"Kinky Boots" by Mansfield Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society.

Mansfield Palace Theatre.

Based on the 2005 film "Kinky Boots", which was in turn inspired by a BBC documentary called "Trouble At The Top" about a struggling show factory and the real Charlie Price, Steve Pateman. the musical is written by Geoff Deane, who used to be in the band Modern Romance - remember them? - and Tim Firth of Calendar Girls fame. The music and lyrics are by Cyndi "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" Lauper.

"Kinky Boots" takes you from the factory floor to the catwalks of Milan. Charlie Price is struggling to live up to his father’s expectations and continue the family business of Price & Son. With the shoe factory’s future hanging in the balance, help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola – a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos.

One thing that I like about seeing theatre groups that I've not seen before is that there's a good chance of being introduced to new people and experiencing new talent. I have checked  and I haven't seen anything by Mansfield Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society previously and there's a lot of new names to take in. And a whole lot of talent.

Jamie Savage plays Charlie Price, who has been forced into picking up the pieces of Price and Son shoe factory, but he learns very quickly! Jamie's confidence in playing Charlie's unconfident character is great to watch. This role not only requires a good character actor, but a good character actor who has a strong voice, so I can see why Jamie was chosen for this role. You really sit up and take note when Charlie loses it prior to going to the Milan gig, and you can't help but sit up and take note when Jamie sings. His duet with Lola in "Not My Father's Son" is sublime and "The Soul Of A Man" highlights a strong and controlled  set of vocals that gives you the tingles.

Playing Lola is JJ McCormack. I have known JJ for quite a few years now and have seen him play most things from Oscar Wilde's "The Important Of Being Earnest" to "Chess" to Bill Sikes in "Oliver". This is a role made for JJ, and JJ is perfect for the role: you can feel that he is relishing playing Lola. He is fun and saucily wild, but there's the other side of Lola; the side named Simon. Immense fun and incredibly cheeky, all wrapped up in some gorgeous outfits and boots. Lola's not bad either!

The over confident showman as Lola and the vulnerable revelations of Simon are beautifully done and when JJ  sings, the soul in his voice oozes out. The fragility in "Not My Father's Son" is as tender as any Luther Vandross ballad, as was "Hold Me In Your Heart", which would not have sounded out of place on a Whitney Houston album.. Then there are the disco belters like "Land Of Lola" and "Sex Is In The Heel"

Nicola, Charlie's long-term girlfriend who wants to drag him away from making shoes and settle in London, is played by Helen Mumby. A brilliantly bossy character who seems intent on getting everything all her own way, and a role I can imagine Helen also enjoyed playing.

Rebecca Wigman plays Lauren who has recently been "executised" by Charlie after she gave him the idea of how to turn the factory around after Charlie tried to lay her, and other workers off, unsuccessfully. Another really fun role, and her big song, "The History Of Wrong Guys" comes along complete with some wonderfully comical facial expressions. Lauren is adamant that this history is not repeated as we see by the end of this musical.

Wayne Shutt plays the bigoted Don, Lola's nemesis. A burly hypermasculine bear of a factory worker. Don is one of the characters that I always enjoy in this musical due to the U Turn he makes, but without losing any of that alpha male standing. And you know, Wayne had absolutely no issues walking in those heels at the end of the show!

Pat, the officious office manager who will let loose her wild side when allowed, is played by Carolyn Frith. That fiery red hair really suits the character and suits Carolyn as well. 

Playing George, the factory manager who likes to keep traditions, like addressing his new boss as Mr Price and not Charlie, is Matthew Bird. 

Lauren Taylor plays Trish, one of the factory workers who has a husband and kids to worry about if she loses her job. 

Garry Richardson is Harry, a successful discount shoe salesman to whom Charlie tries to offload some of the factory's overflowing stock. Harry is Charlie's polar opposite as he is confident and self aware, but agrees to help Charlie. There's a great duet with Garry and Jamie of "Take What You Got" which has a lovely Celtic feel.

Mr Price, Charlie's father, is played by Graham Berridge. Price Snr. opens the show as he is sitting with Young Charlie, who is played by Max Shaw. Their song "The Most Beautiful Thing In The World" sets the tone for the show. Both Graham and Max have brilliant voices which, even though at opposite ends of the vocal spectrum, blend really well, especially when the whole ensemble join them.

Playing Simon Snr., Lola/Simon's father is Steve Webb, delivering an unforgiving tower of anger and disappointment that Simon opted for lace gloves as opposed to boxing gloves.

Young Lola's role is also shared by Sam Harrington and Ollie Weaver; tonight (Wednesday) the role was played by Ollie Weaver. It never fails to amaze me just what confidence young actors show in front of a packed theatre; no nerves at all and in the final section both Max and Ollie looked to be having a great time.

Jono Cooper plays Richard Bailey, Nicola's boss, who you get the feeling is a bit of a threat to Charlie career.

Claire Harris is Marge, another of the Price and Son's factory workers.

Paul Marples plays the Delivery Man as well as a Hooligan.

Kay Thomason-Vardy plays the Milan Stage Manager, a minor role but what a funny few minutes of stage time for this character.

Lola's Angels are the drag performers who populate The Blue Angel Nightclub. This ain't a job for no wall-flowers, and Mel Gregory (Melanya La Rouge), Oliver Ward (Lucy Dani Kerrs), Ashleigh Wilkinson (Mabel Syrup), Alice Lindley (Fiona Flaps), Grace Bowskill (Honey Glaze)and Cassey Brough-Savage (Valerie Valentine) are no wall-flowers!

There's also a large ensemble made up of Claire Barlow, Gemma Case, Andrea Cauldfield-Smith, Gemma Strange, Ann Colgan, Steve Webb, Kay Thomason-Vardy, Garry Richardson, Jonathan Cooper, Claire Harris, Jan Hodgetts, Thomas Ince, Kelly John-Baptiste, Laura Jordan, Joanne Lee-Varley, Paul Marples, Lewis Mathias, Becky Miller, Naomi Shaw, Harriet Shaw-Browne, Emily Shutt, Gaby Smith, Geraldine Smith and Fay Walker.

Directed and Choreographed by Cassey Brough-Savage. With such a large cast and ensemble, the dance sections are incredibly well created and performed, especially the piece that closes the first act " Everybody Say Yeah" and the closing number "Raise You Up/Just Be".

Associate Director is Pam Frith, who I had a really lovely chat with in the interval, and looked after me from start to finish.

Roger Holland is the MD for "Kinky Boots". The sound of that band was loud and proud, covering the many genres in this musical score.

It's always lovely to see Ann Colgan, and she was one of the first ensemble members that I recognised on stage. Ann, as well as Grace Bowskill were the show's Dance Captains.

The make up artists were Charlotte Cooling, Katie Gagg, Oliver Helm, Phoebe Wright and Eddie Ratcliffe. 

It goes without saying that the costumes are very special in this show, especially that Marilyn Monroe style costume that Lola wears to perform in the Clacton Nursing Home scene, and are from D&S Costumes and Angie Lee & Company.

The lighting for "Kinky Boots" was by Nick Elliott and Alan Betton and really create a buzz, especially in the Milan section and the Blue Angel club scenes.

I could not find any mention in the programme for the sound operation. There were missed mic cues and the occasional character could not be heard as either not mic'd up or the cue was not hit. Apart from these few times, the sound was lovely and clear and well mixed with the band's sound.

A great set, thanks to Scenery Solutions.

Wednesday's opening night was a smash hit with the capacity audience, and it came as no surprise that the cast received an overwhelming standing ovation.

"Kinky Boots" is a stomping good show with plenty of sole and is at the Mansfield Palace Theatre until Sunday 10 March.