Cyndi Lauper Reimagines "Kinky Boots" Song For Inspiring New Music Video
Cyndi Lauper has released a powerful music video for "Not My Father's Son," reimagining the song she wrote for the Tony-winning musical Kinky Boots.
The pop icon produced and arranged a new acoustic version of the track featuring vocals from two of the show's original Broadway cast members, Tony winner Billy Porter and Tony nominee Stark Sands, who also star in the video.
Conceived and directed by Lauper, who makes an appearance on guitar, the video "visualizes one of the most important songs from the hit show—telling the story of two very different people from wildly different backgrounds who find common ground through their shared trauma," according to a press release. "Exploring the pressure of growing up with a parent’s very narrow expectations, the song celebrates finding peace in your own skin."
"The video, shot in stark black and white on New York City streets, only leaps into color as the two men, who are on a physical as well as metaphorical journey, are reunited in their safe space."
Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots, which features a book by Harvey Fierstein, is about Charlie, a young man who finds inspiration from a drag queen named Lola when he takes over his family’s struggling shoe factory. Currently starring as Charlie and Lola, the roles they created, Sands and Porter returned to the Broadway show September 26 for a limited 15-week engagement through January 7, 2018.
"Now felt like the right time to do this," says Lauper in a statement about the reimagined song and video. "I wanted to tell the story of two totally different men, from different walks of life, that come together to realize that it’s our differences that should bring us together. That’s inspiring. And I think we could all use some of that these days… It’s also a great way to welcome Billy and Stark back to Broadway!”
Lauper was among the honorees earlier this year at the 2017 Logo Trailblazer Honors, a one-hour special celebrating pioneers in the LGBT rights movement. The Grammy, Emmy, and Tony winner was saluted for her commitment to equality, as well as her work with the True Colors Fund, which helps homeless LGBT youth.
Watch the "Not My Father's Son" video below.