Finishing off the 2022-23 season, Orlando Shakes debuted the Grammy-winning Broadway musical “Kinky Boots” on April 5. The musical plays through April 30.
Inspired by a true story, “Kinky Boots” follows the story of Charlie Price, an aspiring businessman forced to take over his father’s shoe factory after his passing. Struggling to save his late father’s bankrupt business, Charlie unexpectedly finds inspiration in Lola, a drag entertainer in need of sturdy stilettos. Charlie and Lola, also known as Simon, work to turn the factory around, and the unlikely pair find that they have more in common than they thought.
Jos Banks, who plays Lola/Simon, says the story’s deeper meaning is all about love and acceptance, whether it be with your biological family or your chosen family.
“On the first day, we talked about the two families that exist in this play — one is Lola’s drag family and one is the factory family — and watching how they come together and create one larger family,” Banks says. “And when you do that when you bring that love and acceptance into the world, that family gets even stronger and can do more to make change for good.”
Director Joseph Walsh says before agreeing to direct “Kinky Boots,” he listened to the song “Not My Father’s Son,” which is featured in act one of the Tony Award-winning musical. He says the song made him see the connection between Lola and Charlie and, in return, made him think of his own relationship with his father, which ultimately convinced him to pursue the musical.
“This play is really a moment where Charlie and Lola are accepting each other,” Walsh says. “They both put in the work to really learn what the other needs from them in their relationship, and I think that’s an important story to tell.”
A main difference between this production and the Broadway production is that the Orlando cast will be performing the musical in a thrust. A thrust theatre has audience members on three sides of the stage, leaving one side for taller scenery. Banks says the audience will be all around the stage, giving the story a more intimate and personal feel.
Banks says this will be his first time performing in a thrust and that he can’t wait to be with the audience. This will be a different experience for Banks, who has played Lola in “Kinky Boots” on the international tour, where he says he couldn’t see past the second row.
After traveling the world and reprising his role as Lola over 300 times, Banks says he is excited to bring “Kinky Boots” to Orlando.
“The thing I look forward to the most is the different energies and personalities that bring these words to life,” Banks says. “I’ve done the show in the U.S. and Canada, and then I also toured China and Singapore. So, audiences all over have been different, and that always keeps the material fresh for me.”
Banks says Lola is special because she is full of heart and enters every room with her heart first. Walsh says he finds Banks very similar to Lola in this aspect because every morning, Banks walks around giving everyone a hug.
“I feel when Jos walks into the room, the temperature changes. And if we can get an audience to see that through him and Lola, what an amazing experience for them,” Walsh says.
Banks says he never did drag before “Kinky Boots,” but admits that when he is in drag, he has never felt stronger on stage. Drag performers usually take a couple of hours to do their makeup, but because Banks has done the show so many times, he says the quick changes from Lola to Simon have become easier.
Banks says the successful quick changes are possible thanks to the makeup crew. He says brown powder is placed on top of his blushed cheeks and eyeshadow to mute the colors while he is Simon. When Banks is ready to become Lola again, he says the brown powder is simply dusted off, leaving a little bit of color underneath, and with reapplying more pigmentation, Lola is back.
“We do go in and out of drag in the show, and I think it’s beautiful to see those different personalities with Lola and with Simon and seeing how they are so vastly different but yet the same person,” Banks says.
With a more personal stage and larger-than-life cast members, Walsh hopes audiences will feel like they are actually in the musical and engage directly with the show. He says the musical will sweep audience members into the journey, and by the end of the show, people will be screaming and cheering for Lola and her drag family.
“My hope is that you will go home and think about [the show]. It’ll come back to you two days later, and you’ll say, ‘I loved her. I loved him. I loved that. I love the show. I want to go back again,’” Walsh says. “You have this amazing sense of joy and acceptance and love. I hope that wave of energy carries you out of the theater at the end of the night and comes back in two days and offers space for you to reflect on how you treat others and where they land in your life.”
Banks hopes audience members leave the musical knowing the importance of love and accepting one another even through the differences.
“It could be color, religion, sexual orientation, I just think that as a globe, we can learn more from each other by accepting to disagree with some things and knowing that there is beauty in difference,” Banks says. “Otherwise, we’d all be the same, and that’s boring.”
“Kinky Boots” is at Orlando Shakes, located at 812 E Rollins St. in Orlando, through April 30. Tickets start at $34 and can be purchased at OrlandoShakes.org.
