Wayne Brady to play Lola in ‘Kinky Boots’ on Broadway

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wayne Brady is about to get freaky -- on Broadway.

Producers of the hit musical "Kinky Boots" said the "Let's Make a Deal" host will step into the high heels of the cross-dressing Lola starting Nov. 21. It is his first return to Broadway since he made his debut in 2004 in "Chicago."

In a statement, Brady called it "the role of a lifetime" and that "starring in a Broadway show of this caliber has been my dream since I started performing at age 16."

Brady will succeed Broadway's original Lola, Billy Porter, who has played over 800 performances at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre and won a Tony Award. His final performance in "Kinky Boots" will be Nov. 20. Porter has landed his next Broadway gig in a revival of "Shuffle Along."

The Tony Award-winning "Kinky Boots" is based on a 2005 British film about a staid British shoe factory on the brink of ruin that retrofits itself into a maker of footwear for drag queens. It has songs by Cyndi Lauper, a story by Harvey Fierstein and some fierce-looking drag queens in 6-inch heels.

Brady won a Primetime Emmy Award for individual performance in "Whose Line Is It Anyway" and a Daytime Emmy Award as host of his own talk show, "The Wayne Brady Show."

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