reviews KINKY BOOTS National Tour ASU/Gammage

"Kyle Taylor Parker plays the flamboyant Lola with all the grandstanding relish a character like Lola requires.  He’s a walking kaleidoscopic array of color.  When Parker enters the stage, no matter how many of the ensemble are gathered, your eyes are on Lola.  Cindy Lauper won a 2013 Tony for Best Score which remains a little surprising considering the approach.  Despite the different influences and musical styles used throughout, the songs are still essentially more pop than Broadway but at least they’re all delivered with a showbiz flair.  Like the musical itself, there’s an infectious quality to the songs that won’t remain with you for long after the show, but they get the job done while being performed.  You leave the theatre with the echoes of a  disco number still bouncing in you head." - David Appleford, Valley Screen and Stage

"an infectious, fun and upbeat crowd pleaser. The national tour of the show that kicked off just two weeks ago is now in Tempe and it is as effective and buoyant as it was on Broadway.  Kyle Taylor Parker understudied the role of Lola in the Broadway production and is a firecracker in this star-making performance. He successfully makes Lola the larger than life person with a soaring voice, evoking a touch of Eartha Kitt in his delivery, and he balances this with a shyness when the character is out of drag and becomes the nervous, soft-spoken Simon. Kinky Boots is a well-crafted "feel good" show with several break out songs and makes for a very enjoyable night out. With a great cast and creative elements that are on par with the Broadway version, the national tour is just as fun and heartwarming as it was on the Broadway." -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway

"charmingly entertaining but silly and daffy...The show was every bit as delightful as the New York production. a tuneful score with zany lyrics that revitalized Cyndi Lauper’s song writing career and Harvey Fierstein created an entertaining story based on the popular movie. Kyle Taylor Parker has a field day as Lola as he sashays around stage flouncing hysterically in a succession of wacky heels and colorful outfits.  The entire show entertains so extraordinarily because of Jerry Mitchell’s spirited direction and dazzling choreography."
David Curcio- KBAQ

"The best thing about Kinky Boots is the boots. ...it feels a bit dated at a time when even the news of a gay NFL player is greeted by but-of-course shrugs. Maybe a man in a dress still raises eyebrows in provincial England, but it sure doesn't on the Broadway stage anymore. Indeed, "nice" is the word to describe the show as a whole.  ,,,most of the dances are a lazy hodgepodge of sashaying clichés. Parker is a charismatic winner as Lola, owning the stage in a series of Jackie O-worthy outfits and belting beautifully, if sentimentally, in "Hold Me in Your Heart."  -Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic

"a righteous and literally uplifting kick in the pants of intolerance and stereotyping, featuring a star-spangled cast of characters and theatrical elements. Kyle Taylor Parker gives a virtuoso performance and will knock your socks off as Lola.  As solid and robust as the performances are in this tour of the 2013 Tony winner for Best Musical, it is the conscience and soul of Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper that radiates throughout the show." -Herbert Paine, Broadway World