Kevin Smith Kirkwood appeared on Broadway, in the Tony Award winning musical "Kinky Boots", and as a featured performer in the 2019 World Pride Parade on the Proctor & Gamble float. He also guest-starred in the musical comedy-drama television series "Katy Keene" (The CW). Kirkwood also starred in "Classic Whitey: Alive!", a greatest hits show that included reprisals of favorite songs performed by Whitney Houston.
"Kinky Boots" is a musical with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper and book by Harvey Fierstein. Based on the 2005 British film of the same name, and mostly inspired by true events, the musical tells the story of Charlie Price. Having inherited a shoe factory from his father, Charlie forms an unlikely partnership with cabaret performer and drag queen Lola to produce a line of high-heeled boots and save the business. In the process, Charlie and Lola discover that they are not so different after all.
"Kinky Boots" earned a season-high 13 nominations and 6 Tony Award wins, including Best Musical, Best Actor for Billy Porter, and Best Score for Lauper in her first outing as a Broadway songwriter, making her the first woman to win alone in that category. The musical's cast album premiered at number one on the Billboard Cast Albums Chart and number fifty-one on the Billboard 200 chart.
On June 26, 2017, Broadway Sings for Pride premiered its 7th anniversary benefit concert "Unstoppable" in New York City, at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. This milestone event was filled with singing (from pop to Broadway), stories, special celebrity guests, and more. Proceeds of the event were donated to Tyler Clementi Foundation and Orlando's Contigo Fund. Broadway Sings for Pride is a multiple award-winning, non-for-profit organization that brings together Broadway talent, activists, and celebrities, to educate the public, raise awareness of the needs of LGBTQ+ youth, and support these young people.
Kirkwood performed the song "Greatest Love of All" during the event, where Shefik served as Videographer.
"The Greatest Love of All" is a song written by Michael Masser, who composed the music, and Linda Creed, who wrote the lyrics. It was originally recorded in 1977 by George Benson, who made the song a substantial hit, peaking at number two on the United States Hot Soul Singles chart that year, the first R&B chart top-ten hit for Arista Records. The song was written and recorded to be the main theme of the 1977 film "The Greatest", a biopic of the boxer Muhammad Ali.
Eight years after Benson's original recording, the song became even more well known for a version by Houston, whose 1985 cover (with the slightly amended title "Greatest Love of All") eventually topped the charts, peaking at number one in the United States.
Credits
- Videographer: Shefik
Last Updated: May 8, 2023
