The exuberance and energy, humor, great voices and dancing are exhilarating, with a well engineered set that flowed easily from the shoe factory to London. drag club, Milan… with fun dancing at the club and especially on the moving factory assembly line. And of course. the costumes were fabulous with very flashy kinky boots!
Steven Booth played a frustrated/sincere/confused/eventually passionate Charlie Price we could root for, trying to find his identity in the midst of family/fiancee/business challenges. Kyle Taylor Parker was multifaceted and powerful as sensational yet insecure Lola, who had more in common with Charlie than Charlie would have at first expected — both “Not My Father’s Son". How Lola challenged the prejudices of the factory workers, especially Don (Joe Coots) bends the steel shank of prejudice.
The uplifting theme of accepting people for who they are, with the energetic performances of the many talented folks onstage, brought the audience to its feet. “Soul of a Man” and “Hold me in Your Heart” brought to mind some of our favorite diva songs of the past such as "And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going" and "I Am What I Am." Cindi Lauper deserves her Tony Award.
So all you ladies and gentlemen “…and those of you who have yet to make up your mind,” get to Wharton Center before this hit moves on. Continues through May 31www.whartoncenter.com