Ray of Light Theatre’s new production of the Tony-winning Kinky Boots is one of the best shows the Victoria Theatre has had in years, with boot-strapped but ambitious sets that take that stage to new heights.

The 2013 Tony Award-winning Best New Musical Kinky Boots is actually a shockingly G-rated show for a musical that has the word “Kinky” right there in the title. But in the nearly ten years since it was released, one completely innocent aspect of the show is now the center of a right-wing culture war jihad — that children are comfortable with and intrigued by drag queens. Kids enjoying the antics of drag queens is regularly spurring death threats and hate crimes these days, and it is against this backdrop that Ray of Light Theatre’s new production of Kinky Boots (running through October 8 at the Victoria Theatre) arrives with two kiddos front and center in the cast of a drag queen-centered show.

This version of Kinky Boots is a completely faithful interpretation that does not shy away from  putting those two youngsters (Austin Engwerda and Tenzin Forder) in the critical opening and closing moments of the show. But what you’ll remember about this exhilarating and very, very good production is that the stage of the Victoria has rarely ever looked this good. The wildly ambitious sets do not contain any rotating scenery or the big-budget stuff you see at the Orphuem, but it achieves amazing effects on an, if you will, “shoestring” budget. It switches seamlessly between a glum British factory and a nightclub, and does a remarkable job with a certain conveyor-belt musical number (we saw the same effect attempted in 2016 at the Golden Gate Theatre).

Your standout performer is of course the “Lola” character played by Marshall Forte, a talented soloist with the SF Gay Men’s Chorus. Both Jake Gale (“Charlie”) and Chanel Tilghman (“Lauren”) absolutely bring down the house with their own confessional solo numbers in the emotionally contentious second act, which contrasts from a mostly feel-good first act.

We should note that at last weekend’s Opening Night, plenty of audience members complained it was too warm inside, fanning themselves with their programs throughout. And folks, the Victoria Theatre is 113 years old, it’s all they can do to keep the lights working, let alone air-condition the place. And there is, well, a drag on the show that the old place’s acoustics do not provide an ideal sound for the live band’s rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s Tony-winning score.  

But none of this will stop you from absolutely adoring this version of Kinky Boots, one of Ray of Light theatre's best productions ever, and one of the greatest triumphs on the Victoria Theatre stage in quite some years. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll actually cry like five or six times. It’s an inspiring revue about facing reality, and how to make filet mignon when life serves you a shit sandwich (and a separate subplot about a condominium conversion hits very close to home at this Mission District theater). At a time when an agenda-driven stigma is being pushed on kids’ curiosity toward drag shows, this Kinky Boots production proudly owns the idea. Plus the show is a real kick, to boot.

Kinky Boots plays Wednesdays - Mondays, though October 8, at the Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th Street (at Capp Street) $30, Tickets here.

Related: Joyful 'Goddess' at Berkeley Rep Looks and Sounds Very Likely Broadway-Bound [SFist]

Images: Ray of Light Theater