Billy Porter on How New Musical Kinky Boots Is 'Quintessential Cyndi Lauper'

Billy Porter is preparing to embrace his inner diva as a fabulous drag performer named Lola in the new musical Kinky Boots. Directed by Jerry Mitchell, the Broadway-bound show features a book by four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein and score by Grammy winner Cyndi Lauper. Broadway.com recently caught up with Porter to get the inside scoop on the exciting project.

“The music is quintessential Cyndi Lauper,” Porter said. “I think people are going to be truly blown away by her score! It has some pop, rock, soul and dance and it’s all coming from a really true authentic voice from that world. And Harvey [Fierstein], of course, is a thoroughbred in this business, and he has written the most exquisite book. It’s so beautiful, and it has a lot of heart. I think audiences will be pleasantly surprised by the journey we take them on."

Though the Kinky Boots out-of-town tryout won't begin in Chicago until October 2, Porter is already eager to get to work. "I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” he said. “This is a huge deal for me, and I am just looking forward to living in every single solitary moment of it.”

Inspired by a true story and based on the 2005 film of the same name, Kinky Boots follows Charlie Price (Tony nominee Stark Sands) who, after the sudden death of his father, is forced to step in and save his family’s shoe factory in Northern England. Help comes from the unlikeliest angel, an eccentric drag artist named Lola (Porter). Together, this improbable duo not only revitalizes the nearly bankrupt business, but help each other grow into the men their fathers always dreamed their sons would become. They also manage to transform an entire community through the power of acceptance.

Porter’s previous credits include Angels in America, Grease, Five Guys Named Moe, Smokey Joe’s Café, Dreamgirls, Topdog/Underdog and Miss Saigon. He has appeared in the films The Broken Hearts Club, Twisted and as Little Richard in Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story.

To watch Porter perform "Lola" from Kinky Boots, click below.