Honestly, if you’d told a Broadway executive in 2010 that the woman who sang "She Bop" was about to become the savior of the modern American musical, they probably would’ve laughed you out of the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Broadway can be a snobby place. It’s an industry that often treats pop stars like tourists—fine for a limited-run cameo to sell tickets, but rarely trusted with the "serious" work of building a score from the ground up.
Then came Cyndi Lauper Kinky Boots.
The collaboration didn't just work; it exploded. It turned a mid-budget 2005 British indie film about a failing shoe factory into a global juggernaut. We’re talking six Tony Awards, a Grammy, and a run that lasted six years and over 2,500 performances. But more than the trophies, it changed how we think about what a "Broadway song" sounds like. Cyndi didn't just write "pop music for the stage." She wrote a masterclass in empathy that just happened to have a killer backbeat.
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The Harvey Fierstein Phone Call That Changed Everything
You've gotta love how these things start. It wasn't some corporate boardroom pitch. It was a phone call from Harvey Fierstein. Harvey is Broadway royalty, the guy behind Hairspray and Torch Song Trilogy. He knew the story of Kinky Boots—based on the real-life struggle of Steve Pateman and his W.J. Brooks shoe factory in Northamptonshire—had heart. But he needed a sound.
He needed someone who understood the "misfit" soul.
Basically, Harvey saw in Cyndi a fellow warrior for the underdog. When he asked her to write the music and lyrics, she didn't jump at it because she wanted to be a "theater person." She did it because she identified with Lola, the drag queen lead who is essentially a warrior in six-inch stilettos.
Cyndi has spent her whole life fighting for the LGBTQ+ community. This wasn't a job. It was personal.
Why the Music Hits Different
Most people think writing a musical is just about writing ten catchy songs and sticking them between dialogue. It’s not. In a musical, the song is the plot. If the character hasn't changed by the time the last note hits, the song failed.
Lauper obsessed over this.
Take a look at "Not My Father's Son." It's the emotional spine of the show. It’s a quiet, devastating duet between Charlie (the factory heir) and Lola (the drag performer). On the surface, they have zero in common. But Lauper found the universal frequency: the crushing weight of trying to live up to a parent's expectations.
She used a mix of musical styles that shouldn't work together but somehow do:
- Club Beats: High-energy anthems like "Sex Is in the Heels" that sound like they belong in a 90s dance hall.
- Classic Broadway: Huge, soaring finales like "Raise You Up / Just Be."
- 80s New Wave: Hints of her own "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" DNA in the playful "History of Wrong Guys."
She famously recorded demos on her iPhone, singing into the mic while walking down the street or in her kitchen, capturing melodies before they evaporated. She wasn't trying to sound like Rodgers and Hammerstein. She was trying to sound like Cyndi.
Making History (Literally)
When the 2013 Tony Awards rolled around, the narrative was supposed to be about Matilda the Musical. It was the heavy favorite. But Cyndi Lauper Kinky Boots swept the floor.
The most historic moment? Cyndi became the first woman to win the Tony Award for Best Original Score alone. No male co-writer. No "additional music by." Just her.
It was a massive "I told you so" to anyone who thought she was just an 80s relic. She proved that a pop sensibility could actually make theater more accessible, not less. She brought a "Top 40" ear to a world that sometimes forgets how to be catchy.
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The "True Story" vs. The Musical
People often ask how much of this is real.
The real factory was W.J. Brooks Ltd. in Earls Barton. The real owner, Steve Pateman, really did start making "Divine Footwear" for the drag and fetish community to save his skin. But the musical adds layers of glitter and soul that the documentary didn't have.
In the real version, there was no Lola. There was no "Milan Shoe Fair" climax involving a high-fashion runway walk. Those are the "Lauper-isms"—the moments where the mundane reality of manufacturing brogues turns into a celebration of being yourself.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Show
A lot of critics at the time called the show "sentimental" or "too simple." They missed the point.
The brilliance of Cyndi’s work here is that she took complex, heavy themes—toxic masculinity, systemic poverty in industrial towns, queer identity—and made them digestible. She didn't "dumb it down." She "warmed it up."
She understood that you don't change people's minds by shouting at them. You change them by making them dance. When a "macho" factory worker like the character Don finally accepts Lola, it doesn't feel like a lecture. It feels like a relief.
The Legacy in 2026
Even now, years after the original Broadway cast (featuring a legendary Billy Porter) took their final bows, the show is everywhere. Regional theaters, international tours, and high schools are still obsessed with it.
Why? Because the "Lauper sound" is timeless.
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She didn't write for 2013; she wrote for anyone who’s ever felt like they didn't fit the mold. The score for Cyndi Lauper Kinky Boots remains a high-water mark for pop-to-Broadway transitions. It paved the way for artists like Sara Bareilles (Waitress) and David Byrne (American Utopia) to see the stage as a legitimate playground for their sound.
How to Experience the Lauper Magic Today
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of this production, don't just stop at the soundtrack. There’s a specific way to appreciate what she built.
- Listen to the "Not My Father's Son" Demo: If you can find the early recordings, listen to Cyndi singing it herself. You can hear the raw emotion she intended before it was polished for the stage.
- Watch the West End Pro-Shot: There is a high-quality filmed version of the London production. It captures the choreography that Jerry Mitchell designed to specifically sync with Cyndi's rhythmic hooks.
- Read the "Kinky Boots" Book: No, not a novel—the "coffee table" book that documents the costume design. You’ll see how the music influenced the literal architecture of those iconic red boots.
The boots are still walking. And as long as people feel like they don't quite belong, Cyndi’s music will be there to tell them they’re exactly where they need to be.