Tony winner ‘Kinky Boots’ to start national tour at The Smith Center

These “Boots” are made for touring.

And when the Tony-winning musical “Kinky Boots” hits the road next September, the starting point will be The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

Three days after collecting six Tony Awards — including best musical — the show’s producers announced Las Vegas as the site for the national tour’s launch in September 2014, confirming The Smith Center’s starring role a day after that.

“Any city that calls itself ‘fabulous’ feels like a perfect fit for ‘Kinky Boots,’ ” producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig commented. “We can think of no better place to begin our national tour than Las Vegas’ beautiful new Smith Center.”

Smith Center president Myron Martin called the tour launch a dream come true.

“A long time ago, when we were still dreaming about what the Smith Center would be one day, before we were even drawing lines on paper, we hoped at some point in time, we would have the chance to launch a Broadway tour,” Martin said.

“Frankly,” he added, “we didn’t think it would happen this soon.”

Smith Center officials expect the show’s creative team “will rehearse, stage and prepare it here” before a week-long Smith Center run, he explained. “Because the show is already on Broadway,” they “will polish it up beautifully and send the ‘Boots’ on the road.”

Based on the 2005 British movie of the same name, “Kinky Boots” focuses on a drag queen (played on Broadway by Tony-winner Billy Porter) who helps a hard-working bloke save the family shoe factory by making the fabulous title footwear.

The show collected six Tony Awards — including accolades for Porter, composer Cyndi Lauper and director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell’s dances.

“What a privilege it is to be the first Broadway show to launch a national tour at the beautiful new Smith Center,” Luftig said. “We look forward to an exciting opening night in Las Vegas next September.”

In Martin’s view, the “Kinky Boots” tour is “kind of proof positive” that The Smith Center “became what we had dreamed it would become.”

Contact reporter Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.