CHARLIE price is the son of family shoe business, Price & Son.

Caught between a social-climbing fiancee with her sights set on a life in London and a father who expects him to take on his ailing shoe business, he's not sure which foot to put forward. Enter Lola, a flamboyant Soho drag queen with a passion for thigh-high red boots...

A chance meeting with Lola leads to a niche solution - making sturdy stilettos for men who dress as women - and an unlikely friendship between two men who have more in common than they think.

Loosely based on a real Northampton shoe factory, Kinky Boots - here for a two-week run at the Alhambra - is a hugely entertaining show, taking audiences from an East Midlands production line to the catwalks of Milan.

With a cracking Tony-winning score by Cyndi Lauper, encompassing lively song-and-dance numbers, catchy pop and moving ballads, this heartwarming musical is a rousing homage to acceptance and equality.

When Lola arrives at Price & Son there is prejudice among the factory workers, who are out of their comfort zone in the presence of a man in full drag, but as the story unfolds, Lola's charm and vision wins them over.

The message: overcoming prejudice and accepting others for who they are, is loud and clear, albeit a bit preachy, but it's an engaging story, beautifully staged and performed by a talented cast, who even managed to nail the tricky Northampton accent.

At its heart is a touching bromance; Charlie, uptight, a bit wet and struggling to assert authority on the factory floor, seems a world away from Lola, aka Simon, who escaped the Provinces to live the life he wants. But both men reflect on their difficult paternal relationships in lovely duet Not My Father's Son, a highlight of the show. Other showstoppers, set to Jerry Mitchell's excellent choreography, were Everybody Say Yeah, with Lola, Charlie and the Angels - a kind of Greek chorus of drag queens - parading on a conveyor belt, sassy dance number Sex Is In The Heel and feelgood finale Raise You Up/Just Be.

West End star Kayi Ushe was fabulous as Lola; gutsy and fierce, but sensitive too, not least when he belted out Hold Me In Your Heart, a torch song with a poignant twist.

Joel Harper-Jackson was an endearing Charlie, bringing great energy and credibility to what could be quite a dull character. And Charlie Allen was excellent as likeable factory girl Lauren. All in all, a well-heeled show!

* Runs at the Alhambra until October 26.