And now… we cut to the obligatory dance sequence clumsily shoehorned in to showcase our highly-publicised Strictly headliner.

A permeating, inescapable blight on the current theatre landscape.

Ok, so that’s clearly hyperbole (not to mention needlessly cynical), but any regular theatregoer will attest that there’s certainly been no shortage of the pros of Auntie Beeb’s wildly successful dance competition tangoing or fox trotting their way into musical theatre productions.

And savvy producers know – if their Strictly prestige is going to help put bums in seats, the audience will be expecting to see plenty of that soft-shoeing to boot.

Birmingham strikes glitterball gold this week with not one, but two, major musicals landing in the City headlined by Strictly fan favourites. But what’s particularly striking is how Kinky Boots at the Hippodrome, much like Chicago at the neighbouring Alexandra, is not only not diminished by its ‘stunt’ casting, but notably elevated by it.

From the moment he makes his breathtaking, show-stopping entrance as fiery drag queen Lola, South African born Johannes Radebe crushes any doubts or concerns firmly beneath his impressive, glittering stiletto heel. Having witnessed even the likes of Billy Porter and Matt Henry in their award-winning takes on the role, nothing could prepare for the relentless whirlwind of wonder that Radebe unleashes in the role.

He’s let loose in the playground of Nikolai Foster, in this handsome and impressive Leicester Curve Production. Within Robert Jones’ wonderfully intricate and immersive Northampton shoe factory, and adorned with Jones’ resplendent frocks, this Boots dials its Kinky right up to eleven. Radebe’s opening tentpole, ‘Land of Lola’ is transformed, not least of all courtesy of some thrilling choreo from Leah Hill (which Radebe and his ‘angels’ naturally eat up) from a feisty drag cabaret number in former productions to a high-octane, tour-de-force musical theatre explosion.

It sets the standard for what is to follow, as Foster, Hill, Radebe and company serve up a revival that is about as audacious and electric as you could wish for.

For those unfamiliar, Kinky Boots tells the story of Charlie Price (Daniel Partridge) who inherits his late father’s shoe factory. With his new inheritance facing financial difficulties and impending closure, and not wanting to sling his staff out on the breadline, a chance encounter with the feisty Lola sees Charlie pivot production to a new niche. Namely – drag queens.

“This is full-throated musical theatre at its most dazzling.”

Whilst never the most groundbreaking or original of tales (its firmly from the Billy Elliot school of affirming Britcom), its overriding messages of acceptance and individuality remain as prescient as ever, and it is choc full of fun and loveable characters. Not least of all Lola, who remains an infectious, irrepressible creation. Foster and team lend a handful of quality of life finesses to Harvey Fierstein’s funny, witty book, mainly around some of the terminology bandied about, but along with Cyndi Lauper’s music, it all sings.

And Foster once again proves himself the master of the set piece. In addition to the aforementioned ‘Land of Lola’, the energy, sound and spectacle that he and Hill inject into the likes of ‘Sex Is In The Heel’ and fist-pumping curtain closer ‘Raise You Up/Just Be’ – including, yes, some truly stunning pit stops for Radebe to truly go to town with – is almost dizzying. This is full-throated musical theatre at its most dazzling.

The rest of the company are far from slouches, either. The dependable and exciting Dan Partridge is a perfect choice as the well-meaning but conflicted Charlie. As well as being in fine voice, he finds plenty of nuance in the quieter, reflective beats too, not to mention giving great frustration and anguish during a roaring ‘Soul of a Man’. Courtney Bowman regularly threatens to steal scenes as the sardonic yet lovestruck Lauren, belting some of the evening’s most impressive vocals, as Joe Caffrey, Kara Lily Hayworth and Liam Doyle all do great work in smaller, supporting turns.

Naturally, any moment Scott Paige is on stage is an opportunity to witness something fun, too, with the actor’s unassailable comedic instincts milking every ounce of hilarity and heartwarming kindness from his George.

But look, that’s picking at sequins.

‘Leave expectations at the door, just let your eyes explore…’ Lola sings in her opening bars. In the hands of Foster, Hill and Radebe, surrounded by the likes of Partridge, Bowman, Paige and other musical theatre excellence, in one of the best musical revivals in recent memory, it turns out to be not so much an invitation as an irresistible command.

It’s easy to bandy the term ‘crowd-pleaser’ around in a cosy, even vaguely euphemistic way. As if, in our current rather grim times and notoriously febrile environment for new theatre, making something that puts bums in seats and smiles on faces is somehow easy or a given.

In truth, configuring all the requisite cogs and wheels to successfully stage a new musical that has legs, laughs and audience love is no mean feat. Even quality offerings can struggle to get out of the gate (see this year’s sadly ill-fated Bonnie & Clyde tour), whilst creative duds and misfires abound.

So colour it a triumph, then, that the much-anticipated Steps musical, Here & Now, lands not only as, yes, a crowd pleaser, but indeed an unabashedly camp, glitzy, irrepressible one at that.

We’re firmly in the ‘does exactly what it says on the tin’ section of the seaside supermarket in this spritely, feel-good romp that plays out to the hits and favourites of the pop supergroup. Four best friends navigate their way through the pitfalls, hardships and romantic entanglements of their own ‘Summer of Love’ after making a sacred pineapple pact (no, that isn’t a typo or autocorrect) to chase their heart’s desires.

“Here & Now doesn’t bring anything groundbreaking or blindingly original to the stage, but nor does it profess or need to.”

Shaun Kitchener’s book is tons of fun and keeps things mostly breezy and upbeat. What drama and peril there is remains mostly fizzy and surface-level. Will ‘Better Best Bargains’ close for good? Is the waspish, French-spouting Store Manager (Finty Williams) having an extramarital affair? Will shy, artistic Neeta (Hiba Elchickhe) hold off on crafting her effigies of Alison Hammond and muster up the courage to confess her feelings to hunky Ben (Dan Partridge)? Here & Now doesn’t bring anything groundbreaking or blindingly original to the stage, but nor does it profess or need to.

What Kitchener, along with director Rachel Kavanaugh do so well here is allow the normalcy and even humdrum elements of the show’s premise to be the grounding and connective tissue for what ends up being a genuinely lovely celebration of friendship and camaraderie. The core four – Rebecca Lock’s Caz, Hiba Elchikhe’s Neeta, Sharlene Hector’s Vel and Blake Patrick Anderson’s Robbie – are a loveable, winning quartet. To single any of them out would feel remiss – they work beautifully as a foursome, are all knockout vocalists and each brings charisma, heart and humour to spare to their individual characters. The bonds feel real, the laughs (and tears) earned and the chemistry between the four leads palpable throughout. And of course, it’s all positively littered with Easter eggs and in-jokes that Steps fans will hoover up.

Perhaps most impressive though, is how remarkably organic it all feels as a piece of jukebox musical theatre. The implementation of what for many will be iconic and definitive pop hits is intuitive and, rarely for a jukebox, crafted in way that does a solid job of propelling forward the narrative and momentum. There’s a couple of numbers that feel a little clunkier and sudden in their implementing, but on the whole this is nearing Mamma Mia levels of fusion.

“…it’s all positively littered with Easter eggs and in-jokes that Steps fans will hoover up.”

Kavanaugh and Olivier-winner Matt Cole go to town on the set pieces for the big toe-tappers, such as the giddily bonkers ‘Half Price Hoedown’ of ‘5, 6, 7, 8’ and high camp dragnificence of ‘Chain Reaction’ (courtesy of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’s River Medway). Tom Rogers’ unapologetically bold, neon, oh-so-Steps staging amplifies the glam of it all considerably, with Gabriella Slade’s costumes carrying a similarly technicolor thread.

It’s busy, brassy and unapologetically played broad. But so too does Here & Now take its time to pause and invest in its more delicate beats, too. Lock’s searing, resonant takes on ‘Heartbeat’ and ‘One for Sorrow’ are not only vocally stunning, but carry a heavy emotional thwack, too. And then there’s the playful cuteness of Hector’s ‘It’s the Way You Make Me Feel’ alongside Helen Colby’s Tracey, or the giddy hijinks of ‘Say You’ll Be Mine’.

“Lock’s searing, resonant takes on ‘Heartbeat’ and ‘One for Sorrow’ are not only vocally stunning, but carry a heavy emotional thwack, too.”

With recent announcements that Birmingham will not be the end of the road for the show (a UK tour embarking from September 2025) hardly coming as a surprise, there’s a fair – and deserved – chance that we’ll be going wild in the aisles with Caz, Val, Neeta and Robbie for many more ‘Summers of Love’ to come.

Bring it on. Here & Now doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Nor does it seek to. It takes a catalogue of beloved pop hits and hands them over to a seriously impressive company and creative team who craft fabulous, funny, feel good theatre with them. By most comparable metrics in the industry, you could even make a case for saying it doesn’t have any right to be as good as it is.

It arrives as one of the freshest, funniest new musical offerings of recent memory and is – no trace of euphemism or side-eye here – an unpretentious, unapologetic crowd pleaser of the most Steptacular order.