Stark Sands, Billy Porter lead cast of Kinky Boots

Billy Porter and Stark Sands

Photo: Gavin Bond

Full casting was announced this morning by the New York producers of Kinky Boots, the new musical by Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper that will have a Chicago tryout this fall. Tony nominee Stark Sands will play Charlie Price, the young man forced to take charge of his family's failing Northern England shoe factory; Billy Porter will portray the drag performer who helps him revitalize the business by refocusing on fetish footwear. The show, directed by Jerry Mitchell, is based on the 2005 British film of the same name.

Additional casting includes Annaleigh Ashford (seen as Glinda in the Chicago production of Wicked), Celina Carvajal, Daniel Sherman, Marcus Neville, Paul Canaan, Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Kyle Taylor Parker, Kyle Post , Charlie Sutton, Joey Taranto, Andy Kelso, Tory Ross, Jen Perry, Josh Caggiano, Aaron Bantum, Adinah Alexander, Eric Anderson, Eugene Barry-Hill, Stephen Berger, Caroline Bowman, Sandra DeNise, Eric Leviton, Ellyn Marie Marsh, John Jeffrey Martin, Nathan Peck, Robert Pendilla, Lucia Spina, Sebastian Hedges Thomas, Marquise Neal and Clifton Oliver.

Kinky Boots will play the Bank of America Theatre October 2–November 4. The production will be part of Broadway in Chicago's fall subscription series; individual tickets ($33–$100) are not yet on sale.