Kinky Boots and Gibson Guitars

Last night Drew and I went to see Kinky Boots, the new Broadway musical written by Harvey Fierstein with music by Cyndi Lauper.  http://kinkybootsthemusical.com/  Amazing musical, exciting, exuberant. Based on a movie, it's about Charlie Price (played by Stark Sands) ,a guy who inherits his father's failing shoe factory.  He decides to go for a niche market, making boots for drag queens.  He teams up with Lola, nee Simon, to create the boots.    Billy Porter is absolutely fabulous as Lola.   Just loved him  singing "The Sex Is In the Heel".  Annaleigh Ashford plays Lauren, whose shining moment is the song "The History of Wrong Guys" -- sounds like a song Cyndi might have written for herself.

Flashy costumes, upbeat dance numbers, lots of fun.  But at the end of the day, it's also a touching story about accepting yourself and accepting someone else for who they are.  I can't wait for the cast album to be released.

Next it was time for dinner.  We had a gift certificate for the Hard Rock Cafe.  I'd been there before, Drew had not.  I love the atmosphere, the memorabilia.  The Gibson Guitar wall is amazing.  We were seated right near a glass case that had four suits, circa 1964, and four red TWA flight bags imprinted with the "Beatles" logo.  Here's the view from our table:

Great, right?  Real atmosphere.  Exactly what you expect at the Hard Rock. 

We weren't the only ones who wanted a picture.  I was very annoyed at the young woman who stood just inches from my table to take the picture -- seriously, I could have taken the camera out of her hand while still seated at the table.

Nice menu, lots of choices, nothing esoteric.  On my previous visit I'd ordered a burger, which was wonderful.  This time around we ordered steaks.  Overall not a bad meal, but...the steaks could have been a bit more tender, and the broccoli was seriously undercooked.  the mashed potatoes were very garlicky, as expected.    Next time I'll probably go for a burger, or maybe the mac and cheese.