‘Kinky Boots’ at KC’s Music Hall is a whole lot of flashy fun

This is Lola’s world. The rest of us are just envious visitors.

About 15 minutes into the opening performance of “Kinky Boots” at the Music Hall on Tuesday, what had been a fairly pedestrian first act took flight with the appearance of Lola, the drag queen heroine of Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper’s Tony-winning musical.

Bathed in red light, resplendent in a red sequined minidress with legs that go on forever and a head of Shirley Temple curls, J. Harrison Ghee made an entrance that was not unlike grabbing a frayed extension cord and being thoroughly and delightfully zapped.

Like a latter-day Donna Summer, Lola/Ghee tore into the disco-ish “Land of Lola,” shaking much booty, sashaying proudly, all while surrounded by six gyrating chorus girls, a couple of whom might actually have been women (they weren’t).

The 2,000-plus spectators at the sold-out show simultaneously shared a jolt of pure, unadulterated joy. It was one of those moments that make live theater an unmatchable experience, and if it didn’t leave you grinning like a fool it might be time to check your pulse to see if you’re still with us.

“Kinky Boots,” based on a 2005 British film comedy, is about how the flamboyant Lola transforms a down-on-its-luck shoe factory into a going concern catering to men who can gracefully negotiate stiletto heels.

Charlie (Adam Kaplan) inherits the business upon his father’s death — along with a boatload of debt, a dwindling client list and a collection of old-fashioned men’s shoes.

Charlie and Lola meet when the former gallantly tries to rescue the latter from some toughs in a London alley. Turns out that despite the dress, Lola has a history as an amateur boxer and needs no champion.

But his new acquaintance’s obsession with freaky footwear gives Charlie an idea — perhaps with Lola’s help he can save the factory by churning out a new line of kinky boots in time for the upcoming Milan fashion show.

Of course that will mean convincing the reluctant workers to get on board, as well as Charlie’s social-climbing fiancée, who wants him to sell real estate.

Fierstein’s book is peppered with lessons about inclusion, about our shared humanity trumping ignorance and prejudice, and about the plight of sons who can never meet their fathers’ expectations.

But while “Kinky” toys with big messages, mostly it’s just fun.

Ghee’s work is so dominant here that he turns everybody else into supporting players. That includes the character of Charlie, who seems a wan wisp compared to Lola’s force of nature. But as things progress, Kaplan begins to hold his own, especially in “Not My Father’s Son,” the touching ballad about parental expectations that he shares with Ghee. (Come to think of it, melodically it is reminiscent of Lauper’s hit “True Colors.”)

The cast member who comes closest to matching Ghee’s stage-commanding presence is Tiffany Engen as Lauren, the factory girl who pines for Charlie. Engen almost immediately establishes herself as an inventive and endearing comedian. Her number “The History of Wrong Guys,” in which she reviews her unsatisfying love life, is crammed with comic business — like using a compressed air hose on the factory floor to dry the flop sweat under her arms and give her hair a wind-tousled look right off the cover of a romance paperback.

Director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell pulls out the stops on a couple of big numbers. “Everybody Say Yeah,” the explosive first act closer, has cast members hoofing on a moving assembly line conveyor belt. There’s a clever slow-motion boxing match in Act 2 (one of the beefy workers challenges Lola to a few rounds), and the grand finale, “Raise You Up,” will have many theatergoers thinking of the similar disco tornado that wraps up “Mamma Mia!”

Like the fancy footwear that is its namesake, “Kinky Boots” is more about flash than substance. But when you have this much flash, nobody’s complaining.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 9:54 AM with the headline "‘Kinky Boots’ at KC’s Music Hall is a whole lot of flashy fun."