Review: Kinky Boots
Kinky Boots – worthy of all the praise!
Ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between!
Long gone are the days when Finnish versions of Broadway musicals were watched with a slight compassion. Now as a viewer, you just wonder where these brilliant singers and actors come from!
Helsinki City Theatre’s Kinky Boots is an excellent musical in every way. It has a balanced balance of touching story, catchy music and excellent stage work. Let’s take a look at these three elements:
A touching story
The main character of the musical is Charlie, a young man from Northhampton. The father would like Charlie to be the successor to his Strike & Son shoe factory, but the son does not want to stay in charge of the factory with whose employees he has grown up. Instead, Charlie is moving with his fiancée to a bigger picture, to become a real estate agent in London. But the plans are not progressing as hoped. Suddenly, Charlie is faced with a choice: should he help the family’s life’s work get back on its feet?
Fate throws Lola in front of Charlie, who has shaken off her own small-town dust from her feathers and started to fulfill herself as a drag queen.
Charlie: “You need something special!”
Lola: “No, I deserve something special!”
Charlie and Lola’s friendship surprises those close to her, but as the story progresses, prejudices begin to fall away and people begin to see each other as people. Of course, there are ups and downs on this path. Sometimes you can laugh out loud in the stands, sometimes wipe the corners of your eyes from the emotion.
“You’ll think about it for the rest of your life, why didn’t you say yes!”
That’s what entertaining stories are made of! However, Kinky Boots is based on a true story that Harvey Fierstein has transferred to the stage.
Director Samuel Harjanne states in the script:
Kinky Boots talks about the importance of self-acceptance. Let us love ourselves and value ourselves. We alone can change our own world for the better. We dare to be who we are, and we are that with our hearts wide open. And let others do the same.”
Catchy music
Cyndi Lauper, hmn, familiar name, what hits did she have? The first songs that came to mind were Time After Time, True Colors and Girls Just Want to Have Fun from the early 1980s. Kinky Boots’ music has a similar sound to these hits, even though these hits were not composed by Cyndi Lauper. In the script, Cyndi Lauper says that she made the music for Kinky Boots with the same formula as her other productions, i.e.
“A sweet mix of pop, rock and dance music that reaches Broadway audiences.”
The music is catchy, although not so catchy that I would have been able to hum the songs on the way home. But when I was in the stands, the rhythm caught on and I wanted to jump into the dance scenes.
Then you can start praising the actors’ singing skills. Both Petrus Kähkönen, who played Charlie, and Lauri Mikkola, who played Lola, were amazing, what sounds and what empathy, wow and once again wow!
Excellent stage work
My adult daughter, who was with me, said that it was wonderful to watch the actors do so to the fullest and with a big heart, enjoying being on stage. This is true, as the actors’ energy levels remained strong throughout the performance, and there was nothing half-hearted to be seen. I also didn’t get the feeling that the Finnish version had been copied from somewhere else, although of course it was made according to the international Kinky Boots guidelines.
However, the musical is not all dancing and singing or non-stop merriment, but the story includes truly impressive moments. The deep dialogues between Charlie and Lola/Simon have thought and heart involved, especially the bathroom scene is touching.
Once again, I would like to praise Lauri Mikkola in the role of Lola/Simon, as he was the one who ignited the audience and the entire ensemble. I was already expecting strong work from Petrus Kähkönen, but Lauri Mikkola was a complete unknown factor to me. I would also put Anna Victoria Eriksson in the front row, as she had a personal voice and the movements of a wild animal.
Testimonial
Kinky Boots heat up easily. At the premiere, the whole audience had reportedly given a standing ovation, and so did our performance on 27.9.2018. A very diverse audience rose up to the balcony to applaud at the end of the performance. It’s no wonder that Kinky Boots has captivated over 6 million viewers worldwide and received every musical award imaginable on both sides of the Atlantic.
The magic of Kinky Boots is its belief in man, its belief in good and fair, its belief in cooperation and friendship. I recommend it to everyone, and especially to those who think that Kinky Boots is not their thing!