Celebrated Actor Comes Home to Star in 'Kinky Boots'

PittsburghMagazine: The national tour for “Kinky Boots” makes a stop this week at the Pittsburgh CLO, and Pittsburgh native Billy Porter says he wouldn’t have missed reprising his leading role here for anything. “[Pittsburgh] will always be the love of my life,” he says. “I’m so grateful to have been able to grow up there and for my childhood there and my training and all of the angels that were present for me in very, very difficult times.” Porter, a graduate of Pittsburgh CAPA high school and Carnegie Mellon University, won a Tony Award in 2013 for his portrayal of drag queen Lola. In the show, Lola befriends the downtrodden owner of a shoe factory and convinces him to revive his business by creating women’s shoes for men. “Kinky Boots” also won the Tony for best musical.