Well, I have two, “Land of Lola,” because how often
do you have the chance to sing a song in a show that says, leave expectations at the door. Everything you though about me or perceived me to be, I’m not that. I am a mystery, I am contradiction, and I am a riddle. You know, it’s Lola’s anthem. It’s a sort of “pump yourself up” song. As a total juxtaposition, my second favorite is the
last song in the show, “Hold Me In Your Heart.” It is so simple and so pure. It’s really doing the opposite of what “Land of Lola” does because it shifts to “This is who I am, so look at me and just accept that for what ever you think it might be.” “Land of Lola” has one of my favorite lyrics in the musical, it’s “welcome to my fantasy, we give good epiphany…” it is such a great line. That is a good one; Cyndi [Lauper] is such a smart
lyricist. That really shines through. There is a lovely intimacy about the show. What is it that you feel audiences connect with the most? Audiences really go crazy about the show by the
end. I think they really end up connecting with the idea that you can just be who you want to be. That is so, so, so, much more than enough... You are enough. People on the stage are of all shapes, all sizes, all different energies and in the end, they party and cel- ebrate themselves and their lives. I think that is what people relate to, that overall acceptance of self. You can be who you want to be. If there was a line to sum it up, this would be it, “I am enough…” That is perfect. One of my favorite songs from the production is “Not My Father’s Son,” it’s painful but it’s also so hopeful at the same time. There are a lot of people out there that can connect with difficult father/son relationships. It’s the first moment Charlie and Lola begin to
really see each other. To see each other as people, as humans, not just someone who can help me make shoes, or someone who can give me shoes. It’s an “Oh wow” moment when they both realize that they have been through the exact same pain. Okay, we all want to know, how hard was it to learn to dance in those heels? (Laughs) I was in the national tour of In The Heights,
they received their first inspiration from that show. I bet it would be a whole lot of them! It’s such a good show; I totally love it still.
Please tell me a bit about what playing Lola means to you and how you’ve made the role your own. It’s an honor to play Lola because she is this won-
derfully complex and complete character. She really has managed to create a world in which she can exist and kind of run away to, in the nightclub where she and her angels live. When she meets Charlie, whose factory is failing, she is challenged to step outside of her comfort zone and make a real impression on the
world. To save someone who is maybe not like her. That’s what I like the most about Lola, the bravery of her character. In doing all of that, Lola is confronted with the issue of acceptance. It really is a show about acceptance. I think often we think the goal is accept- ing ourselves, but there is a second part to that story. If you accept others, you can better accept yourself and that is what Lola essentially learns. She learns to accept herself no matter what world she is in, her own small box or in Northampton, England. What is your favorite part about Kinky Boots; do you have a favorite song from the show?
so during the day I had my girlfriends from the show meet me in the hotel room and they taught me how to dance in them (laughs). Let me just say that it’s a labor of love… and it’s all about the balance! Let me tell you too, every woman I ever danced
with got an email from me that said, “Oh my good- ness, I’m going to be such a better dance partner when I leave this show because I know now what you’ve gone through!” (Laughs)
Kinky Boots arrives, sexy heels and all a-sparkle, to the San Diego Civic Theatre from Tuesday, September 23 through Sunday, September 28. For tickets and more information call 619.564.3000 or go to
broadwaysd.com.
SEPTEMBER 2014 |SEPTEMBER 2014 | RAGE monthly RAGE monthly
23
“I think they really end
up connecting with the idea that you can just be who you want to be.
That is so, so, so, much more than enough... You are enough.”
original broadway cast, photo credit: matthew murphy
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