These boots are made for walking! More like these Kinky boots are made for walking! I know a lot of people have seen someone walk in heels, but have you seen someone do dance choreography in heels before, other than Beyonce? 

Well, the audience was in luck because they were shown wonderful choreography, singing, and performances from the cast of “Kinky Boots: The Musical,” which was produced by the Tulsa Community College Theatre and Music departments at the VanTrease Performing Arts Center for Education (PACE). The show was open to the public from Feb. 16 -19. 

 Let’s talk a little bit about the summary of Kinky Boots: The Musical for those who are not familiar with it. The musical follows a young man named Charlie who must save his late father’s family shoe business with help from a drag queen named Lola. Now, it might seem sad when it is put like this, but this musical does provide moments of joy and laughter. 

Before we look at how the musical came to life for the audience, let us look at the cast and crew that made the musical come to life.  When it was getting close to finishing rehearsals for the musical, I decided to have interviews with some of the cast and crew to learn about their feelings toward the production before it was in the public’s eye. 

When the audience watches the musical, all they see are the characters that the actors are portraying. We do not know some of the challenges that the actors had to cross over to bring out the characters. Aaliyah Morris, who played the character Pat, the love interest to Lola, said: “There are not that many pieces to Pat, I feel, and when we do see her, she has a very dramatic change from this delicate person in a way to the abrupt, very sassy, engaging person. So, I [will] say the biggest challenge was being able to have that balance and really see her grow without doing too much and taking too much away from her.”  

Nathaniel Vilardo, who played Richard Bailey, Hooligan #2, and Factory Worker, said: “The memorization of lines. It’s not a whole lot of lines, but with that and all the other characters I played…it’s just the memorization.” With the challenges, came the techniques that some of the cast used to channel their characters.  

“I usually just walk in character and recreate my lines, ask myself a couple of questions as my character, reciting a character, and little bit of a character’s background,” said Vilardo.  

Aaliyah Morris said: “When I get into my role, I take a second and [think] “ok, you got to remember [that] this person is very outgoing.”  I just remember her traits, characteristics, and I try to full on embody her. I basically kind of [lift] myself up ; I get myself very giddy and excited. I also go over some of her lines and the songs that she sings. I really get into it for sure.”  

The characters throughout the musical were interesting and uplifting. The comedic timing was perfect after having sentimental scenes.  The play included moments when the audience was able to learn more about some of the characters on an emotional level.  

Let us not forget the scenery and the costumes in the musical. Each scene felt like a different place, even though they had one large structure to move around. All the other small pieces made the structure come together. The projector’s addition of different images to each scene also helped bring life to the setting. Moriah Jestus, the assistant stage manager, talked about a setting piece that she would love the audience to see.  

“I really excited for the big center console, it moves around a lot, it flips, and has a lot of different sides. That will be cool,” she said.  

I will say the costumes, especially the boots, were the star of the show…see what I did there. The vibrant and sparkly colors of Lola’s outfits to the cool and calm colors of Charlie’s wardrobe, really showed their different personalities.  

“The heels, we bedazzled them by hand, and one day I spent eight hours bedazzling them,” said Elizabeth Stiles, who is a member of the wardrobe crew.  

Lastly, the songs included in the musical were great. The orchestra did a fantastic job in playing the upbeat musical numbers, especially the song, “Land of Lola.”  This musical would make a lasting impression on the audience. The theme that I got from the cast and crew was accepting someone for who they are, and it is ok to be different. It was a wonderful experience, and I cannot wait for the other productions. 

 A couple of the upcoming productions by the Tulsa Community College Theatre in the spring semester are “The World of What,” running April 20-22 and “The Rubber Chicken Factory,” May 1. To learn more about the theatre or to purchase tickets to any TCC events in the PACE go to https://www.tulsacc.edu/campus-locations/vantrease-pace and Events | VanTrease PACE (tulsacc.edu)