(WEST ORANGE, NJ) — Pleasant Valley Productions presents Kinky Boots across two weekends (July 14-15 and July 20-22) at the Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center (OSPAC). Kinky Boots is the big-hearted musical extravaganza that won six Tonys including Best Musical, the Grammy for Best Musical Theatre album and London’s Olivier Award for Best Musical. Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos.
Kinky Boots features a joyous, Tony-winning score by pop icon Cyndi Lauper, and a hilarious, uplifting book by four-time Tony winner, Harvey Fierstein. Billy Porter won a Best Actor Tony Award for his portrayal of Lola. Charlie Price has reluctantly inherited his father’s shoe factory, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Trying to live up to his father’s legacy and save his family business, Charlie finds inspiration in the form of Lola, a fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos. As they work to turn the factory around, this unlikely pair find that they have more in common than they realized… and discover that ‘when you change your mind, you can change your whole world.’
Performances at 8:00pm. Gates open at 7:40pm. General admission tickets are $15 at the Gate; reserved premium seating is $25 and available for purchase online.
The cast includes Chris Traina (Charlie Price), Kerry Jules (Lola/Simon), Hannah Schroeder (Lauren), Sky Spiegel Monroe (Nicola), Ty Pearsons (Don), Jensen Freeman (George), Divya Khanna (Pat), Tasha R. Williams (Trish). Jack Ennis (Young Charlie), Jeanelle Cantave (Young Lola/Simon), John Zisa (Harry/Ensemble), Ian Duhart (Simon Sr./Ensemble), Kyle Younger (Simon Sr. U/S:), and Christopher Williams (Mr. Price),
Lola’s Angels include Corey Chichizola, Adrian Davenport, Brendan Lynch-Littlejohn, Sean M. Lynch-Littlejohn, Dante Pasquale, David Rivera, Na’Jee Tariq. The Factory Ensemble include: Marc Cruz, Jonathan Guy, Fabian Hattem, Elisabeth Julia, Cecilia Lero, Paige Marian, Colleen Martin, Valentina Pappano and Valerie Marie Paschalis.
The Kinky Boots production staff includes Director: Scott Baird; Musical Director: Joseph Christianson; Choreographer: Amy Calzone; Producer: Camille DiLorenzo; Production Stage Manager: Jil Leonard; Assistant Stage Manager: Talia Scheckman; Scenic Design: Cynthia Lieto; Lighting Designer: Kevin Ohlweiler; Sound Designer: Granger Mitchell; Costume Designer: MaryAnne Breslin Hannon; Make- Up design: Jordyn Juliet; Properties Design: Carr Fitzpatrick; and Dialect Coach: Julie Galorenzo.
Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center (OSPAC) is located at 4 Boland Drive in West Orange, New Jersey.
Here are more photos from the production.
Pleasant Valley Productions was formed in 2012 as an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) community theatre company. Based in West Essex County, they observed that their area of New Jersey had no theatre companies that focused on mentoring local youth in the technical and administrative, as well as the artistic aspects, of theatrical production. Keeping that in mind, their goals are to produce quality productions, mentor the development of young people in the technical, administrative, and artistic roles of a theatre and to develop new works and provide a platform for their expression.
John Posada is a New Jersey based photographer specializing in photographing live theatre and music performances. For more than 15 years, John has photographed live events where he mastered the techniques of timing and capturing fast moving action under challenging lighting conditions. Currently, John has spent the last 3 years concentrating on photographing almost 200 theatre productions for over 70 different theatres. Click here for John's website.
