The U.S. tour of the Broadway production Kinky Boots comes to Milwaukee as part of the Associated Bank Broadway at the Marcus Center series. This six-time Tony Award-winning musical—directed and choreographed by the renowned Jerry Mitchell with a rocking score by music icon Cyndi Lauper—is inspired by true events, telling the story of a struggling gentleman’s shoe factory and how a fabulous performer helps save the business—but not without touching on the important themes of mending family relationships and honestly accepting others for who they are.
One character in Kinky Boots that undergoes a transformation of beliefs is Don, played by Aaron Walpole. “Don [is] your stereotypical blue-collar factory worker in a small English town. He hasn’t experienced much life outside of his little town and when he’s introduced to Lola [a drag queen] and the Angels, he doesn’t want to accept them into his world. In fact, his world is turned upside down and he gets to be rather mean through his own misunderstanding,” says Walpole. “I myself grew up in a small factory town and didn’t experience ‘different’ people until I ventured to the big city. It took me a bit of time to lay various stereotypes to rest after making friends from all facets of life and learning that people are people and we all just want to be happy.”
The Marcus Center has partnered with the LGBT Community Center for this production to help connect business resource groups and key organizations with the Center and to bring families from the Center’s outreach program to see Kinky Boots. “The mission of the Marcus Center is to build a bridge between cultures and communities in Milwaukee through the arts,” says Marcus Center VP of Sales and Marketing Heidi Lofy. “Kinky Boots’ main theme of acceptance and tolerance connects well to our mission and provides us the opportunity to share our message with the Milwaukee community.”
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“Touring with this show has made me realize how backwards some areas of the U.S. still are in terms of LGBT rights,” says Walpole. “I tell people dealing with adversity to continue fighting for your rights; be strong and persist to be who you are. There’s a strength in kindness that is infectious. If you live your life being kind, it will spread like wildfire.”
Kinky Boots runs May 31-June 5 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 N. Water St. For more information and tickets, call 414-273-7206 or marcuscenter.org or ticketmaster.com.
Theatre Happenings:
Cooperative Performance Milwaukee continues the late Pink Banana Theatre’s one-act tradition by presenting the 2016 Cooperative Performance Milwaukee One Act Festival, featuring seven works June 2-12 at In Tandem Theatre, 628 N. 10th St. For tickets, call 414-324-0037 or visit cooperformke.com.
Boeing Boeing, a farce about a swinging bachelor and his sneaky relations with three stewardesses, comes to Sunset Playhouse’s Furlan Auditorium (800 Elm Grove Road, Elm Grove) June 2-19. For tickets, call 262-782-4430 or visit sunsetplayhouse.com.
The Village Playhouse presents The 31st Annual Original One Act Festival for Wisconsin Playwrights, featuring six different works each developed and polished by a playwright, a director, a cast and a crew to present to audiences. Performances run June 3-19 at Inspiration Studios, 1500 S. 73rd St. Seating is limited. For tickets, call 414-207-4VPW or visit villageplayhouse.org.
John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers is based on scripts and characters from the British sitcom of the same name and is described as “quaint, charming and totally out of control.” See the show June 3-19 at Waukesha Civic Theatre, 264 W. Main St., Waukesha. For tickets, call 262-547-0708 or visit waukeshacivictheatre.org.
