How did you feel about the Tony nominations? I was thrilled— are you kidding?! I see Kinky Boots on the buses and I go, “Wow, it’s a hit!” This was just all of us at the right place at the right time, saying the right thing, you know? Where did you get the inspiration for Kinky Boots? Harvey
called me. I had always wanted to work with him. I would call him up and sing stuff to him over the phone! I think that it’s a great fortune to work with your friends. For these guys, it is about the music and the work, not about a big ego. Did you and Harvey sit down and map out the songs, one by one? Oh, he would tell me things like “I need a song called ‘Sex
Is in the Heel’ or things like that. He was clear about it; I had never worked with Harvey, but I had worked with Jerry, and he’s awesome. So I thought, “I want to give him something that’s really energetic,” which is very important because he’s a choreographer. So I did a lot of research; but I research music anyway. I travel the world singing to people, but I also listen to what they’re singing. I went to see Tango Argentina but I also was very into [Argentine composer Astor] Piazzolla. When I was leaving Argentina, they had Tango Electronica at the airport. I saw it in a bin, and I bought all three copies. Those
photo: Gavin BOnd
Cyndi Lauper shows her true colors with a Tony-winning Broadway show and a 30th anniversary tour. elements were added to the show, like in “What a Woman Wants,” and were the key to making it something special. We were also doing sort of a bit of West Side Story, too, because West Side Story is the quintessential musical. The way [composer Leonard] Bernstein mixed things! The foundation was classical, but on top of that were Latin rhythms, and on top of that jazz. That is what I wanted to do with this show.
And now Broadway and Manhattan are home? I live Uptown. Downtown’s great, but not necessarily for kids. Not my kid, who’s 15 now.
You’re about to go on tour—does it seem like 30 years? Well, I’ve been busy! [laughs] So I didn’t even really have time to reminisce. The last time everything blew up, it got crazy like this, and I didn’t get a chance to really enjoy anything. So I’ll have to try and make sure I’m enjoying it.
Do you ever get a chance to shop? Ahh—Nikki Fontanella. She’s my stylist and she goes out to look for things. I’m not the perfect figure, and I’m not tall. I think the silhouette’s important, and things that elongate you are best. I do wear a lot of black—because black is the new black! [laughs].
Growing up in Queens, did Manhattan seem like some faraway land? Manhattan was the mecca of culture, of fash-
It seems your True Colors Fund, dedicated to ending gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth homelessness, shares a theme with Kinky Boots. All the people involved [with
ion, of so much. It was just one of those amazing places where you could be anything. We used to go to the Delacorte Theater—because the plays there were free! My mother brought home cast albums. I would listen to them and to the different voices. That’s how I learned to sing, when I was about 4, and I learned how to manipulate my voice to sound like other people. So I was Ezio Pinza, yet I was also Mary Martin.
Any favorite places you’ve found lately? Yeah—not that
I’ve been anywhere lately, because I work! I like to go to that Russian place Samovar, on W. 52nd St., for the borscht!
Kinky Boots] were working on acceptance and equality for everybody, and educating the public about what goes on. What I was attracted to in this project was the fact that this is a story that’s a fable. It has humanity in it; and in the end, it’s about healing and accepting others. And understanding that when you accept others, you accept yourself too. IN New YORK | july 2013 | innewyork.com
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