By// Starrene Rhett Rocque
Ads for Kinky Boots are hard to miss. They’re white with red lettering that features a pair of thigh high, sparkly boots that make up the “k” in kinky. That’s just a taste of what’s in store for people who see the play, based on a novel and the 2005 movie of the same title.
Kinky Boots tells the story of Charlie Price, who is forced to save his family’s struggling shoe factory in Northern England following the death of his father. His help comes in the form of a drag performer named Lola, who ultimately opens hearts and ignites closed minds. Inspired by a true story, Kinky Boots was written by four-time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein (La Cage, Torch Song Trilogy, Newsies) and features a musical score by Grammy Award-winning Cyndi Lauper in her Broadway debut.
And of course, there’s the cast of unforgettable colorful characters like Lola, who is played by Billy Porter. Porter, who is a veteran Broadway performer, says he was meant to play Lola but the role didn’t come without presenting a rewarding challenge.
JETmag.com caught up with Porter for a quick chat about is role in the inspirational tale, which runs in Chicago’s Bank of America Theater until November 4, and eventually lands in New York City, on Broadway.
JETmag.com: What attracted you to the role you play in Kinky Boots?
Billy Porter: I saw the film back 2005 or 2006 and I just really loved the character of Lola. I just thought she was fun and cool and brave and interesting. When they announced they were making it into a musical, I sort of went into high gear to campaign to get the part, because I thought I could really bring something interesting to it, especially being Black, powerful and gay. And it’s an archetype that we have not really changed in the sort of commercial market place in any kind of popular way, so I thought I could bring something to it and it would be fun to introduce that archetype.
JETmag.com: You’ve done drag before, right?
BP: No, not really. Have I done drag before in my life? Yes. Have I done it to the extent that I’m doing it now? No. Have I done it in a play where I had to put on a dress? Yes. But I’ve never done it where there was actually a drag queen and I was in drag. I have not worn high-heeled shoes for eight hours a day, until now [laughs].
JETmag.com: But you were working it in those heels, though!
BP: [Laughs] I had to represent! But it hurts, I’m telling you! It hurts, it hurts! I soak my feet in ice and take baths in Epsom salt all day everyday.
JETmag.com: So, how did you prepare for the role?
BP: I got the job last November so, I knew I was going to have to prepare my body for the trauma that is singing, dancing, and acting in five or six inch heels. I started taking bikram yoga, which is an hour and a half yoga class that’s in a room that is a hundred and five degrees. I started taking that to start to build my core, so my back would be strong. In the summer, the producers of the show put me with a trainer. More specific than that, there’s a boutique gym in New York that I been working out at just to make sure that my body stays on level.
JETmag.com: What do you want the viewers to take away from this play?
BP: I just think that it’s a play about understanding and embracing our differences. One of the characters at the end says, “You change the world, when you change your mind.” Sometimes people have very specific ideas about people and things that they don’t know but have never come in contact with. I think the greatest message of all is we can change the world when we change our minds.
