Kinky Boots is about to arrive in New Zealand! Adding sequins and sparkle to Auckland’s home of musical theatre, The Civic, from Thursday, 25 May, and Wellington’s St. James Theatre from Wednesday, 28 June.
Featuring a Tony and Grammy-winning score by pop legend Cyndi Lauper, along with direction and choreography by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell, the musical, based on the 2005 film Kinky Boots, tells the story of Charlie, who attempts to save his family’s ailing shoe factory by creating footwear for drag queens.
Stewart Adam McKensy plays drag queen Lola, the character who inspires Charlie and sends shockwaves through the factory’s conservative town and workforce. Stewart sits down with express to discuss his connection to Lola, and her alter ego, Simon, plus the hectic backstage dynamics of getting into, out of, and back into drag, all in the space of one wildly entertaining show!
TELL US ABOUT KINKY BOOTS AND WHY YOU ARE EXCITED TO BE BRINGING IT TO AOTEAROA.
I’m very excited because I believe New Zealand needs to hear, experience, and live this story. It’s very close to my heart.
WHAT MAKES IT SO PERSONAL FOR YOU?
It really touches home for me because I’ve been through that experience. Especially the relationship between Simon and his father. My father and I never communicated. It was an abusive relationship, and we were never really close, even up to his passing a few years ago. Playing Simon and connecting with what he goes through in the show has really helped me make peace with what I went through.
DID THIS RESONATE WITH YOU MORE THAN ANY OTHER ROLE YOU HAVE PLAYED?
Definitely. You always try to bring a bit of yourself to whatever character you are playing so that you can be truly authentic in the piece. Kinky Boots is a show that just hits home, and a lot of people can relate to it. It especially resonates within the black community, as it deals with gay men and their straight fathers, and there’s often a struggle there.
IN TERMS OF THE DEMANDS IT PUTS ON YOU AS AN ACTOR, HOW DOES KINKY BOOTS DIFFER FROM OTHER MUSICALS?
The demands for Kinky Boots are really high, especially because of the drag element. You get fully done up in makeup, costume, and heels and have to act, belt out the songs, and nail all the choreography – it’s pretty intense! It creates this really cool and different dynamic backstage because a lot of the women come in, put on their outfits and makeup, and are ready to go, whereas a lot of the men need to switch in and out of drag outfits and makeup multiple times during the show. It’s a shift because, usually, in musicals, it takes the female actors a lot longer to get ready with their makeup and costume changes.
HAD YOU EVER DONE DRAG BEFORE KINKY BOOTS?
I had done drag briefly, but only one small number at a concert, and I looked busted as all Hell! It was still fun, but I never found myself in drag again until I was cast for Kinky Boots. So when I got the role, I thought, “Okay, let’s figure out who this person is inside of me!”
HAS IT GIVEN YOU A NEWFOUND RESPECT FOR WHAT RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE QUEENS GO THROUGH?
Definitely! They’re putting their hearts out there and being judged! It reminds me of theatre because you’re really putting your heart on your sleeve and sharing it with the world.
WHEN SIMON BECOMES LOLA, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET IN AND OUT OF THE COSTUME AND MAKEUP?
It’s a dance that has to happen backstage as well as on stage with our costumes, wigs, and makeup. Everyone is involved! It takes about an hour and a half to two hours to get ready before the show starts. It’s essential to get the makeup right because you’ve got to get in and out of makeup in like two seconds. Luckily, from the top of the show, Lola is not in the first couple of numbers, but from her first appearance, we’re off and running!
SO HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE HELPING YOU WITH THAT BACKSTAGE?
There are about four, depending on the theatre we’re in and how much space we have backstage. Some theatres have much smaller spaces! We have to figure out how to help with each department because we need to get makeup on, shoes on, costumes, then whatever props you may need before coming out on stage.
SO THAT MAKEUP WILL BE REMOVED WHEN YOU CHANGE BACK TO SIMON AND REAPPLIED WHEN YOU RETURN TO LOLA AGAIN?
Yes. What we’ve worked out is how much layering powder helps with this, and it’s better to use an eyeshade pencil rather than an ink-type of eyeshadow because it’s easier to erase. Some elements need to be erased and covered over with powder so that I can get back into Simon for the Simon scenes, to get through the rest of Act One.
With our minds blown, express approached Abi Johnson, Kinky Boots’ Head of Wigs & Makeup, for further clarification.
Having worked on demanding productions like Les Misérables and Mary Poppins, Abi is unfazed by the challenge. She gives an additional backstage perspective, telling us, “Simon starts off as Lola in the show. Her makeup and wig application takes about 90 minutes pre-show. Throughout the show, there are many costume, wig, and makeup quick changes, all ranging from two, five, and eight minutes, some even quicker, but because Lola changes to Simon before intermission, it gives us more time to change him back into Lola. One of the quickest changes is from Lola to Simon, but that’s a secret! I have to keep the magic of musical theatre!”
This magical production of Kinky Boots runs from Thursday, 25 May to Saturday, 17 June, at Auckland’s home of musical theatre, The Civic, before moving to Wellington’s glitzy St. James Theatre from Wednesday, 28 June to Saturday, 15 July.
