Musical ‘Kinky Boots’ set to open Friday at ProArts Playhouse

Buoyed by a hit score by Cyndi Lauper, the multiple Tony-Award-winning musical "Kinky Boots" will ignite the ProArts Playhouse when it opens on Friday. Directed and choreographed by Aly Cardinalli, this life affirming, crowd-pleasing show promises fun and drama, and song and dance, all heading to a glorious finale at the Milan Footwear Show with the cast performing the rousing "Raise You Up/Just Be."

"It's uplifting and really special," said Cardinalli. "It's a beautiful message. Everybody's experiencing a tough world right now, and this show shows what a tough world starts out and then turns into something wonderful. It's inspiring to say, we can all change our mind, and it can make the world a better place."

The original "Kinky Boots" production earned 6 Tony wins in 2013, including Best Musical, Best Actor, and Best Score for Lauper, making her the first woman to win alone in that category. After its London West End debut in 2015, it won three Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical.

The show is based on the 2005 British film, which was inspired by a BBC documentary about struggling family-run shoe factory which began producing fetish footwear for men. His business became known as the Kinky Boot Factory.

The musical centers on the son of a northern England shoemaker, who inherits his father's debts. In London he meets a female impersonator named Lola, who performs at the Blue Angel nightclub. Lola inspires him to save his business by restructuring his factory to build stiletto-heeled boots for drag queens.

Cardinelli, who won Best Director at the 2024 BroadwayWorld Hawaii awards, was inspired to work on the upcoming show "because it's a great challenge," he explained. "It's the biggest show that ProArts has ever done. It's a massive show. There's a lot of really hard choreography and really hard vocals, and a lot of really difficult acting in order for the performers to portray the story well."

A veteran of Maui theater, Charles "CC" Cook stars as Lola. "Charles and I have done seven shows together over the last 15 years," said Cardinelli. "When I was approached to do this show, I immediately thought of Charles. It's the most difficult role he has done. Maui is used to seeing Charles as a leading man type and not as a drag queen. He is almost unrecognizable. He's never put on heels before. He's never had to do makeup before. Everything is brand new."

Part of the show's appeal is the songs by "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" star Lauper. The songs range in style "from pop to funk to new wave to tango, with highly personal lyrics," The New York Times noted in a review. "The emotional heart of Kinky Boots is several ballads about the weight of parental expectations."

Song highlights include "The Most Beautiful Thing," "The Land of Lola," "Everybody Say Yeah," and "Hold Me in Your Heart." "The music is amazing," said Cardinelli. "It's phenomenal. We just love the soundtrack."

With the show opening on Friday, Cardinelli said, "I just feel really honored to work

with such an amazing loving cast, and the loving cast translates on stage to give off a lot of love."

Kinky Boots is presented at the ProArts Playhouse Friday through April 7 on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m, and on Sundays at 2 p.m., except on March17, when it opens at 7. Tickets range from $25 to $35 for adults, with a 10 percent kama'aina discount on Thursday evenings. Tickets for children and teens range from $10 to $20.