Review: ‘Kinky Boots’ gets a shiny (red) new production in San Jose

Ever since its Broadway premiere in 2013, “Kinky Boots” has lived out loud with gargantuan, affirming energy. It’s a production that backs up its talk about inclusivity, taking even more steps toward this goal in recent years with shifts in dialogue that rightfully pushes away from a harmful gender binary.

City Lights Theater Company’s take on the vibrant, six-time Tony Award winner does what the show has always been designed to do. There are lots of high-octane performances guided by directors Lisa Mallette and Mark Anderson Phillips, shaking the old theater space in downtown San Jose to the studs.

While the staging and choreography have a few too many moments devoid of necessary precision, bouncing out of the theater on an inclusive high is mighty rewarding.

Harvey Fierstein’s humorous and tender book, with a wide range of musical styles from Cyndi Lauper does plenty to wrangle the many emotional storylines. Adapted from the 2005 film of the same title, it’s based on a true story of an unlikely bond over footwear in Northampton, England.

Charlie (played by Matt Locke) inherits a job that has never been his passion — shoemaking. Sadly, being the son half of a company named Price and Son comes with legacy obligations. After his father’s sudden passing, it’s on him to keep the many factory workers employed, despite bills piling high and bankruptcy hovering nearby. Fighting destiny, after all, is a worthless endeavor, but Charlie tries anyway.

Little does he know inspiration is around the corner in the form of Lola (Barton “Bart” Perry), a local drag performer who’s tough on women’s footwear. The shoes he wears for his act, after all, are designed for female body frames, which is where Charlie’s factory comes in. Delving into a “niche market” — flashy boots with a firm frame — with a major shoe show in Milan upcoming, just might save the factory.

“Price and Son has spent the last century making a range of shoes for men. We will begin this century by making a range of shoes for a range of men,” Charlie expresses to his flabbergasted staff. But hey, if there are lots of drag performers willing to pay top dollar for spitfire red boots, referred to as “2½ feet of irresistible, tubular, sex,” let’s get crackin’.

There are some critical relationships in the show, including a fading one between Charlie and his fiancé Nicola (Amber Smith), and a budding one with Lauren (Lauren Berling), who knows the danger of hovering around Charlie with gaga eyes.

The most consequential relationship in the show, however, is between Charlie and Lola. Thankfully, both Locke and Perry are up to the task of delivering the show on a silver platter, serving lyrical and emotional decadence to an audience ready to feast. Lauper’s tunes oscillate between joyful and pathos-fueled, with each principal given their moment in the shimmering light.

Both hit every emotional note in “Not My Father’s Son,” a song with two stories with similar experiences of patriarchal disappointment. Locke’s scintillating lead voice on “Everybody Say Yeah,” coupled with Lysander Abadia’s joyous conveyor belt choreography, readies the show for massive entry into intermission.

Perry is ferocity personified, a bold performer that came to play. He explores ephemeral beauty sweetly in “Hold Me in Your Heart,” using the venue’s intimacy for maximum advantage. Perry advocates for Lola’s journey with elegance.

Others take up satisfying space as well. “The History of Wrong Guys” is fun and goofy, Berling giddily playing up the song’s whims. Quinn Dembecki’s mouth-breathing Don, with his skilled, big-throated bluster, is such a warm turn. Don has the most satisfying growth journey in the show, a microcosm of so many who can’t take seeing men in frocks.

There are times when the storytelling is critical and needs sharpening. Lola’s crushing entrance in one juncture isn’t staged to bring the anxiety that must be built offstage. Additionally, a huge reveal of Don’s story arc is completely blocked and upstaged by others. The set is a typical delight by scenic designer Ron Gasparinetti, although on this night some pieces of the didn’t function as intended.

Despite these quibbles, “Kinky Boots” is all balm, a surefire summer hit that grabs hold of the audience, especially in the wild finale, with radiant, transcendent joy and squeezes away whatever cynicism anyone may possess. Here, a big, giant red heart is revealed — stiletto heel attached.

David John Chávez is chair of the American Theatre Critics Association and a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (‘22-‘23). @davidjchavez

‘KINKY BOOTS’

Book by Harvey Fierstein, music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, presented by City Lights Theater Company

Through: Aug. 20

Where: City Lights Theater, 529 S. Second St., San Jose

Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes with an intermission

Tickets: $24-$58; cltc.org