Due to popular demand, “Kinky Boots,” winner of six Tony Awards in 2013, is back at the Hollywood Pantages for a limited run. The upbeat, high-heeled hit, with songs by Grammy and Tony-winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper and book by four-time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein, is a celebration of friendship and the belief that you can change the world when you change your mind.
Due to popular demand, “Kinky Boots,” winner of six Tony Awards in 2013, is back at the Hollywood Pantages for a limited run. The upbeat, high-heeled hit, with songs by Grammy and Tony-winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper and book by four-time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein, is a celebration of friendship and the belief that you can change the world when you change your mind.
The story, based on the Miramax film “Kinky Boots,” was inspired by true events. It starts in a men’s shoe factory in Northampton, England and ends on a high-heeled note in glamorous Milan.
Following his father’s death, Charlie Price (Adam Kaplan) inherits his father’s shoe factory, but times are changing and their brand of sturdy men’s shoes is no longer popular. Charlie doesn’t want to run the factory but he doesn’t want to let down the workers he has known since he was a child. Suddenly inspiration hits him, literally, when he tries to defend Lola (J. Harrison Ghee), a drag queen who is accosted in front of the theatre where “she” performs.
In the scuffle, Lola fights like a pro, but the heel on one of her stiletto boots breaks off. Charlie is able to repair her boot and due to their downbeat encounter, an upbeat idea is born. Charlie will make sturdy “Kinky Boots” if Lola will design them. Lola’s sketches are so wild and colorful that Charlie is certain the boots will not only appeal to men in drag, but to fashion conscious ladies as well.
Tiffany Egan is adorable and funny as Lauren, who has a crush on her boss. When she sings “The History of Wrong Guys” she lets us know she is smitten with Charlie who unfortunately is already engaged. Aaron Walpole is also a standout as Don, a burly factory guy who finds it hard to accept Lola for the man he really is since he seems like a woman to Don. Their interaction adds dimension to the plot.
The opening night audience was in high spirits throughout the show and the cast received a loud, long and enthusiastic standing ovations when this feel good musical came to an end. “Kinky Boots” runs through April 24 only at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. Prices start at $29. For tickets phone 1-800-982-2787 or online at www.HollywoodPantages.comor www.Ticketmaster.com.
Coming next to the Pantages: “Chicago” starring Brandy and Eddie George, April 26 to May 1, followed by “42nd Street,” May 3 to June 19. June 22 to July 17 “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” will arrive, followed by the divinely decadent “Cabaret,” July 19 to Aug. 7.
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If you are a PBS fan you know what wonderful variety this channel brings to television viewing from drama, music and nature to history . Right now they are presenting season two of “Grantchester” about life in a seemingly quiet English village where crime happens and Vicar Sidney Chambers and his agnostic pal Inspector Keating are there to make things right. If you have never watched this series, season one is available on DVD and Season two is now in progress on the air on Sunday nights.
With Mother’s Day just around the corner, and Father’s Day following not far behind, you may want to treat mom and dad to a PBS DVD. Here are a few suggestions ranging from baseball and nature to the final season of that international hit “Downton Abbey.”
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“Jackie Robinson,” a film by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon is currently airing on television, but it is also available to own and would make a great gift even if mom or dad isn’t a baseball fan. The DVD features intimate and riveting interviews with Robinson’s family and rarely seen photographs and film footage. In this two-part, four-hour documentary we see how Robinson rose from humble origins to cross baseball’s color line and become one of the most beloved men in America. It wasn’t easy for this American icon, but his lifelong battle for first class citizenship for all African-Americans transcends even his remarkable athletic achievements.
Throughout his life he used his immense fame to speak out against the discrimination he saw on and off the field. At times he angered fans, the press and even teammates who had once celebrated him for “turning the other cheek.”After his baseball career ended, he became a widely read newspaper columnist, political activist and tireless advocate for civil rights who later struggled to remain relevant as diabetes crippled his body and a new generation of leaders set a more militant course for the civil rights movement. The documentary runs for approximately 240 minutes on two discs and contains special feature that include a conversation with the filmmakers.
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It is hard to believe that “Downton Abbey” has ended after six engrossing seasons. Many changes have transpired in the elegant abbey owned by the Crawley family and we have shared in their scandals, ups and downs, romances, secrets and eventual triumphs. In the final season creator Julian Fellows ties up all the loose ends as we finally say goodbye to this beloved ensemble led by Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern and Maggie Smith. The show won 12 Emmys, three Golden Globes and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, but most of all it won our collective hearts over the years. Bonus features include: Changing Times, The Cars of Downton Abbey and Farewell to Highclere.”
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“Moose: Life of a Twig Eater” is a great gift idea for mom, especially if she loves nature. It tells the story of a leggy baby moose who weighed in at 35 pounds at birth and follows him and his mom over the course of one year in Canada’s Jasper National Park, a rugged wilderness area that covers over 4,000 square miles. This stunningly intimate documentary takes us deep inside the world of moose to experience a mother’s love and a calf’s first year of life as it grows, learns from it’s mother and finds out how to avoid danger. Every being from a human child to a baby moose needs the love and care of its mom, so what better way to show mom you care than to give her this delightful adventure. And you can enjoy it with her.
