It’s no surprise that, having been nominated for 13 Tony Awards this week, Kinky Boots is now being tipped for a West End transfer.
The hit show, adapted from the 2006 Brit flick that starred Chiwetel Ejiofor as a drag queen
who helps an ailing shoe company design a new line of sturdy fetish
footwear, is the latest in a long line of hit screen-to-stage shows. If it does make it to London, it will be in good company alongside the likes of Billy Elliot, The Bodyguard and The Full Monty (which opens next year).
But the producers don’t want to hurry the transatlantic transfer. Speaking to the Daily Mail recently, lead producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig said: “It took seven years to develop – it was like birthing an elephant. So, we’ll take our time and bring Kinky Boots over when everything is ready.”
The show features songs by pop queen Cyndi Lauper, a book by Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage aux Folles), and is directed by Jerry Mitchell (Legally Blonde, Hairspray) – all of whom are nominated for Tonys.
“Obviously, there were some words I had to Americanise,” Fierstein told the Mail‘s Baz Bamigboye, “but we’ll get any roadblocks out of the way and change for London, if we have to.”
