Reelin' In the Years - Kinky boots & My Night with Reg
It’s time for Pride and we are indeed very proud of the many productions over the years that have respectfully and honestly examined the lives of gay characters. There have been over 100, but we only have room to honour two in this issue.
Kinky Boots
Based on the award-winning 2005 British film (which itself was based on a 1999 BBC documentary), Kinky Boots had its Canadian premiere on June 16, 2015 and played until May 15, 2016 at the Royal Alex. It starred Alan Mingo Jr as Lola and Graham Scott Fleming as Charlie. Having inherited a down-at-heel shoe factory, Charlie forms an unlikely partnership with drag queen Lola to produce a line of high-heeled boots for drag performers to save the business and the jobs of local workers, some of whom have to face their own prejudices and in the process create a more inclusive and positive community. As the lyrics from the Cyndi Lauper score say, “You change the world when you change your mind.”
My Night with Reg
My Night with Reg is British playwright Kevin Elyot’s look at a group of gay friends in 1980s London. Set against the early days of the AIDS epidemic, the play brilliantly captures the passion and pain of those times. In turns funny and sad, My Night with Reg premiered at London's Royal Court in 1994 and has since become a classic of its genre. Produced for the Off-Mirvish series by Studio 180, it played at the CAA Theatre February 10 to 26, 2017 in a production directed by Joel Greenberg.
