![\"Omari](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1769957051_733_STT-L-BOOTS-2-0201.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\nPeyton Gaida became a musical theater fan at age 2, started performing at 9 and saw the show that changed his life at 13. At 21, he is performing in its national tour. \u201cKinky Boots\u201d plays Scranton the weekend of Feb. 13-15.<\/p>\n
The musical follows Charlie, the overburdened owner of a failing shoe factory, and Lola, the drag queen who tries to help. It is inspired by true events.<\/p>\n
Rock star Cyndi Lauper wrote the Tony Award-winning score.<\/p>\n
It runs at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple for four shows as part of the Broadway Theatre League season.<\/p>\n
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Omari Collins, whose drag name is Scarlett D. Von\u2019Du, plays Lola, opposite Noah Silverman as Charlie Price in \u201cKinky Boots.\u201d (COURTESY OF MATTHEW MURPHY)\n<\/p>\n
![\"Dancers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1769957053_330_STT-L-BOOTS-3-0201.jpg?w=620\")
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Dancers perform in \u201cKinky Boots.\u201d (COURTESY OF MATTHEW MURPHY)\n<\/p>\n
Show Caption<\/p>\n
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Omari Collins, whose drag name is Scarlett D. Von\u2019Du, plays Lola, opposite Noah Silverman as Charlie Price in \u201cKinky Boots.\u201d (COURTESY OF MATTHEW MURPHY)\n<\/p>\n
Expand<\/a><\/p>\n The tour was originally advertised as starring a recent winner of \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race.\u201d But Onya Nurve left the cast shortly before the tour started.<\/p>\n Gaida is in the ensemble and plays a red-headed drag queen, one of Lola\u2019s Angels.<\/p>\n His hometown of Fallentimber is near Altoona and has a population under 2,000.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up as, you know, a little gay boy in rural Pennsylvania, there\u2019s a lot of feeling \u2018othered\u2019 and maybe feeling a little bit alone, even with having a very supportive family,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He saw a production of \u201cKinky Boots\u201d in State College when he was 13. It opened both a career path and a sense of belonging.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that was a very wonderful experience,\u201d he said. \u201cIt kind of made me not feel like I was \u2018othered.\u2019 It felt like a place where, you know, I would be kind of just the average person.\u201d<\/p>\n Gaida thinks the show can be relatable for anyone, no matter where they fall on a spectrum between Don, a stereotypically masculine tough guy, and Lola, a charismatic drag queen with a keen business sense.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that everyone coming out of this show will be changed in some way, uplifted,\u201d Gaida said. \u201cMaybe they will realize new things.\u201d<\/p>\n His favorite song in the show is in the first act. The drag queens make a dramatic entrance to \u201cLand of Lola.\u201d<\/p>\n Gaida\u2019s first favorite musical was \u201cPhantom of the Opera,\u201d played over and over on his grandmother\u2019s CDs. He became a big fan of \u201cWicked\u201d and \u201cLegally Blonde.\u201d<\/p>\n Now he is a senior at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia, where a national tour is definitely an excused absence. He meets with professors on Zoom and will soon take a brief leave to record his senior showcase presentation.<\/p>\n A different cast of \u201cKinky Boots\u201d was part of the Broadway in Scranton season several years ago.<\/p>\n The show debuted on Broadway in 2013 and ran until 2019. It scooped up Tony Awards, including best musical, best score and best choreography. More recently, there was a now-closed version off-Broadway in New York City.<\/p>\n Prices begin at $56, not including Ticketmaster fees. Show times are Friday, Feb. 13, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 14, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 15, at 1 p.m.<\/p>\n