By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on August 18, 2012 7:19 AM
Cyndi Lauper, Known For Her Pop Hits, Makes Her Mark On Broadway As The Songwriter For The New Adaptation Of The British Film, Kinky Boots, Directed And Choreographed By Jerry Mitchell
Pop Icon Takes Broadway as a Songwriter
Having already starred on Broadway as a performer, in the 2006 Roundabout Theatre Company revival of The Threepenny Opera, '80s pop icon Cyndi Lauper now comes to Broadway as a songwriter. Lauper has composed the score for a new musical version of the independent British film Kinky Boots, which is scheduled to open this Spring at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Inspired by a true story, Kinky Boots tells the tale of a struggling shoemaker whose business is reinvigorated when it stops producing traditional men's shoes and begins making flashy footwear aimed at the drag community.
The show's book is written by Harvey Fierstein, who also penned the script for the current Broadway hit, Newsies. Hairspray's Jerry Mitchell will provide both direction and choreography for the tuner. Stark Sands (American Idiot) has been cast to star as Charlie Price, the young man who has taken on the difficult task of saving his family's shoe factory. Billy Porter (Miss Saigon) co-stars as Lola, the drag performer who helps Charlie to the realization that he can breathe new life into the business by fashioning shoes aimed at far more flamboyant buyers. Kinky Boots will make its premiere at an out-of-town tryout in Chicago this autumn, before beginning preview performances at the Al Hirschfeld on Broadway on March 5. The show's official opening date is April 4.
