Kinky Boots: Andy Kelso plays Charlie Price

Andy Kelso plays the lead role of 'Charlie Price' in the Broadway premiere of the 2013 Tony Award winning musical Kinky Boots from 28 Jan 2014. Kelso assumes the role from Tony Award-nominated original cast member Stark Sands, who played his final performance on 26 Jan 2014.

Kelso will co-star with original cast member Billy Porter, who won a Tony Award for his role as 'Lola' and who has extended his contract with the show at least through to July 2014.

Kelso has previously appeard on Broadway as 'Sky' in the musical 'Mamma Mia!,' and has also played the role of 'Fiyero' in a National Touring prouction of the musical 'Wicked.'

Jake Odmark, who recently starred in the ensemble of the Broadway musical 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,' in which he also understudied the role of 'Peter 'Parker/Spider-Man,' replaces Kelso in the ensemble of Kinky Boots.

As previously reported Jeanna de Waal will join the cast as 'Lauren' on 04 Mar 2014, assuming the role from original cast member Annaleigh Ashford who will depart the musical in March 2014 to film the next season of the TV show "Masters of Sex."

Kinky Boots, featuring a book by Tony Award-winner (La Cage aux Folles, Torch Song Trilogy), with music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winning Cyndi Lauper, opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on 04 Apr 2013, following previews from 03 Mar 2013, where it is currently selling tickets through to 04 Jan 2015.

The musical, directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell, opened to mixed, but mostly good reviews: You are smothered in a good time (newyorktheatreguide.com); A shameless emotional button pusher (NY Times); A high time (NY Daily News); Blissfully entertaining (NY1).

In Kinky Boots, Charlie Price is forced to step in and save his family's shoe factory in Northern England following the sudden death of his father. Help comes from the unlikeliest angel, a fabulous drag performer named Lola. Together, this improbable duo revitalizes the failing business, while stepping out from their fathers' shadows and transforming an entire community through the power of acceptance.

Kinky Boots is based on the 2005 British comedy movie of the same name, written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth.

The principal cast currently features Andy Kelso (Charlie Price), Billy Porter (Lola), Annaleigh Ashford (Lauren), Lean Hall (Nicola), Daniel Stewart Sherman (Don), Marcus Neville (George), Sebastian Hedges Thomas (Young Charlie) and Marquise Neal (Young Lola).

The production was nominated for a total of 13 Tony Awards, of which it won six: Best Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Billy Porter), Best Original Score (Cyndi Lauper), Best Choreography (Jerry Mitchell), Best Orchestrations (Stephen Oremus); and Best Sound Design (John Shivers).

The musical is being produced by Daryl Roth and Hal Luftigm and features sets by David Rockwell, costumes by Gregg Barnes, lighting by Kenneth Posner and sound by John Shivers (Sound Design).