"Kinky Boots Musical" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Kinky Boots (Original Broadway Cast Recording)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

How do you rescue a failing factory with stilettos? The 2013 Broadway musical Kinky Boots answers with a pop-forward score by Cyndi Lauper and a brisk, character-first book by Harvey Fierstein. On the cast album, Billy Porter’s Lola and Stark Sands’s Charlie anchor a sequence of bangers and ballads that move like a show-and-tell of identity: club, catwalk, conveyor belt, then hard-won grace.

The recording traces the arc from Northampton gloom to Milan dazzle: “Land of Lola” kicks the doors in, “Sex Is in the Heel” turns design into dance, “Not My Father’s Son” folds two backstories into one aching duet, and “Raise You Up/Just Be” lands the curtain-call credo. The Broadway production opened April 4, 2013; the Original Broadway Cast Recording arrived May 28, 2013 on Masterworks Broadway and later took the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. According to IBDB and the album’s credits, Stephen Oremus handled music supervision/arrangements/orchestrations, and Jerry Mitchell directed and choreographed the production.

Questions & Answers

Is the 2013 album a “songs” compilation or a full score recording?

It’s the Original Broadway Cast Recording: the complete show score with principal vocals and ensemble numbers.

Who wrote the music and lyrics?

Cyndi Lauper wrote both; Harvey Fierstein wrote the book.

What role did Stephen Oremus play?

Music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations on Broadway.

Which track became a club-chart outlier for Broadway?

“Sex Is in the Heel” reached the Billboard club top 10 before Broadway opening.

What’s the show’s big act-one closer?

“Everybody Say Yeah” — a conveyor-belt celebration when the first boots roll out.

What number most defines the show’s heart?

“Not My Father’s Son,” a quiet, two-hand confession that reframes both leads.

Was the cast album a commercial success?

Yes — it debuted #1 on Billboard’s Cast Albums and cracked the Billboard 200.

Notes & Trivia

• Broadway opening: April 4, 2013 (Al Hirschfeld Theatre); previews from March 3.
• Six Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score; Billy Porter won Best Actor.
• “Land of Lola” later appeared in an official dance remix release.
• Two Chicago-tryout songs (“Beware the Black Widow,” “I Come to the Rescue”) were cut before Broadway.
• The orchestra uses a 12-piece pit: rhythm section, reeds, strings, and brass—compact but punchy.

Genres & Themes

Pop-dance swagger → Self-invention under pressure. Four-on-the-floor and synth gloss sell Lola’s command of the room (“Land of Lola,” “Sex Is in the Heel”). It’s confidence you can hear.

Guitar-leaning pop-rock → Working-class grit. Charlie’s steps forward (“Step One,” “The Soul of a Man”) ride crunchy rhythm that feels cut from factory steel.

Intimate balladry → Fathers and forgiveness. “Not My Father’s Son” strips away spectacle; harmony becomes truce.

Tracks & Scenes

“Land of Lola” — Lola & Angels
Where it plays: Early Act I club sequence; Lola’s entrance schools the crowd in attitude and intent. Diegetic-in-spirit performance inside the show’s world.
Why it matters: Stakes reset: the partner Charlie needs arrives with a full thesis in heels.

“Sex Is in the Heel” — Lola, Lauren, Charlie, Pat, George, Angels, Ensemble
Where it plays: Design breakthrough on the factory floor; patterns, prototypes, arguing about steel shanks and weight-bearing seams. Non-diegetic show number driving action.
Why it matters: Turns manufacturing constraints into groove — it’s R&D as pop.

“The History of Wrong Guys” — Lauren
Where it plays: Lauren realizes she’s falling for Charlie, horrified and giddy at once; a comic, self-own confessional.
Why it matters: A character flips from background to beating heart without sentimentality.

“Not My Father’s Son” — Lola (Simon) & Charlie
Where it plays: Quiet Act I bathroom scene after mockery; two men compare paternal expectations and rejection.
Why it matters: The musical’s core: dignity through candor, not costume.

“Everybody Say Yeah” — Company
Where it plays: Act I finale: conveyor belts crank, first boots ship, choreo rides moving machinery.
Why it matters: Joy as engineering — the factory literally sings.

“What a Woman Wants” → “In This Corner” — Lola, Don & Company
Where it plays: Act II shop-floor challenges: redefining “strength,” then a boxing-ring metaphor that disarms toxic posturing.
Why it matters: Conflict resolution by rhythm and wit.

“The Soul of a Man” — Charlie
Where it plays: Charlie’s lowest point; he alienates everyone, then faces himself alone.
Why it matters: Rock pulse and remorse — a deglossed, necessary fall.

“Hold Me in Your Heart” — Lola
Where it plays: Lola sings to a father who could not see her; a plea and a benediction.
Why it matters: The album’s most open-throated release; audience and character exhale together.

“Raise You Up/Just Be” — Full Company
Where it plays: Milan Shoe Fair runway: crisis, save, and a catwalk sermon. Non-diegetic show-ender that seals the pact.
Why it matters: Mission statement set to handclaps: change your mind, change your world.

Trailer/Promo note: Broadway trailers leaned on brief bursts of “Land of Lola,” “Sex Is in the Heel,” and finale tags rather than the more intimate ballads.

Music–Story Links

Every sonic color maps to a character pivot. Club-pop signals Lola’s power to reframe a room; guitar-pop marks Charlie’s climb from apology to agency; ballads stitch the men together. When the factory finds its rhythm, the pit mimics machinery — and when Milan hits, the groove becomes policy: Just be.

How It Was Made

Cyndi Lauper wrote music and lyrics; Harvey Fierstein shaped the story engine; Jerry Mitchell directed and choreographed. Stephen Oremus supervised music, arranged, and orchestrated — a compact 12-player band that punches like a much bigger ensemble. According to Playbill and label notes, the cast album producers were Lauper, Oremus, and William Wittman, released by Masterworks Broadway on May 28, 2013.

Reception & Quotes

The show emerged as the surprise Tony-season frontrunner, then swept six awards; the album topped the Cast Albums chart. Critics singled out Porter’s star turn and the conveyor-belt finale.

“High spirits, higher heels… timely, big-hearted.” The New York Times

“Dazzling, fabulously sassy and uplifting.” Time Out

“The emotional heart… ballads about the weight of parental expectations.” feature coverage

Additional Info

• Cast leads: Billy Porter (Lola), Stark Sands (Charlie), Annaleigh Ashford (Lauren) on Broadway OBC.
• Chart note: The album also entered the Billboard 200, unusual for a cast recording.
• Club crossover: “Sex Is in the Heel” hit the Billboard Dance/Club Songs top 10 pre-Broadway.
• West End album: A live-captured West End recording arrived April 1, 2016.
• Longevity: Broadway ran 2013–2019; tours and UK returns continue.

Technical Info

• Title: Kinky Boots (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Year / Type: 2013 / Cast album (pop musical)
• Music & Lyrics: Cyndi Lauper
• Book: Harvey Fierstein
• Director/Choreographer: Jerry Mitchell
• Music Supervision/Arrangements/Orchestrations: Stephen Oremus
• Label: Masterworks Broadway (Sony)
• Release: May 28, 2013 (Broadway OBC); West End cast album April 1, 2016 (live)
• Awards: Tony Awards (Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Actor); Grammy (Best Musical Theater Album)
• Selected numbers: “Land of Lola,” “Sex Is in the Heel,” “The History of Wrong Guys,” “Not My Father’s Son,” “Everybody Say Yeah,” “The Soul of a Man,” “Hold Me in Your Heart,” “Raise You Up/Just Be”

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: Wikipedia (musical profile, numbers, production history); IBDB (credits, creative team); Masterworks Broadway/Discogs (album details); press and features (NYT/Time Out summaries); official Broadway trailer channel.

November, 12th 2025