Come Heels or High Water: Quad City Music Guild's “Kinky Boots,” at the Prospect Park Auditorium through April 14

The outlandish plot to Kinky Boots, currently being presented by Quad City Music Guild, requires using a massive crane to suspend one's disbelief. But the thing is, it's basically true.

In the '90s, a century-old English shoe factory faltered. Cheap imported footwear drove business away, forcing layoffs, and the place was about to fold. Then boutique owner Sue (birth name Anthony) called to inquire whether the factory could manufacture women's shoes for men. Indeed, they could, and in 1999, this successful collaboration was the subject of the BBC Two documentary Trouble at the Top. A fictionalization of the story, the 2005 film Kinky Boots by screenwriters Geoff Deane and Tim Firth, inspired a musical version, which opened on Broadway in 2013, winning six Tonys. This Kinky Boots is Music Guild's offering, with a book by actor/playwright Harvey Fierstein (though chunks are lifted from Deane's and Firth's screenplay) and music and lyrics by pop/New-Wave legend Cyndi Lauper. Kelsey Walljasper directed this slick, joyous production, with Mitch Carter as music director, and with a lovely balance of comedy and heart, it's inspiring, not too serious, and looks and sounds fabulous.

Charlie Price longs to escape his hometown. But George-Bailey style, his father's sudden death leaves him to run the family business. He's a staid, hesitant young chap who, unlike George, doesn't have a dream to chase. He only knows it doesn't involve shoes – or so he thinks. Dave Edwards' portrayal hints at the steel inside the man and makes the aimless Charlie a potential hero to root for. Abby Donohoe plays Charlie's fiancé Nicola, an aspiring sophisticate with plenty of plans; she flaunts a fine voice and one of the most credible English accents here. In a hail-Mary play to save his factory, Charlie visits Harry, a childhood friend now in a pub band, and Evan Gagliardo is engaging in his short scene as he plays guitar and sings encouragement in "Take What You Got."

Keenen Wilson is a quadruple threat: a vastly gifted singer, dancer, and actor with a big blast of star quality – a dazzling spark radiating throughout his whole being. Wilson's diva Lola is similarly strong, confident, and bold, as well as an explosively grand artiste herself. After she happens to run into Charlie and breaks her flimsy heel, which was made for a woman but not strong enough for a man, the factory owner eventually gets an idea that electrifies him: His factory could make sturdy, sexy footwear for, as he puts it, "women who are men," thereby saving the business, his workers' livelihoods, and drag performers' feet.

We get glimpses of Charlie's and Lola's pasts in the personages of their young selves. Antoine Richmond, as young Lola, exhibits dejection, then an exuberant catwalk-worthy strut in her beloved red shoes, and Jack Carslake is all bounces and cheery smiles in his brief appearances as young Charlie. Bradley Robert Jensen, Gary Mayfield, Makis Witt, and Topher Elliot play the Angels, Lola's backup group. They carry out Shelley Cooper's abundant, flashy choreography in towering heels that had me fearing for their gastrocnemii. (Folks, please gently stretch your calves before and after wearing stilettos; I speak from very painful experience.)

More than half of the 23-person cast play factory employees, and the ensemble composes a great big clump of talent, raising mighty voices and dancing up a whirlwind throughout. Adrienne Jane Evans is endearingly goofy as Lauren, who develops a crush on Charlie. In "The History of Wrong Guys," she executes hilarious physical capers, carried away with youthful starry-eyed embarrassment. She's smart, too, prodding Charlie toward making a new type of shoe. The versatile Luke Vermeire, who often works behind the scenes, plays Don, a boiler full of bullying machismo who towers over most of the cast. He's a quasi-villain whom I couldn't help but enjoy. Myka Walljasper, an amazingly skilled dancer, portrays Pat, and in one standout song, Wilson, Vermeire, and Walljasper debate and demonstrate "What a Woman Wants."

But there are so many superb numbers in this production! Lola and Charlie touchingly confess "I'm Not My Father's Son." In another filial reverie, Edwards' immense voice, coupled with vulnerability, astound in "The Soul of a Man." The slow reveal of Wilson in a knockout gown drew gasps and murmurs from Thursday's invited-dress audience, while his subsequent "Hold Me in Your Heart" elicited cheers and tears. And with Kinky Boots' wonderful, rousing act-closers featuring the whole company – "Everybody Say Yeah" and "Raise You Up / Just Be” – utterly irresistible, the outstanding nine-piece orchestra was naturally essential.

Essential, too, are the monumental accomplishments of costume designers Lee McLain and Em Schwartz and their crew. They concocted so many wardrobe changes, including glittery showgirl costumes and pugilistic gear, and oversaw less flashy details, too, including the newly cheery hues of work clothing post-rejuvenation. And oh, the multitudes of kinky boots! Raves, also, for makeup designer Nikki Murray and wig wrangler (and Angel #1) Jensen. I wish the actors during Thursday's preview spoke slower and were more careful with diction, as I missed several lines. Nevertheless, I wholeheartedly recommend you make time to see this sparkling, energetic production. Say "Yeah, yeah!"

Quad City Music Guild's Kinky Boots runs at the Prospect Park Auditorium (1584 34th Avenue, Moline IL) through April 14, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-6610 and visiting QCMusicGuild.com.