Rob’s challenge is his calendar.
Rob: I am in no position to argue that whatsoever. But that aside, oh man, the North Hampton accent is a weird one! The thing of it is, it’s a particularly character-y accent. In the lineup of English accents, it’s right there with Cockney in the stereotypical ideas that you think about when you hear a North Hampton accent. It’s typically paired with evil or sinister or dumb. And I think I’ve said more than once in rehearsal, “gosh, this is really hard to get this voice to fit in with ‘leading player.’
J: You definitely have mentioned that before and we’ve talked about that in rehearsal because they don’t seem to go together. Like you said, evil or bad guy but Charlie is more leading guy and less the stereotype.
Rob: That has been an incredible challenge for me but it’s super fun to listen to the specifics of this accent and work with that. I consider that to be one of my strengths, to be able to chameleon myself into different voices. It’s rare that I run into a situation where I feel like I’m a little challenged.
I’ll say the other challenge is this part where J and I have to share a hug after a certain scene— and I’m going to try to talk about this without spoilers— but that has been challenging every time because Charlie says some pretty strong things and I’m not sure I have ever engaged with belief-wise in my life. Charlie has to stretch himself out of his wrong assumptions, into his new assumptions, and find a way for that to fit in his life and there are certain points where it’s a little difficult to see eye to eye with Charlie’s life experience. It’s something that I— even though I grew up rural— either left behind a long, long time ago, or never ever engaged with in the first place.
J: It does seem to be harder for you to say it than it is for me to hear it.
Rob: It is very hard to unpack that.
I can imagine, for you, Rob— who doesn’t have those beliefs, and I know exactly what moment you’re talking about, I’ve seen Kinky Boots a few times— to channel that moment, to make it real and believable goes against every fiber of your being because you don’t believe those things. And J, my suspicion is that unfortunately in real life you probably have been on the receiving end of things like that before.
J: You are correct. That is not new. Nothing new. It still hurts to hear it, but I’ve heard it before. I think I’ve had this conversation with Rob and I know I’ve definitely had it with Roger, because I don’t want to react the way I react in my real life. Because in my real life, say whatever you want, I don’t care anymore, I don’t let it affect me. I love myself, I know there are people who are not going to like me for who I am. People are not going to like me and I’ve known that for a long time. And that’s fine.
Rob: I think maybe Lola is not as far along in her self-love journey as you, J.
J: Maybe! Maybe that’s it. So I have had to dig into that a little bit and that has been a little bit of a challenge but I love a little dramatic acting moment. I’m also a little sad that during the show we’re not going to get that moment— because every time we’ve done it in rehearsal we get to regroup and come together and say “we’re okay!” and they don’t get that as Charlie and Lola in the show in that moment.
I always hesitate to ask this question because I hate to use the word favorite, but in the not quite 15 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never found a word I prefer, so, do you have a favorite number that you either sing or maybe you’re not singing and watching from the wings, but what is the favorite musical moment for you?
J: I want to hear your answer, Rob!
Rob: I cannot wait for Anderson Gray to sing “History of Wrong Guys.” In my shower and car-ride album, that is my shower and car-ride song!
J: That’s hilarious! Of course it is!
Rob: I am so excited. This is my first time meeting and now working with Anderson. It’s come out in little bits, I haven’t had the opportunity to hear the whole thing
J: You’re in for a treat!
Rob: I know, I’m so excited. It’s going to be so good!
And now I just want to hear Rob sing it.
Rob: Come get in my car! I sing it on key!
Fantastic. What about you, J?
J: We all talk about how we like “In This Corner” that song for some reason does something to us! I guess singing wise, I like everything I sing. This is one of those shows where I’m very lucky. I don’t have a song where I’m rolling my eyes at having to sing it. Everything Rob sings, also. When the show starts running, “The Soul of a Man” is going to be my jam. I’m going to be backstage changing and singing along. That’s going to be my show-jam.
I’m 100% with you about “everything Rob sings” because I’ve had the pleasure of listening to him sing all sorts over the decade and change I’ve been in the business and I could listen to him sing the phonebook. Wow, I’m dating myself, do kids even know what phonebooks are these days?
J: Seriously!
Now this one is a little deeper of a question. What is the moment of the show that defines what the show means for you personally?
Rob: I think it’s your turn to go first, J. But I’m wondering if you’re thinking of the same moment I’m thinking of.
J: This one is deep! What defines the show for me— I don’t even know!
Rob: For me, I think it’s “Not My Father’s Son.” That song.
J: That’s a big one. I think for character work and for what Rob and I both bring to this? Absolutely “No My Father’s Son.” It’s where we remove all the artifice of what all of this is and we get to just be. But you know what? I think my moment is for me? It’s when Don decides, it’s Don’s decision to— either when he decides to give the money back and work on the shoes or at the end when Don comes out wearing the shoes. For me, that’s what the show is about. It’s not necessarily about changing people’s minds but rather helping people to see that their outlook on life isn’t the only one. For me it’s that!
Rob: I love that. Part of acceptance is finding commonality and similarity. For Don to take that step, he had to discover something about Lola that he related to. This need to be strong and tough, and to have that exterior that is unbreakable is something they share. To connect J’s moment with my moment, discovering in vastly different ways, we have things in common.
This one is a less deep question, more fun. If you could play any other character in the show, regardless of qualifications to be able to play that character, who would you want to play and why?
J: I mean I’d love to play Charlie!
Rob: Lola would be great because of all that character work and I love a good character work character, I’m attracted to character work. And not to simp over the Lauren character, but like I said, I would love to play that part. It’s very unique and very quickly established as an ingenue but not an ingenue. A character ingenue? Is that a thing? It’s a thing now. It’s like Fred in Once Upon A Mattress. You have this opportunity to scratch off the surface of a part that is otherwise there to essentially be just a romantic interest. So I’d go for being Lauren.
I could see you playing either one of those roles.
J: Me too. Come on, WhiteLola! Let’s get it! We’ll swap— I’m Charlie, you’re Lola.
You two crack me up! White Lola. Boy Lauren. We’ll make it work.
Rob: I mean that’s a little risky of an answer, don’t you think?
J: Don’t let Rob fool you!
In fantasy theatre world, aren’t we all playing every part as we sing along to the entire cast recording in our cars anyhow?
J: Exactly!!
You two are just perfect for this. Now, back to the deep end of the question pool again. What has playing— we’ll start with J— what has playing Lola taught you about yourself?
J: That I can trust myself a lot more than I have. Post-pandemic, I have not turned it off completely, but I have not been trusting the things that I bring? I’ve been holding back a little bit. With my last show and now with this show, just being able to be unapologetically queer and nonsensical— I’ve been able to trust myself to go there.
That was a beautiful answer, thank you J. Rob, what has playing Charlie taught you about yourself?
Rob: My whole life has been filled with thoughtful nuance and overthinking, it’s a condition of my existence. I actually have no idea what to say here. I wish I had something deeper.
J: Sometimes it doesn’t have to be deep. Sometimes it doesn’t teach you anything. Sometimes that is true.
Rob: Maybe I’m just going to refute what I said earlier and I’ll say that people do take great journeys of perspective in their lives and Charlie’s could very much be a summary of my own. From whatever presumptions I had as a child, I could be very nice to myself or I could be too mean to myself regarding what perspectives I had. And the journey that it took for me to break from any of that. And I wish I had specific examples but I don’t. It would be untruthful to say that I didn’t break from assumptions as I aged into the person that I am now. That journey can be summarized by playing Charlie. It’s 30 years summed up in two and a half hours.
The big iconic, “Just Be.” What does that mean to you?
J: It really is, like I said before, like the thing I’ve gotten from Lola is to be unapologetically queer. Be mad at the world. Be happy that things are happening. Just let it happen. And be that. There’s no wrong answers in how something makes you feel. The wrong answer is sometimes how you react to it.
Rob: Just be has so many— in this instance— it is so generalizable to any instance of difference. For me, it was growing up with that ADHD, neurodivergence, ostracized all through elementary school I had like a friend. Who then moved away. The difficulty in the pathway to find where you belong and can be putting yourself into a situation where you can just live as you? That’s this. I’m a theatre teacher now— did you know the job description for that is just “be weird.”? I am allowed to be the weirdest adult in the entire building! And nobody looks twice at that! I can be me! I can sit down and realize I need to stretch, and I can go ahead and do that, start doing some stretches while I’m lecturing and the kids are just okay with it, because they just think “yeah, whatever, he’s a theatre teacher. That’s what they do.”
J: My life would be completely different if I knew that that was a path to go on as an actor or as a child. “Just go do that and pay that forward.
Rob: Yeah! Every kid comes in my class expecting Sikowitz from Victorious. I’m not there, obviously, but nobody’s surprised if it is.
I cannot imagine how lucky these kids are to have your guidance and inspiration and the gift of your joy that you bring to them because God knows you bring it on stage for all the adults who are fortunate enough to see you in performance.
Rob: That is very, very kind of you. Thank you. And you know, a lot of these kids stick with it. I’ve got so many people that I can say “I taught them.” There are so many individuals that I work with in community theatre now that came through my program. It is especially value to me, it is an extraordinarily valuable experience to me. When I came out here for Kinky Boots, I found out one of my students had auditioned for this show— and that is so special for me. This is actually the first show I’ve done since Covid, where there has not been a former student of mine somewhere in the cast, which is really cool. I have no idea what the original jumping point for this statement was, but I feel like we’ve now gone down this rabbit hole and I feel good about it.
That is totally okay! I think you summed up the ‘just be’ just fine. Now, what has been your big personal takeaway from this experience so far? You’re walking away at the end of the rehearsal day saying, “Thank you, Roger” but what are you going home with?
J: I always have a good time.
Rob: I do too. I always have a good time.
J: And not that I have bad times at other shows or anything. But I get home and I want to re-run what we just did.
Rob: Have you been particularly impressed with the discipline in this cast? Perhaps there is something that we know about this piece that makes it so special? But everybody just comes in absolutely ready to go.
J: This cast is insane. In. Sane. Even when one of us is running in late, you just put your stuff down, jump in and go. We are all so here an in synch with each other. It’s insane.
I think honestly, it’s Roger. When I interviewed Shannon Wollman, Coby Kay Callahan, Darren McDonnell, and Randy Dunkle for The Prom last summer, they all said similar things. The cast had incredible discipline, they were all there to support one another, and it was just a stellar experience. It’s gotta be Roger.
J: And it was. I did that show with them. And I think you might be right. It was the discipline. We had space to play with that show. And we have space to play here too but we come in and do the work. And we all are. There’s not anybody here who is outside of that.
Rob: And the playing never diverts. It seems like we all know that we’re working on something special. We feel it. It’s the fact that everybody has already stepped up. Even in some of the walk-through blocking, the pacing is already there— and the ensemble is already there. Just to know that this show has that kind of bones under it— it’s incredible. And we’ve got Marc (technical director Marc W. Smith) working on changing that environment on stage. We have Alex—
J: Who for real is about to make me look— RIIIIIGHT. I cannot describe how RIIIIIGHT I am going to look thanks to Alex!
Rob: There is a whole chapter to this experience, more so than in a lot of other shows, and that page gets turned and it’s just— BOOM. Color. Costumes. Tights. Stiletto heels.
J: All of that wonderful stuff is going to be icing at that point. The bones for this show are just so, so strong.
This all really sounds excellent. So very excellent. Now what are you hoping that audiences will take away from seeing Kinky Boots?
J: I just want them to have a good time. That’s always been my goal in this. I like doing theatre because I like making people feel things. So whatever they feel is good, I just want them to have a good time. Come see a show. Come watch some drag queens strut around. Come listen to some great singers.
Rob: We can give you a reason to come. But we’ll also give you a reason to come back.
J: Come to see Rob and J. Stay for The Angels! Y’all aren’t ready. You haven’t even seen— you don’t even know. We got an “oooh yaaaas!” out of Roger. It through us off so bad that we had to start over. Y’all are just not ready!
That’s so perfect. That dovetails perfectly into the next question. Come for you two, stay for The Angels, so why do you want people come out and see Kinky Boots? Why is this the show that people should come out and see? There’s a bunch of choices, plenty of things opening that weekend—
J: And you know what? You go out and see them too. You see those shows too.
Rob: Yes, go see my wife in Oliver! up at Tidewater Players.
J: But also definitely see us.
Rob: I think, and Mandy, you’ve spoken about this before, in a lot of cases, community theatre tends to generate itself in waves. One piece will be done and then that thing gets done, and done, and done, and done. All at once. This show— Kinky Boots— is not a show, to my knowledge, that has been done in community theatre in Maryland.
J: We are the first theatre at the community level to do this show.
Rob: You’re going to see it here. You’re going to see it here at DCT— DCT gets to set the standard for Kinky Boots to be seen in this state outside of a professional touring production. I would say, given the remarkably strong culture of LGBTQ+ culture, drag culture, that Baltimore supports—
J: Not just Baltimore, but Baltimore and all the surrounding areas—
Rob: I know that everybody who lives here in Baltimore knows how weird it is here. And that’s something to be proud of. We’ve got our own brand of Portland-Austin weirdness going on.
J: That’s exactly what this show is!
Rob: Come see this show because you can see Baltimore in this show. Think about The Hons and John Waters and all of the craziness that can make up the Baltimore culture, the mish-mash of everything. Kinky Boots is a wild ride. You will find something of yourself in it and you will find something to take away from it.
J: You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll think a little bit.
Rob: And you’ll feel. You’ll come away opened up.
Is there anything else that you two want to say about this experience?
J: This cast. This cast is so—
Rob: It’s really stacked.
J: And I haven’t said this since The Prom!
Rob: You’re talking about a cast where Hunter Labowski doesn’t have a character name in the ensemble but is out here making choices and doing her thing!
J: She’s also the dance captain. But she’s out here making these strong choices, making people out of these ensemble members, and just being able to show off. This cast is just so, so stacked!
What is your color boot? If black is for posers and green is for pickles and the rest— but red is for sex, what’s your color boot?
J: Is that a question? Hello! It’s red. Absolutely, definitely red. Don’t get it f*cking twisted. Ooh but not just any red— let’s get that clear. Like oxblood. Oxblood red.
Rob: I’m really into that teal that’s got straps. Strappy teal. I do love teal. It’s my favorite color. But also maybe plum on cherry—
J: Eggplant— ew, no. Not eggplant— aubergine. But I’m still oxblood red.
So phenomenal. You two have got me so stoked to see this. Now, if you had to sum up your experience of doing Kinky Boots here at Dundalk Community Theatre with just one word, which word would you choose?
Rob: I remember struggling with this question last time, when we were doing Cats. I’m telling you, my kingdom for an adjective.
J: See? I always start out with these vocab words and then I have to work my way back. I need the perfect word! Ooh— I know— it’s KINKY! No, I’m kidding. That’s not my word!
Rob: Words…comfortable, assured.
J: It’s freeing. It’s joyful. Joyous?
Rob: Antic-i-patory?
What are you, Frankenfurter now?
Rob: I’m failing at the words. You know it’s going to be good.
J: It’s that. Whatever that word is—
Rob: Baited!
That’s a good word.
J: Yeah, I like that word— I don’t think I would have come up with that one.
Rob: I should have been a poet in a different life. I can’t just sit on the wrong word. Mandy, I know you feel me on that one, for sure I know you’re the same way.
I do, Rob. I do and I absolutely am. J?
J: I’ll just go with open. I’ll just go there. And not just for me but for everyone in the space.
Kinky Boots plays May 10th 2024 through May 19th 2024 with Dundalk Community Theatre located on the campus of the Community College of Baltimore County Dundalk in the John E. Ravekes Theatre— 7200 Sollers Point Road in Dundalk, MD. Tickets are available for purchase by calling the box office at (443) 840-2787 or by purchasing them in advance online.
