![]() ![]() And the two of them together are the most dynamic couple you will see in Springfield for the next month.” “All of our audiences know Eli,” said Chuck Rogers, “last seen in ‘All Shook Up’ a couple of years ago. And he has graciously volunteered his time to come back and do the role of Lola in ‘Kinky Boots.’” Looney’s co-star playing shoe-factory owner Charlie is Eli Dipriest. “About 10 years ago, he moved to New York and he is making a very solid name for himself up in the big city. Rogers mentioned that the production boasts “a great cast.” Brandon Looney, who plays “Lola,” is an SLT veteran who first started in the company as a young boy. But just follow them and we'll all have a great time.” And you protect your family-you may like like it all the time, you may not agree with the rules. And we all know that Springfield Little Theatre in our community is such a family. no social distancing), “we're doing all of the sanitation procedures and we're encouraging vaccinations. While going back to what Chuck Rogers described as “our normal reserved seating” (i.e. Masks won’t be mandatory at the Landers, but Little Theatre does recommend that patrons mask up. It's it's just going to be a fun entertainment for you to come see and get out of your house. The boot budget, the wigs, the everything. “I think that our goal was to come out of this situation that we've all been in for the last 15 months, and show Springfield that we are bigger and better than ever-Īnd that we have not been sitting on our heels. Chuck Rogers suggested that going big for this season opener was a goal for the company. ![]() Jerry Mitchell, who directed the original production on Broadway, is a phenomenal director, just really understands human nature and all that.”įilling all those boots and costumes in Springfield Little Theatre’s “Kinky Boots” production is a cast of 31. And, of course, Harvey Fierstein is a brilliant author and performer in his own right. “If you're a Cyndi Lauper fan, you're going to be singing all of these songs as you go out of the theater-it’s incredible music. “It’s true Cyndi Lauper, too,” according to Rogers. Speaking of joining forces, this show features 16 original songs by Cyndi Lauper, and a book is by Harvey Fierstein. “So the two of them join forces and figure out how to do it.” When Charlie accidently meets “Lola” in a bar, they decide they’re going to create a boot that will be able to securely hold up a man who is acting as a female impersonator/drag performer. “So Charlie's looking for a way to save the factory, to save the workers that work there. “And it’s basically going bankrupt,” said Chuck Rogers. Charlie’s father, who owned the shoe factory, has died unexpectedly and left the business to his son. “Lola,” the drag entertainer, has an exciting idea for Charlie, who was a shoe factory owner struggling to save the family business. And that actor alone has five wigs and 11 costume changes! So much so, that we have just created him a little dressing room backstage so that he could just run off, change clothes real quick.” The actor, Brandon Looney, has three assistants helping him with all the rapid costume changes. In fact, said Rogers,” the character of Lola, who is the leading character in the show, is a drag performer in the show. The show uses something like 200 costumes. Speaking of stilettos and other footwear, Chuck Rogers noted the Little Theatre costume department has 162 pairs of boots and shoes, all of which have been hand-embellished and hand-painted. ![]() Just a big old, heartfelt Broadway musical that has some great tunes and a wonderful story.” It’s is one of those terrific, ‘feel-good’musicals. Be all that you can be and learn to love. Which is the whole point of “Kinky Boots,” a story about, as Chuck Rogers told us, “two people that meet and through their their love of a shoe, and their love of how a shoe is designed and made, they celebrate diversity. Well, over the last 15, 18 months, the show has gone from simple little Springfield Little Theatre June (season) closer, to this mega musical that is going to knock your boots off.” So then we said, well, let's just put it off for a year. “So then we got to 2020 and we're like, nope, that's not going to happen. It seems like five years ago! And then due to the pandemic, we decided, well, we'll just postpone it to September of 2020.” The hope, of course, was that the pandemic would have run its course by then. “We were originally going to do the show in June of 2019? Or 2020 maybe. “I feel like we should have opened a month ago, with all the time we've been putting into it!,” Rogers said. LT’s Chuck Rogers directs the production, and joined us live in the studio on KSMU “Arts News.” Springfield Little Theatre will open their 2021-22 mainstage season at the Landers Theatre with the sassy, dazzling, compassionate musical “Kinky Boots”, running September 10-26. ![]()
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