As
Broadway's
production
of
"Kinky
Boots"
took
a
final
curtain
this
month,
Baldwin
Wallace
prepares
to
be
the
first
university
in
the
nation
to
present
2013's
Tony
Award-winning
Best
Musical
in
the
fall.
BW's
renowned
Music
Theatre
program,
which
just
wrapped
up
another
wildly
successful
senior
showcase
in
New
York
City,
was
granted
the
rights
to
stage
"Kinky
Boots"
with
support
from
faculty
and
alumni,
including
music
theatre
graduate
Kyle
Post
'07,
a
longtime
member
of
the
Broadway
cast.
"Kyle
was
instrumental
in
making
this
happen,"
said
Matthew
Webb,
BW
Music
Theatre
Music
Director.
"He's
been
a
great
champion
for
the
BWMT
program
throughout
this
process."
Kinky
Connections
Post
is
not
the
only
BW
"Kinky
Boots"
connection.
Corey
Mach
'10
and
Shannon
O'Boyle
'12
also
did
a
turn
in
the
Broadway
cast,
while
Ryan
Fielding
Garrett
'12
conducted
the
show
on
Broadway
and
served
as
music
director
for
the
national
tour;
Zach
Adkins
'15,
Patty
Lohr
'08
and
Jennifer
Noble
'10
all
appeared
in
the
"Kinky
Boots"
first
national
tour.
Supporters
of
BWMT
hope
to
bring
as
many
of
the
BW
"Kinky
Boots"
alumni
to
Berea
in
the
fall
for
a
very
special
event
tied
to
BW's
first-in-the-nation
university
run
of
the
show.
"[BW
Trustee]
Beth
Swailes
is
already
hard
at
work
planning
a
'Kinky
Boots'
extravaganza
that
will
send
our
production
out
in
style,"
said
BW
Music
Theatre
Director
Victoria
Bussert.
"We
are
so
grateful
for
the
network
of
BW
Music
Theatre
graduates
and
supporters
who
add
yet
another
dimension
to
the
BWMT
experience."
Booting
up
BW
Auditions
With
music
and
lyrics
by
Cyndi
Lauper
and
a
book
by
Harvey
Fierstein,
"Kinky
Boots"
is
based
on
the
2005
British
film
by
the
same
name
which
was
inspired
by
the
true
story
of
Charlie
Price
and
the
drag
queen,
Lola,
who
inspired
Price's
struggling
shoe
company
to
find
new
life
by
venturing
into
fetish
footwear.
Double-casting
for
the
role
of
Lola
takes
place
this
week
at
BW.
The
production
will
come
to
life
on
the
Mainstage
Theatre
at
BW's
Kleist
Center
for
Art
&
Drama
November
12-24.
"Our
students
are
excited
to
begin
auditions
for
this
iconic
production,"
said
Bussert.
"To
be
the
first
college
to
win
the
rights
for
'Kinky
Boots'
comes
with
high
expectations
for
our
execution,
and
we're
eager
to
bring
the
show
to
life
with
the
bar
set
high."
When
the
Broadway
production
closed
on
April
7,
it
became
the
25th
longest-running
show
in
the
history
of
the
Great
White
Way,
winning
six
Tonys
in
2013,
including
Best
Musical,
Best
Choreography
and
Best
Score.
Meantime,
read
Broadway
World,
Cleveland
critic
Roy
Berko's
account
of
the
2019
BW
Senior
Showcase.
Berko
traveled
to
New
York
for
a
first-hand
look
at
BW's
latest
crop
of
future
stars
in
action.
