For a heartwarming tale that champions the value of accepting others as they are, the Tony Award-winning musical Kinky Boots somehow manages to still be sexy, soul-filled and even a little shocking.

Loaded with dazzling costumes, fun tunes and incredible talent, Kinky Boots delivers a night of brilliant entertainment.

It’s all thanks to infectious songs by pop icon Cyndi Lauper, a half-dozen of dolled-up drag queens, and one of Broadway’s biggest divas (which, as you may have guessed by now, is actually a man).

Based on the 2005 British film, inspired by a true story, Kinky Boots tells the story of Charlie Price (Stark Sands), a young man who reluctantly inherits his father’s shoe factory only to discover it’s going under — and fast. After a chance encounter in London with the unforgettable Lola (Billy Porter), Charlie is inspired to search out a new niche market for his factory’s shoes: drag queens, because tall, well-muscled men, after all, would require a sturdier boot than the fairer sex, and the last thing you want when you’re vamping on stage is a broken heel.

The plan is to debut the new line of Kinky Boots at a shoe show in Milan, but time is ticking and only one lady can help save the failing factory: Lola, of course. While she can’t resist the opportunity to become a designer, the working-class town of Northampton promises to be stifling for someone who lives her life outside gender norms.

When the hardened factory workers finally run up against the sequined sassiness of six unabashed drag queens, Kinky Boots starts to feel a little like Billy Elliot meets Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. While that sounds like a strange amalgam, it actually works thanks to the tender touch of Tony-winning writer Harvey Fierstein, a gravel-voiced actor who is best known for penning Broadway’s biggest gender-bending shows (La Cage aux Folles, Torch Song Trilogy).

Kinky Boots was nominated for a total of 13 Tony Awards, and I saw Kinky Boots just hours after the creators, cast and crew got the good news of their nominations. Lauper, the show’s composer, and Fierstein shared their celebrations with the audience before the show, stopping by the theater for photos with fans! Since that unforgettable evening, Kinky Boots has gone on to win a number of awards including the Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Choreography.

It came as no surprise that Porter also won the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Lola, the feisty drag queen who starts out as Charlie’s muse but quickly moves into BFF territory as they bond over the fact they’re both living in the shadows of their fathers’ expectations. Every inch a diva, Porter’s Lola channels Whitney, Tina and Aretha (even as he wears a stunning array of wigs and perfectly coordinated ensembles that harken these soul sisters). His outstanding performance of Lola’s moving number “Hold Me in Your Heart” deserves its own award — for “Broadway Song Most Likely to be Sung onGlee.” I saw more than a few teary eyes during this climactic musical number that manages to be both vulnerable and uplifting.

It’s not the first time that drag queens have appeared on Broadway. Kinky Boots writer Harvey Fierstein also penned La Cage aux Folles, perhaps one of the most famous and oft-revived Broadway show to center on a drag queen.

And the drag queens in Kinky Boots don’t disappoint. Impeccably costumed in glittering bustiers and hot pants, and flaunting perfect “is he or isn’t he?” bodies, Lola’s Angels work every scene they are in like they’ll be taking home the tip jar later. I overheard in the Al Hirschfeld Theater lobby at intermission one woman say to her friend, “Oh, those legs! It’s just not fair-yuh!”

In fact, the drag queens in Kinky Boots were so incredible that I was left thumbing my Playbill at intermission to see whether the Angels were in fact played by real drag queens. The actors are actually all Broadway veterans, but it was obvious that if this theater thing doesn’t work out for them, they could all easily have second careers as cross-dressing performers.

Of course the Angels reign supreme when it comes to the dance numbers in Kinky Boots. In particular, the final number in Act I, “Everybody Say Yeah,” brings together both camps — the drag queens and the denim-clad factory workers — for a dazzling display of choreography that even makes use of the factory’s conveyor belts. It’s not unlike that incredible music video by the band OK Go in which they dance on treadmills; it’s equally charming and left many in the audience wishing intermission was shorter!

And if you were thinking of taking your mom to Kinky Boots, but are worried this show could be a little too sexy for someone whose tastes run to the conservative side, don’t worry: like the leggy drag queens who try hard to steal every scene in Kinky Boots, this show keeps it tucked safely between its legs. The sex in Kinky Boots, after all, is “in the heel” — not in your face.