West End's Callum Francis to Join Broadway Company of Kinky Boots

Kinky Boots will welcome West End actor Callum Francis to the Broadway company as Lola, beginning Friday, January 11.

Francis appeared in the musical's London production at the Adelphi Theatre, and comes to Broadway directly from the ongoing UK national tour, where his run will conclude on December 15. He also played Lola in the show's Australian tour, where he received the 2017 Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Musical.

J. Harrison Ghee, who currently plays Lola, will leave the company on January 10, but is set to return on March 19. He will be the production's final Lola, with the previously announced closing date set for April 7.

Francis will star opposite UK pop singer Conor Maynard, who takes over the role of Charlie Price from Mark Ballas on Monday, November 19. Maynard will stay in the production through January 10. Ballas leaves on November 18.

The winner of six 2013 Tonys, including Best Musical, Kinky Boots at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre features a Tony and Grammy Award-winning score by Cyndi Lauper, a book by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, and direction and choreography by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell. Based on the 2005 film written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth, the musical tells the tale of Charlie Price, a young man reluctantly taking over his family's struggling shoe factory and looking for a fresh idea. Charlie meets and finds inspiration in Lola and together, they discover that it takes a good friend to make a great pair.