No matter who is wearing them, heels can come fraught with challenges.
Even Omari Collins, who’s currently playing Lola in the Chicago production of Kinky Boots, and who taught a Dancing in Heels workshop this month, said they take some work.
“As an original veteran of walking in heels, I am used to them, but the weight distribution throws me off sometimes,” Collins explained.
Kinky Boots is the story of Charlie Price, who inherits a shoe factory from his father and collaborates with drag queen Lola to save the business.
New York-based Collins is living la vida Lola for the seventh time after playing the iconic role regionally. He described the first time he slipped on the boots as “a magical experience,” adding, “These boots hold such a legacy and they tell a prolific story. I am happy to carry that story onward.”
His dancing workshop took place at Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center in the South Loop on June 10. Dance students were encouraged to bring a new pair of boots or shoes to donate to Chicago’s South Side community center, Brave Space Alliance.
Kinky Boots visits the Windy City for the fifth time, playing now until June 21 at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.
The acclaimed musical is based on a 2005 British movie and true events. Originally written by London punk performer Geoff Deane and English dramatist Tim Firth, the musical’s book was written by actor Harvey Fierstein and musically created by pop singer Cyndi Lauper.
Kinky Boots’s Chicago re-mounting is a return-to-roots roots after its world premiere here in 2012 at the Bank of America Theatre. The show went on to Broadway with the cast and Billy Porter was interviewed in Windy City Times for the role of Lola. The production won six Tony Awards, including Best Actor for Porter and Best Score for Lauper.
Collins, who hails from Kansas City, Missouri, is one of several Lolas to don the red heels on the national tour. Performers Wayne Brady and Todrick Hall also played the role, but Collins’s favorite was J. Harrison Ghee, who won the Tony for Some Like It Hot.
“J. did such a good job with the character that I try to infuse myself with Ghee’s interpretation,” said Collins.
His first exposure to drag came from RuPaul’s Drag Race, but “I really got into it in college when a drag queen came from the city to visit the students on the campus. She suggested that I try drag, and ever since then, here I am.”
With the creation of drag persona Scarlett D. Von’Du, Collins joined the Widow Von’Du family. Scarlett’s sister and fellow Von’Du drag daughter, Jaharia, competed on the sixth season of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula andTitans season two.
Not wanting to be accused of nepotism by raising up the wonderful Widow, Collins confessed that Bianca Del Rio is his favorite drag superstar, saying, “She’s always super funny.”
Walking in the footsteps of Kinky Boots is a dream come true for Collins, who revealed, “My favorite part of the show is when Lola enters the factory for the first time during the song ‘Sex Is in the Heel.’ She gets to toy with Don in that scene and I really enjoy that moment.”
When asked, “How does Lola get ‘Whatever Lola Wants?’” Collins explained, “She’s very decisive and she knows what she wants. She won’t stop until she gets it and she pushes through no matter what obstacles come in her way. That perseverance should be admired.”
Collins hopes to pop into NorthHalsted’s Pride Fest before leaving town and has never felt a need to come out of the closet as queer. He said, “I know I am blessed in this sense, but I didn’t come out. I came out of the womb all glitterfied, beautiful and full of life. I know it is privileged to say, but I don’t have a coming-out story.”
As for flats or Crocs replacing Collins’s heels anytime soon? No way. “I hate them,” Collins said with sass.
Kinky Boots continues boldly strutting down the yellow brick road until May of 2027. Find tickets and information at broadwayinchicago.com and kinkybootsmusical.com.