For Wayne Brady, performing at the Hollywood Bowl is something he never thought possible.
Before he hits the stage of the iconic venue to play Lola — the British boxer-turned-drag queen in the musical “Kinky Boots” — he’s taking in the moment.
“I always pinch myself and I think of that little kid sitting in his bedroom in Orlando, Florida when I was listening and watching Monty Python at the Hollywood Bowl,” he reminisced. “I didn’t know what the Hollywood Bowl was and I just thought ‘what’s this thing and why are there so many people clapping?'”
“Well, to be a part of that and to hear all those people clapping in that deafening noise and then an orchestra behind me, it’s one of the biggest blessings that I’ve ever gotten as a performer,” he explained.
The “Who’s Line Is It Anyway” star dons five-inch heels for the production and rehearsal footage shows he’s pretty comfortable in them. Brady called the musical “one of the dearest shows” to his heart.
“The message is what we need right now,” he said. “The message of acceptance, the message of tolerance.”
Don’t worry, Brady hasn’t quit his day job.
His hosting gig at “Let’s Make A Deal” is still going strong and he doesn’t seem to be tired of it.
“If I wasn’t enjoying, I wouldn’t be doing it,” he said.
The host said he actually started “truly” enjoying his job in the middle of the pandemic, once he realized how much laughter and joy was needed.
“This is a time where people need laughs, they need reassurance, they need an escape and the fact that we can do that,” he said. “We can change someone’s life by giving them money right now in this time that is so uncertain for so many people that makes it more than a job.”
“Kinky Boots” will be at the Hollywood Bowl July 8-10.
Tickets are available at Hollywoodbowl.com.