‘Kinky Boots’ Recoups $13.5M Investment

High ticket prices and Tonys did the trick

kinky boots

Sometimes it pays to wear heels.

Tony-award winning “Kinky Boots” has recouped its $13.5 million investment, the show’s producers said Thursday.

The pop-music infused musical boasted a score by Cyndi Lauper and a book by Harvey Fierstein, both of whom became indefatigable promoters of the show. “Kinky Boots” went into the black after 30 weeks playing on Broadway.

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As the New York Times notes, the show was able to achieve the milestone partly because of the high cost of its tickets. Only the “The Book of Mormon” has higher premium-price tickets on Broadway.

“Kinky Boots” went into the Broadway season as something of an also-run, with much of the buzz being sucked up by the transfer of the West End show “Matilda” to the Great White Way. Critics preferred the adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s story to Lauper and Fierstein’s tale of a failing shoe factory that transforms itself into a hit manufacturer of fetish footwear, but “Kinky Boots” had the last laugh on Tony night.  The show won awards for Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for star Billy Porter.

“We’re so happy that audiences have embraced Kinky Boots in such an overwhelming way,” said lead  producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig. “We’re proud that this show offers people such great joy, Tony  Award-winning talent, and financial success.”

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