Stage and screen star Billy Porter celebrates his birthday September 21. In honor of the actor, Playbill is taking a look back at his Tony Award-winning performances as Lola in Kinky Boots.
The original Broadway production of Kinky Boots opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre April 4, 2013. Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, the musical played 35 previews and 2,505 performances before closing April 7, 2019. The musical was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning six, including Best Musical.
With music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper and book by Harvey Fierstein, Kinky Boots (based on the 2005 non-musical film of the same name) tells the story of the unlikely partnership between a young man who inherits his father's down-on-its-luck shoe factory and a London drag queen in need of some stronger stilettos.
In addition to Porter as Lola, the original Broadway cast starred Stark Sands as Charlie Price, Annaleigh Ashford as Lauren, Lena Hall as Nicole, Daniel Stewart Sherman as Don, Marcus Neville as George, Adinah Marquise Neal as Young Lola, and Sebastian Hedges Thomas as Young Charlie. Rounding out the ensemble were Adinah Alexander, Eric Anderson, Eugene Barry-Hill, Stephen Berger, Caroline Bowman, Paul Canaan, Andy Kelso, Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Eric Leviton, Ellyn Marie Marsh, John Jeffrey Martin, Kyle Taylor Parker, Jennifer Perry, Kyle Post, Tory Ross, Charlie Sutton, and Joey Taranto. Rounding out the company were Cole Bullock as the Young Lola standby, Jonah Halperin as the Young Charlie standby, and Sandra DeNise, Nathan Peck, Robert Pendilla, Lucia Spina, and Timothy Ware as swings.
Kinky Boots featured scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, and John Shivers. For the complete cast and creative team, visit PlaybillVault.com/KinkyBoots.
