The most sparkling musical novelty of the autumn, Kinky Boots, premieres at the Helsinki City Theatre
Helsinki City Theatre’s autumn season will open with the energetic and warm musical hit Kinky Boots , which has enjoyed great success on Broadway, on 30 August.
The award-winning musical Kinky Boots (2013), composed by pop icon Cyndi Lauper and written by musical guru Harvey Fierstein, celebrates difference, friendship and overcoming prejudice. The musical is directed by rising star director Samuel Harjanne, who is pursuing an international career. Set in England in the early 2000s, the musical stars Petrus Kähkönen (Charlie), an ironclad multi-talented musician known from many HKT musicals, and Lauri Mikkola (Lola/Simon), a promising musical theatre guest at the City Theatre for the first time.
Young Charlie Price would rather continue his life elsewhere than in his hometown as a shoe manufacturer. However, his father dies unexpectedly, and the shoe factory and its employees, which are ripe for bankruptcy and have been passed down from father to son in the family for a long time, are left to Charlie. A new business idea is found to save the factory when Charlie accidentally meets Simon, who pretends to be a drag queen named Lola. You can’t find shoes that are durable, high and kinky enough for Lola and her colleagues! The duo join forces and reach through difficulties from the twilight of a factory hall in central England to the top of the fashion world in Milan.
“This is a fun, touching, warm and prejudice-breaking thing for the whole family. Accepting someone as they are is really challenging in itself, but try to accept yourself as you are, it’s challenging, and that’s the heart of Kinky Boots ,” says director Samuel Harjanne.
“Kinky Boots is the first step into the world of theatre by Cyndi Lauper, known for her pop hits. The music, which draws on the soul, disco and pop of the 60s and 80s, is not only well connected to the musical dramaturgy of the work, but also completely radio-worthy hit stuff. Lauper’s music takes you away, and you just notice that you are jumping in rhythm!”, says conductor Eeva Kontu.
The other roles in the musical include Raili Raitala (Nicola), Anna Victoria Eriksson (Lauren), Tero Koponen (Don), Joachim Wigelius (George) and Tomi Lappi, Henri Sarajärvi, Christoffer Sandberg, Anton Engström, Paavo Kääriäinen and Jero Mäkeläinen as Lola’s drag angels.
The conductor of the 10-piece orchestra is Eeva Kontu , and the choreographies for the 34-piece ensemble are designed by Gunilla Olsson-Karlsson. The set design is by Peter Ahlqvist and the costumes by Tuomas Lampinen. William Iles is responsible for the lighting design and Kai Poutanen for the sound design. The camouflage and hairstyles are designed by Henri Karjalainen.
Based on the screenplay based on the true events of Geoff Deane and Tim Firth (Kinky Boots, USA/UK 2005), the musical premiered on Broadway in 2013 and has since garnered numerous awards, including six Tony Awards, three Laurence Olivier Awards and a Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album.
Watch the Behind the Boots behind-the-scenes video of Kinky Boots.
Premiere of the musical Kinky Boots 30.8.2018 on the big stage of the Helsinki City Theatre
34 € – 78 € (includes PM)