by Carolyn Hayes Harmer

Posted: Jan. 18, 2015 at 9:50 a.m.

To bastardize a classic Steve Martin bit, “If I had two wishes that I could wish for, the first would be some crap about singing together in harmony and peace. The second would be to watch a flawless drag queen execute a perfect back handspring in stilettos without her wig slipping even a fraction of an inch.”

Themes of tolerance and self-acceptance run thick in the anthemic “Kinky Boots” (book by Harvey Fierstein, music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper), the Tony Award–winning musical based on the same-named film. The message is strong and beautiful. So is the medium – if not more so. In the production now at the Fisher Theatre (by Broadway in Detroit), director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell lets the distinctive brio of one “underserved niche market” take the show’s affirming, inspirational missive and brazenly hammer it home.

Let’s begin with the life story of Charlie Price (Steven Booth), the last scion of a provincial shoe manufacturer. Having rejected his legacy, Charlie must bravely return to take up the mantle after his father’s death, but finds a languishing business and his workers’ livelihoods in peril. Weighed down by obligation and self-sacrifice, Booth gives Charlie a complex George Bailey quality, with equal parts reluctance and drive to do right by the people he’s known forever.

Yet these opening beats fly by like so many footnotes – it quickly becomes clear that Charlie coming to terms with his spoken-for life is not, in fact, our story. Rather, the scenes hustle on until Charlie encounters the lovely Lola (Kyle Taylor Parker), a plucky drag queen with a convenient cobbler problem.

As plain and workaday as Charlie and his ilk appear, they’re at the far opposite end of the spectrum from Lola and her magnificent “girls,” who are every moment styled to the utmost by the design team of Gregg Barnes (costumes), Josh Marquette (hair), and Randy Houston Mercer (makeup). Broadway excess has found its soul mate at last, and it is glorious.

In business terms, apprehensive Charlie and juggernaut Lola form an unlikely partnership to make the first fabulous footwear especially for men who dress like women. But meanwhile, the consequent blending of small-town conservative values and a historically marginalized and persecuted population paves the way for learning to live out loud and to value the same in each other.

Speaking of loud, Lauper’s songs are written to be belted, and the sound design (by John Shivers) and accompaniment (led by music director/conductor Adam Souza) follow suit, through an appreciable variety of styles. Happily, this vigorous group is universally up to the challenge of climbing such vocal heights; Parker’s instrument in particular soars through Lola’s alluring ballads.

Scenic designer David Rockwell keeps the sense of place fluid, allowing for enough speed to keep a handful of B-plots afloat. In addition to the comic yet heartfelt supporting characters, Booth brings poignancy to an interesting second-act turn when saviorhood goes to Charlie’s head. Even the obligatory love-story angle may be forgiven for shining a light on the awkward, hilariously self-castigating Lauren (Lindsay Nicole Chambers).

It’s important to make clear that the story and all its parts are all plenty skillful and compelling, because it’s a testament to what’s competing for their attention. That is to say, every expository factory scene and character-building duet, no matter how slick, is working overtime merely to justify taking stage time away from the sextet of heavenly drag Angels.

A powder keg of infectious energy and phenomenal dance prowess, Darius Harper, Tommy Martinez, Nick McGough, Ricky Schroeder, Juan Torres-Falcon, and Hernando Umana seize exuberant, exquisite command as they nail the splashiest of Mitchell’s choreography. Even without the extravagant ingenuity of Rockwell and lighting designer Kenneth Posner, it may not be possible to look elsewhere when the Angels are on the scene.

Yet this is a happy union, the drag and the drab, one that pushes the entire ensemble to do whatever it takes to match unparalleled showmanship with purpose and heart. And indeed, by the time “Kinky Boots” reaches its peak, our plagiarized Steve Martin doesn’t just clap along to that stuff about harmony and acceptance – he fully feels all his wishes coming true.

SHOW DETAILS: ‘Kinky Boots’ book by Harvey Fierstein, music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper
Broadway in Detroit
3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202
8:00 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday, Jan. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
2:00 p.m. Saturday & Sunday, Jan. 24, 25
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (including 20-minute intermission)
$35+
313-872-1000
www.Broadwayindetroit.com