Quad City Music Guild's “Kinky Boots,” April 5 through 14

Friday, April 5, through Sunday, April 14

Prospect Park Auditorium, 1584 34th Avenue, Moline IL

Winner of six 2013 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score for pop icon Cyndi Lauper, the high-kicking musical Kinky Boots kicks of Quad City Music Guild's 2024 season with an eagerly awaited Prospect Park Auditorium run April 5 through 14, the show called “cause for celebration” by Entertainment Weekly and, according to Time Out New York, “the very model of a modern major musical.”

Based on true events and the 2005 film that earned a Golden Globe nomination for star Chiwetel Ejiofor, the bighearted Kinky Boots tells the tale of two people with nothing in common – or so they think. As the show begins, Charlie Price has reluctantly inherited his father's shoe factory, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Trying to live up to his father's legacy and save his family business, Charlie eventually finds inspiration in the form of drag-queen headliner Lola. A fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos, Lola turns out to be the one person who can help Charlie become the man that he's meant to be, and as they work to turn the factory around, this unlikely pair find that they have more in common than they ever dreamed possible.

Filled with elaborate costumes, exhilarating choreography, and a moving story with a book by multiple Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, Kinky Boots debuted on Broadway in April of 2013 and immediately charmed both audiences and critics, with the New York Times calling it an “inspired” musical entertainment “about finding your passion, overcoming prejudice, and transcending stereotypes.” With Lauper providing a score boasting 16 new compositions, the production earned a season-high 13 Tony nominations that resulted in six wins, with Lauper's victory marking the first time a woman won solo in her Best Score category. Kinky Boots' Broadway soundtrack, meanwhile, premiered at number one on the Billboard Cast Albums Chart and number 51 on the Billboard 200 – making it the highest-charting cast recording since The Book of Mormon – and went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

Directing Music Guild's Kinky Boots is Kelsey Walljasper, whose additional area credits include serving as stage manager for last season's musical Rent, directing the Spotlight Theatre's The Spitfire Grill, and appearing in that venue's productions of Matilda: The Musical and The Wedding Singer. Mitch Carter serves as the show's music director, and additional members of Walljasper's creative team include: assistant director and stage manager Julie Hummel; assistant music director Katie Griswold; choreographer Shelley Cooper; set designer Mike Turczynski; costume designers Lee Mclain and Em Schwartz; lighting designer Roger Pavey, Jr. and sound designer Alexandar Richardson (both of them also Reader theatre reviewers); props designer Deb Shippy; makeup designer Nikki Murray; and producer David Blakey.

Lola is portrayed by area favorite Keenen Wilson, whose previous Music Guild roles have included Donkey in Shrek: The Musical and Le Fou in Beauty & the Beast, while Charlie is played by Dave Edwards, a performer in Music Guild's Elf: The Musical and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Additional members of the Kinky Boots ensemble include: Brittany Anderson; Pam Cantrell; Jack Carslake; Drew Dekeyrel; Abbey Donohoe; Bruce Duling; Madison Duling; Topher Elliot; Adrienne Evans; Evan Gagliardo; Bradley Robert Jensen; Gary Mayfield; Antoine Richmond; Tami Seitz; Joseph Thomas; Michael Van Belle; Luke Vermeire; Myka Walljasper; Megan Winchell; and Makis Witt. And the show's pit orchestra is composed of: Mitch Carter (keyboard); Brandi Duncan (bass); Katie Griswold (keyboard); Cameron Kotovsky (guitar); Spencer Mason (reed); Ben McKay (trumpet); Pete Philhower (drums); Matt Reece (guitar); and Fletcher Stiers (violin).

Kinky Boots runs at Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium April 5 through 14, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $15-20, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-6610 and visiting QCMusicGuild.com.