Cyndi Lauper On Kinky Boots: ‘I Grew Up With Hopelessness, That’s Why I’m A Sucker For Redemption’ - EXCLUSIVE

Stop everything you are doing because Kinky Boots the musical has finally hit the West End stage and we managed to nab the show’s music and lyrics writer, and all-round legend, Cyndi Lauper for an exclusive chat.

[Copyright: Gavin Bond]

The iconic star teamed up with her good friend, Harvey Fierstein to take on the challenge of adapting the true-life story of a Northampton shoe-maker, Charlie Price, who turned to creating heels for men in order to save his business.

First hitting the stage in the US back in 2012, Kinky Boots has been a Broadway hit and taken off as a much-loved musical across the globe, but now it is hitting London’s West End for the first time ever.

Speaking exclusively to Yahoo Celebrity UK about the show’s British roots, Cyndi explained to us: “I started to realise that Kinky Boots is going home, this is where the whole story is from.

“It’s exactly what Graham Norton said to me, he said: ‘The show is going home’, and I thought: ‘It is - it’s going to be in English - and it does sound good in English’.“

Cyndi continued: “I was worried until I saw the cast and I started to think to myself, ‘What are you talking about? It’s English, and they’re English, and they know all the references to English music that you grew up with’.

“When I was writing the music for the show it was English music like The Beatles, Sid Vicious, The Rolling Stones, who influenced me because they were all English people.

“Who else was going to be standing there singing?”

[Copyright: REX]

And the star’s favourite part of being involved in a musical as uplifting and feel-good as Kinky Boots is the fact that she has a helping hand in making people happy, with Cyndi adding: “We are very fortunate that everywhere this show plays, it makes a lot of people happy - can you imagine just being a part of that?

“It’s a big deal, you’re part of a little happy pill. It’s worked all across the world - even in South Korea, the songs were translated and it worked out great for them and it made a lot of people happy there too.

“I thought it was amazing that it worked, but it’s all about the story. It’s the story that worked, and I think that if you have a good story then everything falls into place.″

So what was it about this particular story that made Cyndi sign up to the show all those years ago?

“There was a lot of redemption in the story,” she explained: “And I’m a sucker for redemption.

“I don’t like it when you read a story and there’s no redemption; it just makes me cry and feel hopeless - and I don’t like hopelessness. I kind of grew up with that, so I don’t like it.

“I want people to be happy and go away inspired; I think it’s better that way, so this was one of those opportunities to make people tap their feet and make the rhythm bright and catchy and make them feel good with all different kinds of music.”

But in true Ms Lauper form, her work doesn’t come without an important and deep-rooted message, with the ultimate theme of Kinky Boots being all about accepting one another and, most importantly, yourself.

Speaking to us about the show’s insight into prejudice and the LGBT community, Cyndi said: “This helps to show people that no matter how different you are, there’s that thing that makes us all the same growing up.

Matt Henry, who plays Lola, with Cyndi. Copyright: [Instagram]

“Whatever the extremes might be in your situation; not living up to your father’s expectations is a big one, or your mother’s, or your parents’, and actually, accepting yourself for who you are will help you to accept someone else.

“And that to me is redemption, and that to me is a step forward, and that’s why I loved the story so much.

“Lola might be LGBT, I don’t know - it never says that in the story. In fact, Harvey kept saying he wasn’t, but when I was working with Billy Porter he said he absolutely is and you’re like, ‘Well I guess it doesn’t matter, it’s just two different people and you are who you are’.

“That’s what I was trying to show when I was writing ‘Hold Me In Your Heart’; it was important that Lola said ‘You missed out on the best part of me, the part that made me who I am today’.

“I cried when I wrote that.”

And we have to admit, we cried watching it - although soon cheered up as the plot went on, which is just one of the many reasons why Kinky Boots is so ruddy fabulous.

Tears, laughter, feet-tapping, and a moral message? What more could you possibly ask for in a musical, eh?

Kinky Boots is currently in previews and will officially open on Tuesday, September 15 at London’s Adelphi Theatre - click here for more info.