What do you get when you combine Tony Award winning actor and writer Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy/Hairspray) with pop sensation Cyndi Lauper?
The answer? Broadway history.
Fierstein and Lauper joined forces back in 2006 with director Jerry Mitchell to create the Broadway musical smash hit Kinky Boots, based on the 2005 film of the same name. The result was a record season high of 13 Tony Award nominations and six Tony wins including Best Musical and Best Score, for first time Broadway songwriter Lauper.
The show opened on Broadway in early 2013 and is still running today, with the first National Tour hitting the road earlier this month in Las Vegas, and yes, stopping here in San Diego this coming week.
Kinky Boots, inspired by a true story, is about Charlie, a young, straight-laced shoe factory owner who forms an unlikely partnership with a drag queen to save his business.
Snagging the prized role of Charlie for the National Tour is Steven Booth. Booth, an actor who has worked on Broadway and off Broadway, got there the old fashioned way, by following his dreams.
The role of Charlie was a role Booth has wanted to play ever since he saw it on Broadway.
“I had my eye on the role of Charlie Price after seeing the show originally,” Booth confessed. “I wanted to sing those songs and tell that amazing story. I just knew that it would be a good fit, so I had my agents keep their ear to the ground and as soon as auditions came up for the National Tour we jumped on it. Everything snowballed from there.”
His wishes were finally answered after a series of auditions and callbacks for the role.
“I feel that I’ve been very fortunate in this business,” Booth said. “I’m still pinching myself over this new adventure. My final audition for Kinky Boots was on a Friday afternoon and I actually got the call from my agents that very evening. I was out with a friend enjoying the late spring weather on the patio of an oyster bar in Soho. I saw my agent’s name pop up on my phone and knew that it was the call. He told me that I had landed the role, and everything that came out of his mouth after that was gibberish. I was elated and bought the next round of oysters! Then, I went home with a stomachache … and spent the rest of the weekend recovering from the worst food poisoning I’ve ever had! It wasn’t until the following Monday that I was able to fully celebrate. Good times.”
Booth has had his share of interesting stories over the years, including his first time on Broadway in the show Glory Days that only lasted one night.
“Glory Days was definitely an interesting introduction into the Broadway scene,” Booth said. “Not many people get to say that their debut only lasted a day! Only four of us, to be exact, get to say that! However, when I look back on Glory Days I don’t think about the one day that we had to open and close the show in New York City. There’s a lot that goes into why things went the way that they did and none of it had anything to do with the four of us who were on that stage living in that show and enjoying the hell out of each other. I mostly think about the amazing time that we had building the show together at the Signature Theatre in D.C., and how it felt to be a part of something so fresh and new. I came away from that experience with lifelong friends and an original recording that we’re all very proud of. Man, I miss those good ol’ glory type days.”
Booth didn’t just wake up one morning as a child and decide he was supposed to be on Broadway; he had help with a family who shared his musical passions.
“I grew up in a very musical family,” Booth recalled. “My mom is a wonderful singer and pianist and my dad went to college on a trombone scholarship. They met in the college choir. Also, my mom has five sisters and every one of them can sing. So, music has always been a part of my life. I played the trumpet for seven years until my junior year of high-school when my friend pulled me into the choir. The next thing I knew I was auditioning for the high school musical and the rest is history. I was hooked. I am the first in my family to pursue a life of acting but my family has been fully supportive since day one.”
While Booth can now rest easy playing the lead role in a Tony Award winning Broadway show, he remembers what it was like before he got the good news.
“Before I snagged this amazing gig, I was desperately trying to snag an amazing gig,” Booth joked. “[I did] lots of readings and workshops and auditions. You know, all of the things that make living in New York City and being in this business equal parts, pain-in-the-ass and electrifying. I was also spending a lot of time with my fiancé and planning our wedding! It’s a very big year for sure.”
As if being cast wasn’t big enough deal for Booth, he also got to spend one-on-one time with Lauper and Fierstien during rehearsals, which is one thing many people don’t get to say.
“Cyndi and Harvey were present for many of the rehearsals,” Booth said. “It’s clear that they care very much about this show and the story that it has to tell. I will never forget the first day that Cyndi came to rehearsal to listen. I got to sit down with her for about 45 minutes while she threw me an entire playlist of music that would help to inspire the desired tone of Kinky Boots. At one point she even put her headphones on my head and had me listen to some tunes on her computer. I will never erase my Cyndi playlist. Never.”
The other thing most people don’t get to say, or experience, is what it’s like to wear the “kinky boots” themselves.
“Those boots are two and a half feet, patent leather, custom made to fit my hairy legs,” Booth added. “The first time I zipped those suckers up and stood on those six-inch heels, I felt like a real man.”
Kinky Boots comes to The San Diego Civic Theatre from Sept. 23-28. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.broadwaysd.com/civic-theatre.htm or by calling the box office at 619-570-1100.
