Wayne Brady is Broadway's next Lola
Emmy Award winner Wayne Brady will officially return to Broadway and take on the role of Lola in the 2013 Tony Award-winning musical Kinky Boots from 21 November 2015. Tony winner Billy Porter will play his final performance as Lola on 20 November 2015.
Director Jerry Mitchell commented:
"Wayne Brady is a wonderful triple threat. I first had the pleasure of working with Wayne on a Disney film and have been a fan ever since. Like Lola, he has the sass, the voice and the heart and we cannot wait to see him strut his stuff when he joins the Kinky Boots family!"Mr Brady added:
"I'm thrilled to join the Kinky Boots family and unleash my inner Lola. It's the role of a lifetime! Billy and his prodigious talent have left some pretty big red boots for me to fill. Starring in a Broadway show of this caliber has been my dream since I started performing at age 16. I'm ready to jump in with both feet!"Wayne Brady made his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in 'Chicago' in 2004. Other stage credits include the role of Collins in the 2010 Neil Patrick Harris-helmed Hollywood Bowl production of 'Rent' and the 2015 Pasadena Playhouse production of 'Kiss Me Kate.' He is best known for his TV shows "Let's Make a Deal," "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and "The Wayne Brady Show." He has won a Primetime Emmy (along with a further two nominations) and a total of three daytime Emmys and six nominations.
Kinky Boots, featuring a book by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, with music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winning artist Cyndi Lauper and directed by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell, officially opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on 4 April 2013, following previews from 3 March 2013, and is currently booking through to 3 January 2016.
The musical, directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell, opened to mostly positive reviews: You are smothered in a good time (newyorktheatreguide.com); A shameless emotional button pusher (NY Times); A high time (NY Daily News); Blissfully entertaining (NY1).
Synopsis: "In Kinky Boots, Charlie Price is forced to step in and save his family's shoe factory in Northern England following the sudden death of his father. Help comes from the unlikeliest angel, a fabulous drag performer named Lola. Together, this improbable duo revitalizes the failing business, while stepping out from their fathers' shadows and transforming an entire community through the power of acceptance."
Kinky Boots is based on the 2005 British comedy movie of the same name, written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth.
The principal cast currently features Andy Kelso (Charlie Price), Billy Porter (Lola), Haven Burton (Lauren), Cortney Wolfson (Nicola), Daniel Stewart Sherman (Don), and Marcus Neville (George).
The production was nominated for a total of 13 Tony Awards, of which it won six: Best Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Billy Porter), Best Original Score (Cyndi Lauper), Best Choreography (Jerry Mitchell), Best Orchestrations (Stephen Oremus); and Best Sound Design (John Shivers).
The musical is being produced by Daryl Roth and Hal Luftigm and features sets by David Rockwell, costumes by Gregg Barnes, lighting by Kenneth Posner and sound by John Shivers (Sound Design).
Wayne BradyOriginally published on