Step aside, Cinderella! Move over, Imelda Marcos! Because Dundalk Community Theatre is here! And they are lighting up the stage like a live wire with Lola’s Kinky Boots! Directed by Roger Schulman, with Musical Direction by Catina Ramis McLagan, and Choreography by Rachel Miller, this stunning production of a gloriously heartwarming tale invites you to embrace yourself for who you are, live your best life, and to simply— just be!
Buckle up for a trip to Northampton as seasoned Technical Director Marc W. Smith takes you to ‘Price & Son’ shoe factory. Smith’s set is tremendous and fills the vast cavern of the John E. Ravekes mainstage theatre space gloriously. There’s a drop-wall that gives you the front-face of the bricked factory building, complete with frosted glass windows and that green metal lining. The factory’s interior is even more striking; an upstairs office that oversees the factory with those industrial green-metal steps and folding brick-swing arches that create this fanciful illusion of endless depth. Smith is the lighting, sound, and projections designer for the show as well and when it comes to party atmosphere— particularly when in the club with Lola and The Angels, Smith’s illumination techniques are on-point. There isn’t oodles and poodles of ‘atmospheric lighting’ coming into play for this production and that’s perfectly fine as the performers are carrying all of the atmospheric emotion with their singing, dancing, and storytelling. While there were some sound issues on opening night, particularly with mics cutting in and out, don’t let it deter you from fulfilling experience of the production as a whole. The grandeur of Smith’s set lives up to the exquisite talent that populates this production and for the most part the other technical components of Smith’s design work are functional, if not fabulous.
If pink is for playthings, yellow for warnings, purple for princes, black for wannabees, green for pickles, and red— red is for SEX— then Alex Chernow, the show’s costume designer, has got this show covered in sex appeal! It takes a village in community theatre and Chernow, who crafts the couture for the show, has a stupendous support team in Wig Designer Ryan DeVoe (of RMD Studio Wigs) and Angels Makeup Consultant Ervena Chloe. While everyone wants to ogle at those kinky boots— and believe me, there are pairs galore to ogle, fawn over, attempt to steal from performers at the end of the night, etc.— Chernow does not forget that there is a grittier, less-glamourous side of the show that still needs costuming. The factory workers have their own brand of fashion— true salt of the earth plaids and muted tones that really create a sparky contrast to the glitter, sequins, and general fabulosity of everything featured on Lola and The Angels. And of course there’s sequins for days when it comes to gussying up the glamourous ‘gals’ that are The Angels. Particularly their ‘Milan’ outfits— that’s where the real blinding shine comes from in Chernow’s work— but generally everything that they wear is just fantastic. Ryan DeVoe’s wigs are in a category all their own; gorgeously stacked, superbly teased, vivacious and lively with bodies and expressions all their own— particularly the Donna Summer wig on Lola just before “The Soul of a Man.” And our Angels have the fiercest makeup in town, thanks to consultations from Ervena Chloe (also one of the Angels!) Chernow, who fills out the Angels and of course Miss Lola in the most stunning of styles, nails the aesthetic of Kinky Boots as a true Fashion Queen, with full support from Ervena Chloe and Ryan DeVoe.
If you want to see those boots banging about in action, look no further than the choreography of Rachel Miller. There’s a world of strutting, sashaying, shimmying, shaking, and a whole bunch of spinning when it comes to Miller’s moves. “The Land of Lola” is just the sequin-studded, glitter-dipped tip of the routines you’ll get under Miller’s masterful command. She puts real motion into those sexy stiletto boots and that is no small feat considering just how slender and pointed some of these heels are! Like Chernow, Miller recognizes that there’s an ensemble of factory workers outside of Lola and her angels that need moves that bump to the beat, move to the music, and ultimately inspire thrilling energy throughout the performance. And Miller does not disappoint! “Everybody Say Yeah!” get that whole factory floor blazing with dance in a way that feels like someone pumped the temperature in the house way up. There’s choreographed nuance to the slow-motion fight during “In This Corner” as well (watch out for Angel Ryan Bordenski who lays flat-backed and up-cross-legged to hold the boxing ring rope in place; it’s a killer moment!) Miller’s signature enthusiasm is stamped all over the project and the dance routines are executed with effective crispness while never losing the pulse of the play.
Rolling the show along with ease, balance, and beautiful sounds— not just from the extraordinary strength of the ensemble that she guides vocally but also from the pit where she’s conducting the live orchestra— Musical Director Catina McLagan has her ears set on the prize— a balanced, blended musical sensation. The pit (featuring McLagan conducting on keys, with Jae Anthonee on keys2, Jamie Williams & Ricky Peralta on guitar1, Dave Jenkins on guitar2, Matt Carroll & Michael Kellam on bass, and Mike Feathers on drums) keeps flawless time with the stage performers and it feeds the enthusiasm, which is already rolling in waves out to the audience, for every step of the musical journey that is Kinky Boots. McLagan has the ensemble on their toes, performing at the zenith of perfection for all of the whole company numbers, like “The Most Beautiful Thing in the World”, which truly does set the tone and overall mood for the show, making for a truly exceptional show to hear. Dialect Coach Callum McLagan deserves multiple nods of praise for working through the harsh sounds of that Northampton accent, fitting it flawlessly over these performers in a way that is still intelligible as well as guiding that sound into their singing voice. It’s excellent dialect work, hands down.
The story of Kinky Boots is an extraordinary one. It’s chock-a-block with life learning lessons, heartfelt moments, true comedy, and just a wondrous beauty that really touches the audience in indescribable ways. Director Roger Schulman has assembled an impressive cast, honed in on dozens of stellar moments that happen both in song and dialogue exchange, and really focuses on these moments that will resonate with the audience long after they leave the theatre for the evening. You get a touching conversation in the gents toilets between Charlie and Lola, which could be easily overlooked or sped-through that Schulman really takes the time to build into a foundational stepping stone of the plot. The pacing of the show itself is tight (some of the furniture shifts as scenes move in and out of existence could be a little more expedient, as you often still see stage-hands in their backstage-all-blacks moving desks or the bar in and out of scene) and a nod to Stage Manager TraceyAnn Tokar Smith (and Dresser Maria Fracasso) is in order. Schulman also keeps the spirit of the production from the moment the story begins through to the curtain-call dance-out. There’s never a dull moment or a missed opportunity for raw emotions, spirited enthusiasm, or genuine compassion. Schulman encourages the performers to make these characters, larger-than-life though some of them are, real people and it shows every kinky-booted-step of the way.
With an ensemble of knockout stars— featuring Hunter Aldridge, Amy Bell, Jeff Burch, Ren Culbreath, Tristin Goodenough, Amy Haynes Rapnicki, Chris Kabara, Hunter Lubawski, Emily Machovec, Lucky Marino, Molly Mayne, Lauren Stuart, Bryan Thompson, Tod Wildason— you get an unyielding vivacity from this corps of talented superstars, making subtle moments pop all throughout their background scenes in addition to all of the phenomenal vocal work they’re putting into the larger group numbers. It’s high-octane intensity all the way with this ensemble, especially during those moments of full company engagement like “Raise You Up/Just Be” and “What a Woman Wants” where the women of the ensemble really get their featured moment in the limelight. Even though these ensemble performers are nameless in the script, you can tell they’re each their own person, living fully in the moments— even and especially when they’re quietly chewing scenery in the background; it’s just astonishing and fascinating to watch whilst simultaneously never truly pulling focus (at least not in the negative way) from what’s happening in the foreground of the scene’s action. Add to the mix of the ensemble Young Simon (Jordyn Evans) and Young Charlie (Noah Anderson) played opposite their fathers, Simon Sr (Bryan Thompson) and Mr. Price (Jeff Burch) and you get this beautiful full-circle tale. Whilst Anderson and Evans are really mostly featured in the opening number, “The Most Beautiful Things in the World” you may see them pop up again near the end in a most heart-touching fashion.
In addition to the ensemble, you have named characters— Don (Maxwell Wolf), Pat (Tatiana Dalton), and Trish (Andrea Wildason) who are the brawn, brains, and soul-glue of the factory crops. Tatiana Dalton and Andrea Wildason really get to shine during “What a Woman Wants”, with Dalton putting those glorious vocals on display and Wildason getting to do so many spins around Lola’s arm that you go dizzy trying to keep up with her. Dalton and Wildason’s characters both have heated interactions with Charlie Price as the performance goes on and their Northampton, working-class accents stay impeccable with perfect articulation, even when they’re fuming. As for beefy-headed Don, Maxwell Wolf is knocking it out of the park, putting the toxic masculinity on display in a finely balanced blend of caricature work so that he’s not completely irredeemable. And when the pivotal shift comes post “In This Corner” you get this mellowed moment of humanization that’s really stellar and touches the heart. Wolf is also hilarious in his homophobic response (a necessary, scripted part of the character) when he first encounters Lola in the factory, really engaging his whole body into the reaction. You can see more of Wolf’s physical comedy capabilities during the slow-motion boxing choreography of “In This Corner.”
While he never gets a true singing solo, watching David Steinhorn flit around the factory floor as George is just an adorable delight. Infused into the script as comic relief, the character of George has a profound moment that Steinhorn handles sublimely at the very end of the ‘scene-exodus’ that precedes “The Soul of a Man.” It’s a simple look, shake of the head, and exit of the scene but it read so powerfully you feel the gut-punch intention that it’s delivered with. Steinhorn balances this quirky character, not letting George become too flamboyantly over-the-top while still maintaining some of the affected mannerisms and gestures that really add humor and glee to the character.
Even when the show is about loving yourself (and lawdy— loving your shoes!!!) there’s going to be a ‘love interest’ because Broadway, much like Hollywood, cannot seem to exist without it. Enter Nicola (Jordan Burch.) With a striking handle on her Northampton accent— which tries so hard to sound posh and polished, clearly attempting to show how the character is trying to ‘shake the dirt of that crummy old town from the souls of her shoes and strut through London in 900-quid heels’— Burch delivers a blast of frigid frostiness perfectly suited for the role. And of course where there’s one love interest who doesn’t feel like the ‘perfect fit’ for the leading fella, there’s bound to be another: enter Lauren (Anderson Gray.) With a blended balance of sincerity and eccentric humor, Gray keeps the audience giggling and in full support of her character’s whims. When she tackles “The History of Wrong Guys” you get to hear her find comic nuance in the number, really flexing her humor-muscle all during this tune. Both Burch and Gray wear their heels with superb skill and both are well suited to play opposite (one another though they don’t actually have a real interaction as characters) and opposite the Charlie Price character.
It may be Lola Land for much of Kinky Boots but those Angels are FIERCE! This quartet of Angels— Kenny Alam, Ryan Bordenski, Ervena Chloe, and Brian Jacobs— will light you up like a live wire, no joke! These queens are the real deal and they are here to blaze a path into your hearts. The opening night audience was screaming their praises every time these fab four flounced onto the stage. Serving up face, attitude, dance moves like nobody’s business, and so much sass it was nearly an overload-explosion of awesomeness, these Angels are out to decimate with devastating ferocity and they succeed. Each one of them has a powerhouse pop moment— whether it’s Kenny Alam, who literally had half the audience blast-cheering every time he’d strut through “In This Corner” holding up the ‘Round 1/Round 2’ sign, or Ervena Chloe who turned into the boxing ring arena rope holder…WITH HIS HIGH HEELS UP IN THE AIR… or two-tone Cruella-channeling Ryan Bordenski as the ‘boxing referee’— and you’ll find yourself screaming for it too. “Sex is in the Heel” is where Ervena Chloe and Brian Jacobs get to pop and shine, though all four Angels are knocking it out of the park in this number. The confidence they exude is unhinged, the glorious glamour that they’re rocking is beyond ferocious, and every time they strut a step you can feel their radiance erupting out into the house. All hail The Angels, Kenny Alam, Ryan Bordenski, Ervena Chloe, and Brian Jacobs!
Lola!!! Loooolaaa— J Purnell Hargrove living life to the fullest in this dream role come true. Putting all the attitude out into the ether and getting a whole bunch of audience love right back, Hargrove is filling out more than just the padding of the Lola character. With that signature— je ne sais quoi that can only be described as ‘J on stage’ (and if you’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing J Purnell Hargrove on stage, you’ll understand exactly what that is)— you get this real-life portrayal of Lola that is simultaneously larger-than-life and down-to-earth. How one does that is inconceivably beyond comprehension and yet Hargrove is doing it. Spectacularly. With glamorous gowns to match all that inner beauty that Hargrove is bringing to the role— particularly that shimmering night-sky affair worn during “Hold Me In Your Heart” which creates the look of Lola as Betty Haynes playing The Regency Room— you’re just treated to a visual feast. Hargrove’s attitude is precision balanced— mostly catastrophically intense but there are stunning moments of stillness, sincerity, and silence that come out of Hargrove that really round out the character superbly. The way Hargrove attempts to absorb and clap back at Charlie before “The Soul of a Man” is so striking you get chills. And when Hargrove hits their stride during “I’m Not My Father’s Son”, the second and third verse situating sublimely into their vocal wheelhouse, it’s mesmerizing and truly tugs at the heart strings. Hargrove as the humor, the sassiness, the silliness, the sincerity, and all the pluck one could ask for in a lively, vivacious Lola. And watch out, because when Lola kicks them boots up— YOW!
The camaraderie and overall fluctuating relationship that Hargrove’s Lola plays out with Robert Tucker’s Charlie Price is truly brilliant. This pair of performers brings a natural chemistry to one another, often times with Tucker just listening, responding without words or even actions but fully invested facial expressions that just draw you into their story in a most immersive way. The conversation that Tucker and Hargrove’s character share in the gents’ toilets is one of the most touching moments in the show (save for maybe when Lola leaves the senior home after finishing “Hold Me In Your Heart”) and it creates a gob-smacking tension for when the pair has their blow-up on the factory floor prior to “The Soul of a Man.” You see and feel the friendship and platonic love between these characters growing and shifting every step of the way and that is part of the true beauty of this production.
Where does one even begin to find the words to describe the insane perfection that Robert Tucker is bringing to the role of Charlie Price? (Seriously, someone tell me, because even my lengthy lexicons aided by Webster and Roget feel like they’re falling short here…) The accent is flawless, the character development is whole-heartedly present and backing each physical step and vocal instance that Tucker is on stage. There’s a frenetic, internalized energy that’s perpetually buzzing about inside of Tucker’s body that’s present even when he’s perfectly, physically still on stage, but when it busts out— like when he’s literally flying up and down those metal steps to get to and from the factory floor and the office— you can feel your heart racing for catching wind of his energy. For the better part of “Step One”, Tucker is on the stage entirely by himself and he fills every molecule of that vast, cavernous space not only with his vocal sensationalism but with his physical movement, his emotional expressions, his sheer determination to exist live in that moment. It’s a Broadway caliber experience, bar none. With pitch perfect tone, a tenacity and vivacity that will leave you reeling every time he sings a note, Tucker is serving up Charlie Price in the most magically realistic indescribable of ways. Watch his facial expressions during “Sex is in the Heel.” Hargrove’s Lola may be strutting her stuff through this number but Tucker’s desperate terror and confusion takes this song right over the top to perfection. Blazing a conflagration that anyone would readily follow with his powerhouse voice, Tucker sets the stage on fire to ignite “Everybody Say Yeah!”, the Act I finale, which quickly catches among the entire ensemble. The visceral, gut-punching brutality that Tucker delivers in that slam-down with Lola just before his 11-o’clock power ballad is harrowing and so raw that you feel like he’s blasting all of that vitriol directly into your soul personally. Smolder-burning the house down (seriously— we were waiting for the fire alarms and a house evacuation) for “The Soul of a Man”, Tucker belt-sustains that final note in that number with every fiber of his being, pouring heart, head, and soul into that entire number in a way that has to be seen and heard to truly understand how extraordinary it is. A powerhouse triple threat like no other, Robert Tucker could readily put Stark Sands to shame and audiences in and around Baltimore should be ashamed if they miss him in this role of a lifetime.
There isn’t enough time or space for me to list out all of the incredible reasons you should come see this sensational production— if your glitter rusts, they will raise you up! They are going to send you soaring with this stellar performance. So come see the world through the heels of Kinky Boots— everything looks better six inches off the ground!
Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission
Kinky Boots plays 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.
To read the interview with Robert Tucker and J Purnell Hargrove on starring in Kinky Boots, click here.
