Cyndi Lauper talks bringing her Kinky Boots to Toronto

Share

Not so long ago, Cyndi Lauper was lovingly thought of as a quirky, heartening pop star locked in 1980s memories. But Kinky Boots, the 2013 smash-hit Broadway musical based on the 2005 movie about a drag queen and funky footwear, changed everything. Despite never having written a musical previously, Lauper composed the score and won a Tony and a Grammy for her work. Kinky Boots is now playing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. A gum-chewing Lauper spoke to The Globe and Mail from her home in New York, her working-class Queens accent still intact. Some things never change.

I see that Kinky Boots has its big night on the same day as the Toronto Pride parade. Will you be taking part in the festivities?

I love a parade. I'll be there – I'm the Grand Madame. Elton John's husband, David Furnish, is the Grand Marshal.

Now, you won a Tony Award for best score for Kinky Boots, and you already had an Emmy and a Grammy. Are they all in the same trophy case at home?

Yeah, they are. The Emmy is a really beautiful statue. The Grammy, they make it bigger now. The first Grammy I got is very small. [Lauper puts down phone and retrieves trophy.] Yeah, here it is, from '84. The Tony is pretty, too.

You were the first woman to win a solo Tony for best score. Does that make it more special than the others?

You know what, I was the first woman to have three top-five hits or whatever. [Actually, Lauper's She's So Unusual was the first debut female album to chart four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100: Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Time After Time, She Bop and All Through the Night.] But listen, this year there are two women up for the Tony best score, and they're not even going to televise the category. They should. Because when you always have a glass ceiling, it's important.

There's a pop sensibility to the score – it's infectious. Are there any musicals you took inspiration from?

When I was little, The King and I was definitely my favourite. But my grandmother came down and took it off my little red record player. I was just four. She went upstairs with it and never said a word. I must have been playing it a lot.

Of course you were. Rodgers and Hammerstein, c'mon. Right?

It was my mother's record. That's how I learned to sing. I listened and copied the voices on the record. I was everybody. That's how I learned to change my voice around, when I was singing rock music and pop music.

How about writing for other people's voices, with Kinky Boots?

Not everybody sings the same style of music. I had to change the songs according to who was there. Every song is like a dress or a suit – it won't fit the same on everybody. You have to tailor it.

As a pop singer, did you see yourself a character?

Of course. I was always told, 'You can't sing that kind of music, you're Cyndi Lauper – you sing this kind of music.' It was always a struggle for me. But with Kinky Boots, here was Harvey Fierstein [who wrote the book for the musical] telling me, 'There are no rules – there are no rules. Just go write.' It was inspiring.

Kinky Boots is seen as an underdog production that went on to nab 13 Tony nominations and six wins. You've got a bit of that underdog in you as well, don't you think?

Well, yeah, they're always surprised, even my peers. At first they're like, 'You? You wrote it? You really wrote it?' But whataya going to do?

Win a Tony?

Well, it's a show that makes people happy, and I feel honoured to be part of it. I was walked through by masters. By Jerry Mitchell, a brilliant choreographer and a wonderful director. I was a little jealous. I kinda wished I could have been directed by him. And he did, actually. When I was writing the music, he directed that. And Harvey, who would call me all the time. We worked very closely together.

You have a vulnerable misfit quality to you, and stars like Lady Gaga, who perhaps relate to that, have credited you as an inspiration. How does that kind of validation stack up to your trophies?

That is always very rewarding, whether they are a famous musician or not. I'm sitting at the Grammys one time with my manager, and there are these kids, they're in a band, with long hair and beards, you know? They turned around and said to me that they were very influenced by my Hat Full of Stars album, and that's what inspired them to start their little band.

That album cover alone, based on the Mary Pickford photo, with you staring into the night sky, would speak to the dreamers.

You know, I had an experience with Gaga. We were taking pictures. She did some kind of move, and I said, 'I used to dance like that.' She said, 'Cyn, I grew up watching you.' I thought that was pretty amazing. I always do.

Kinky Boots is now playing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre (416-872-1212 or mirvish.com)

This interview has been edited and condensed.