Kinky Boots Stars Alan Mingo Jr. & Aaron C. Finley on Their Onstage Bromance, Not Fighting Heels & Why the Show Gives Them Chills

A glamorous drag queen and a strait-laced shoe manufacturer form an unconventional alliance in Kinky Boots, a relationship that’s both funny and touching thanks to Cyndi Lauper’s Tony-winning score, Harvey Fierstein’s warm-hearted book and Jerry Mitchell’s fast-paced direction. Three years into its Broadway run, the show remains in great shape, with commanding lead performances from Alan Mingo Jr. as saucy Lola and Aaron C. Finley (who joined the company on August 8) as Charlie. On a sunny matinee day, the co-stars chatted about their characters’ bromance, Lauper’s irresistible musical hooks and the secret to strutting in six-inch heels.

Q: You two have wonderful chemistry as Lola and Charlie. Did you feel it right away?

ALAN: I did. At Aaron’s first rehearsal, we sang “Not My Father’s Son,” and once I heard his tone, I thought, OK, this is going to work.

AARON: And I didn’t even know the words yet! I always say [joining a musical] is like getting shoved into a swimming pool and hoping you can swim. You just have to tread water until you feel like you can get going.

ALAN: You dog-paddled really, really well.

Q: How do you describe this unusual relationship?

ALAN: It’s truly a bromance. We’re on opposite ends of the spectrum, but you find that we’re quite the same, especially in dealing with issues with our fathers.

AARON: Yeah, “Not My Father’s Son” is the grounding moment where we realize that when we peel back the layers, the first impressions, we see that we are all made of the same stuff on the inside. I get chills thinking about it because there are things I identify with Charlie, I identify with Lola, and in that moment, I’m not acting.

ALAN: And this is what audiences identify with. We all have parents who raise us and have high expectations for us, and that’s a theme of the show: Just be you. It’s a message people still near to hear.


Q: On a lighter note, Alan, did you give Aaron any advice on navigating those high-heeled boots?

ALAN: You can’t fight the heels. You’ve got to go with your hips, because the minute you fight the heels, you’re going to find you’ve got a problem.

AARON: Now I know why women sway and step with one foot in front of the other because you can’t walk in a straight line and stay balanced. My calves hurt; the balls of my feet hurt. This is not something I’ve done often—wear six-inch heels. I’m still learning to navigate it. And I only wear them for 10 minutes. He’s in a different heel for the entire show!

ALAN: I will tell you, after the first two weeks [of rehearsal], I called my mom and said, “I don’t know if I can do this,” because the pain was unbearable. Somewhere in the third week, I got my stride.

Q: I hope it’s okay, Alan, to say that you have the prettiest legs.

ALAN: As a man, I haven’t worn shorts since I was 14 because my legs are so thin. It’s great to have a role where people are saying, “Your legs are great,” because no one has ever said that.

AARON: They’re perfect for those shoes.

Q: Aaron, what’s it like to act with Alan in drag?

AARON: It feels natural because he is a very glamorous Lola. He looks great in the clothes, so for me, it’s like, “There’s this hot black woman,” and I just go with it. It helps Charlie, the character, as well, because [he’s thinking] “Am I seeing this correctly?” It’s fun because I believe everything about it.

ALAN: There’s a part of the show when I come on as a man, and people literally gasp. It makes me laugh because I’m like, do you not know what show you came to see?

Q: Both of you have been in productions of Rent and Hairspray and sing pop music beautifully. What do you love about Cyndi Lauper’s Kinky Boots score?

ALAN: There’s nothing like her hooks. Cyndi Lauper knows how to write a hook for a song that gets stuck in your head. There are times I kick myself because I’m in a cab humming a song that’s not mine.

AARON: Me too! You don’t have to embellish her stuff; it’s perfect the way it is. That’s what they tell you when you start learning the score: Just sing what she wrote, and it’s going to do the work for you.


Q: When you were growing up in Montana, Aaron, did you imagine the life you have now in New York?

AARON: No. I didn’t know what theater was until I was 23. I didn’t grow up seeing shows. I was a music major and took three gap years, so I found it late. When I was a junior in college, I was asked to do Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

ALAN: A natural talent!

AARON: From there, I always say, these random doors keep opening up and I walk through them. [And now] I find myself in my dressing room at Kinky Boots going, “That was a fun door to walk through.”

Q: Alan, you’re leaving the show at the end of October. Have you been called in at Hamilton?

ALAN: Not yet! Everyone keeps saying I look like [Leslie Odom Jr.]. I worked with that team on Once On This Island at Paper Mill, so hopefully I will get in to see them. But nothing has been so challenging and yet so easy for me as this role. I’m excited to see what’s next.