Monday, June 10, 2013

Awards - Tonys 2013 - Musicals - Kinky Boots

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KINKY BOOTS
Synopsis from IMDb
Charles Price may have grown up with his father in the family shoe business, but he never thought that he would take his father's place. Yet, the untimely death of his father places him in that position, only to learn that Price & Sons Shoes is failing. While in despair at his failed attempts to save the business, Charles has a chance encounter with the flamboyant drag queen cabaret singer, Lola. Her complaints about the inadequate footwear for her work combined with one of Charles' ex-employees, Lauren, leads to a suggestion to change the product to create a desperate chance to save the business: make men's fetish footwear. Lola is convinced to be their footwear designer and the transition begins. Now this disparate lot must struggle at this unorthodox idea while dealing both the prejudice of the staff, Lola's discomfort in the small town and the selfish manipulation of Charles' greedy fiancée who cannot see the greater good in Charles' dream. 
Price & Sons, located in Northampton, is a fourth generation owned and operated family business specializing in quality shoes for men. The heir apparent to the company, Charlie Price, is not planning on taking over the company but rather move to London with his fiancée, Nicola Marsden, both who want to get as far away from the company and the close-mindedness of Northampton as possible. Charlie's plans change when Harold Price, Charlie's father and current company president, suddenly dies. In dealing with immediate company issues, Charlie learns that the primary contract on which the company had been working has long expired - something that Harold hid from everyone - meaning that there is no work and little prospect for work with their current line of shoes. Under the circumstances, Charlie feels he has no other option but to lay off several of his employees. Instead, Nicola wants Charlie to sell the business; she even finds a buyer, a property developer who wants to convert the factory into upscale condos. But one of Charlie's employees, a young woman named Lauren who would be one of those laid off, believes Charlie would be taking the easy way out by either of these options and that he is not looking out for the interests of the company's loyal and hard working employees. She suggests he change the business model and create another line of shoes in a niche market. Upon a chance meeting with a relatively large drag queen named Lola, Charlie comes up with the idea of specializing in fashionable women's boots made for the general heft of drag queens. There are many obstacles to converting the business to this new model including meshing fashionable design with the required functionality of the boots, and having a relatively conservative town, business and employees into supporting this change, especially with their target market being "unfamiliar" people such as Lola. With Lola's assistance, these changes are both advanced and hindered. Charlie believes that to make the company truly successful in this new model, he has to show the boots during the Milan fashion season using the target market, drag queens, as the models. Showing in Milan takes money, money which Charlie doesn't have. But more importantly, Charlie has to overcome some internal issues with himself to be successful in this venture.

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