Kinky Boots

A great book by Harvey Fierstein, knock-out music & lyrics by Cindi Lauper and some fresh direction and choreography by Jerry Mitchell will surely turn this out-of-town tryout into an instant Broadway hit.

I caught this one in Chicago after only 2 weeks of live performances and already it's showing it has legs... (it better because those boots are very tall!).   Dreamy and boyish Stark Sands and the devilishly wild and coy Billy Porter take the helm of the movie to musical re-make and left no butts in any seats by the climactic end of the show.

Part La Cage Aux Folles, part Dreamgirls, part Priscilla Queen of the Desert, with a heaping spoonful of the original movie (based on a true story) this show takes a little bit of all that and turns it into an extremely entertaining, energetic, fun, and heart-warming evening in the theatre.

Look out New York - these boots are made for walking - all the way from Chicago to the Great White Way.  All you NYC divas better get ready for some competition.  These red boots are on fire!

Mimi Le Duck

Eartha Kitt still has that razzle dazzle!! Can you believe it? She's still got the legs, the eyes - and of course that cat-woman purr- grrrrr!

This is a rather contrived story of a frustrated Mormon housewife, Miriam (later to be known as Mimi) from Ketchum, Idaho who decides she needs to see life in color rather than her current black and white (read boring) version. This is all brought about by the vision of Ernest Hemingway (Allen Fitzpatrick was a solid "old, yet dead, man). Once in Paris, she takes up residence in the same hotel that Ernest Hemingway had his visions. Well - of course what follows is a mad-cap adventure - where she meets an aging night club owner (Tom Aldridge) and gets a job as Mimi le Duck (the costume that goes along with this one is hysterical!); befriends an street cart -oyster shucker come cross dressing Miss Marple wanna-be detective (Robert DuSold); compares life stories with another "street artist" (Candy Buckley); and, of course, mixes it up with the lady of the house, herself, Madame Vallet (Eartha!).

What was supposed to be 2 hrs and 20 minutes turned out to be a little under 2. Thank God they cut some dialogue and a song or two. This is another one that should be 90 or 100 minutes - no intermission. Mr. Director - do some more tightening here. Actually, the stage and scenery was coordinated very nicely. With little room in the wings, they used every inch of the stage to block out the scenes and set changes. And last but not least, the music - I wish we could have seen the live orchestra! Not even a peak at the end... but Brian Feinstien's music was delicious and quite appropriate for the story. Kudos!

Not sure that Mimi will be a candidate for a Broadway Transfer - but certainly entertaining and worth the TDF ticket price of $25 bucks just to sit in the 2nd row and watch the legend Eartha Kitt draw that glamorous red dress up and show you her fabulous legs and purr at you!!