SAUGATUCK, MI–If ever there were the perfect show at the perfect time in the perfect place, it’s Kinky Boots at Mason Street Warehouse in Saugatuck this summer.

This enormously delightful, multiple Tony-Award winning 2013 musical proves, once and for all, that drag is, indeed, mainstream; and at least equally important: it absolutely can be the highest of arts—and for a purpose well beyond its entertainment value (which is immense).

Written by Harvey Fierstein (La Cage Aux Folles and Torch Song Trilogy) Kinky Boots cleverly tells the unlikely tale, based on a 2005 little-seen British film (itself based on a BBC documentary), of a failing shoe manufacturer in a dying North England factory town, saved by a glamazon cabaret singer in need of women’s shoes fit for a man. Generously sharing hard-earned wisdom, Lola is both hero and inspiration to Charlie, who’s inherited the woeful family business, and they team up to cater to the extremely niche market and save the business, discovering along the way they’re not so different from one another after all.

But this show is so much more than the bones of its story; with Director Kurt Stamm’s glorious vision and an astoundingly talented cast, this stunning production is a magnificent, heartfelt spectacle. 

Fabulous choreography by Jay Gamboa that’s part Vogue, part showgirl, part breakdance, part hip hop, part gymnastics, is the driving force of big numbers performed by the Angels, a chorus of six men dressed exquisitely (unforgettable costumes by Darlene Veenstra and magnificent wigs by James Leppa) as women in six-inch heels who dance flawlessly——that just might steal the show if it weren’t for all the exceptional actors who match them in skill and expressivity and make real utterly charming characters.

Read the rest of the review here