‘Kinky Boots’ wins Tony Award for best musical

This theater image released by The O+M Company shows the cast during a performance of the musical “Kinky Boots.” The Cyndi Lauper-scored “Kinky Boots,” based on the 2005 British movie about a real-life shoe factory that struggles until it finds new life in fetish footwear, is nominated for 13 Tony Award nominations. The awards will be broadcast on CBS from Radio City Music Hall on June 9. (AP Photo/The O+M Company, Matthew Murphy)

NEW YORK— The feel-good musical “Kinky Boots,” with songs by pop star Cyndi Lauper, won the 2013 Tony Award for best musical.

The musical is based on an obscure 2005 British film about a British shoe factory on the brink of ruin that retrofits itself into a maker of footwear for drag queens.

Lauper, whose hits include “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “True Colors,” teamed up with playwright Harvey Fierstein to craft a story about sons and fathers, bonding at work and red patent leather.

Lauper’s catchy, pop-rock 15-song soundtrack ranges from the ballad “I’m Not My Father’s Son” to the pulsating “The Sex Is in the Heel” and the disco “Raise You Up/Just Be.”

“Kinky Boots” beat out musical versions of “Matilda,” ”Bring It On” and “A Christmas Story.”