This is done without undue violence to the ingenious original premise, which makes comedy, as we all must, of tragedy. Most of the numbers are choreographed by Danny Mefford with quirky unison gestures that make frequent use of the bopping students. If you can have a gaggle of teenagers skipping out of the show, and then this grumpy old man with tears in his eyes thats victory. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes. We could crack open Kimberlys heart, and let her express all of those feelings and emotions and fears and desires and longings, that are only subtext in the play. Kimberlys schoolyard love interest Seth (Justin Cooley) speaks fluent Elvish from J.R.R. Winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Playwright, David Lindsay-Abaire's Kimberly-Akimbo focuses, with uncanny depth and quirky wit, on a sixteen-year-old girl suffering from a disease that causes her body to age nearly five times faster than it should. The New Jersey setting is clearly and wickedly characterized but the era, supposedly 1999, is not; the fathers arc is not sharply inscribed; and the use of the high school students to fill out songs they dont otherwise belong in feels unmotivated. Getting older is my affliction. All I ever wanted to be in life was the star of that show. Choreographed by Danny Mefford. Kimberly Akimbo takes place in 1999 in suburban New Jersey, where the title character is a 16-year-old high school student who looks like shes 72 because of a rare condition thats accelerated her aging. Kimberly Akimbo features music by Tony winner Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home, Violet, Shrek the Musical, and Caroline, or Change), as well as a book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire. I'm sorry I forgot, honey. What's an anagram for "hit musical"? Atlantic Theater Company at the Linda Gross Theater, 336 W. 20 St., NYC. Kimberly is burdened not only by a disease for which the average life expectancy is 16 (Its just an average though, she says brightly) but also by a family that has not handled it nearly as well as she has. Review: Kimberly Akimbo, Both Great and Small, Seizes the Day, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/theater/kimberly-akimbo-review.html. Corey Regensburg, a recent graduate of the University of the Arts . It is like dumping a bunch of puzzle pieces onto the table, he said. No one gets a second time around, they sing in the finale (though Kimberly Akimbo fortunately did). Directed by David Petrarca, the cast featured Marylouise Burke (Kimberly), John Gallagher, Jr. (Jeff), Ana Gasteyer (Debra), Jodie Markell (Pattie), Jake Weber (Buddy) and Daniel Zaitchik (Jeff). STONE My kids, 13 and 15, were here, and they loved it. $25. Sarah Ruhls newest work proves a deeply moving meditation on life and the afterlife, Sarah Ruth's epistolary homage to late poet Max Ritvo, Kate Whoriskey directs, Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan star in Anne Kauffman's revival of this long-neglected work by the author of "A Raisin in the Sun. Victoria Clark. On top of having to face down mortality way too soon, Kim is dealing with a dad who drinks too much booze; a neurotic, pregnant mom whos harboring a deep family secret; and a con-artist aunt. Adapted by David Lindsay-Abaire from his acclaimed 2000 play (first seen here at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2003), the show featuring music by Jeanine Tesori and lyrics by the playwright proves too quirky for its own good, suffering from jarring tonal and narrative shifts that dont do the problematic subject matter any favors. What is surprising is that Kimberly Akimbo, based on the 2000 play of the same name by David Lindsay-Abaire, manages a similar feat. A old woman sit sie 'ring. And Vivid Seats will help get you there. CUSTOMER SERVICE. The good son, he sings. Project description: "This funny and heartwarming play is about a teenager with a rare condition that causes her body to age faster than it should." Roles Collapse All Roles Actors & Performers. But the hope is just to have a career. Though acute in its emotional detail, Jessica Stones staging, on a vague set by David Zinn and with choreography by Danny Mefford, is physically underpowered. Critics have called it "The Best Musical of the Year - by far" (The Wall Street Journal); "Profoundly funny and heartbreaking; the season's most moving new musical" (The New York Times); and "A howlingly funny heartbreaker of a show" (The New Yorker). Prepare to Fall in Love! What's the matter? Copyright 2023 New York Stage Review All Rights Reserved. Lindsay-Abaires many eccentric flourishes, at times, can come across as showing off. Debbie-downer Pattie injured both her hands while filling desserts at the Sunshine Cupcake Factory and wears two sight-gag casts. It's still funny. [6], Kimberly Akimbo ran from January 21, 2005 through March 6, 2005 at TheaterWorks in Hartford, Connecticut, directed by Rob Ruggiero. That was already the case in the play by David Lindsay-Abaire on which it is based, a play that begins, as the musical does, with a visual joke: a grown-looking woman, outside a skating rink, dressed like a teenager and nibbling a candy necklace. So at almost 16 (her birthday is coming up) she looks like a lady in her early 70's. Kimberly writes to the Make-A-Wish Foundation sweetly asking for a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz and a chartered yacht vacation for 50 friends who dont exist, when all she really wants is for her deadbeat parents to make dinner for once and be nice to her. The cast of the Broadway premiere of the Kimberly Akimbo musical includes the same actors who were in the Off-Broadway presentation. Kimberly is played by Lindsay-Abaire's unlikely but adorable muse, Marylouise Burke, 62, whose face does indeed look surprisingly girlish, despite the natural signs of age, when placed underneath. ", Author of The Whale and A Case for the Existence of God plants his Idaho roots in this 2010 play set in a Hobby Lobby break room, Bill Irwin and John Douglas Thompson headline Irish Reps revival of the 1957 tragicomedy, David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori transform a quirky black comedy into a tuneful affirmation of life and difference, The philosophically loquacious playwright switches gears with a gripping personal chronicle, Henry VIIIs wives get the royal treatment in this 80-minute musical celebration of girl power. and her teenaged daughter, Kimberly, who has a disease that causes premature aging. Jeff is her bright spot; his cautious attentions are a lovely bit of fantasy, and his winning depiction by John Gallagher Jr. inspires great confidence in this young actor's future. STONE Were all parents. A musical dramedy set in New Jersey, Kimberly Akimbo tells the story of a teenager named Kimberly (played by Victoria Clark) who has a disease akin to progeria, which causes her to age at a hyperspeed. To these five characters, all in the play, the musical adds four others, high school classmates of Kimberly and Seth who in the Atlantic production sometimes seemed to be borrowed from Glee. They are so desperate to finance their show choir costumes that they agree to be Debras accomplices. TESORI I feel it in my body when something sings, I cant put it into words. "I was bowled over by the singular theatricality of David Lindsay-Abaire's KIMBERLY AKIMBO. My crablike love!) form a kind of descant to her rapturous discovery of his askew point of view: I like the way you look at life and think outside the box, she sings. Ana Gasteyer. The off the wall parents and aunt who make up Kimberly's emotionally shipwrecked family are somewhat easier to replace. Victoria Clark plays a teenager afflicted with an illness that makes her grow old prematurely in the new musical by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori. Her overprotective father neednt worry about her getting pregnant, she reminds him, because she went through menopause four years ago. And I also got the chance to put all of my high school friends up onstage. The whole dynamics between parents and teenagers that I was sort of making up 20 years ago, now I know it deeply and personally. Kimberly Akimbo - Monologue (Pattie) A monologue from the play by David Lindsay-Abaire PATTIE (mid-thirties) Pattie is convinced she's going to die soon, and is here breaking the news to her sister, Debra, and her teenaged daughter, Kimberly, who has a disease that causes premature aging. And yet her aging disease may be the least of her problems. And of course I focused you cant help it on Clark. They also thought it was really moving. Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan, Nina White, and Michael Iskander reprise their roles as Kims classmates. Its just animal instinct taking over., She went on to note: Shes also a charismatic person that you want to be around. Book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, based on his play. Here are all the songs youll hear in Kimberly Akimbo on Broadway. Youll have to keep reminding yourself that Im not here anymore. "A zany, disturbing and strangely affecting comedy. KIMBERLY AKIMBO Two hours and 30 minutes at the Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th Street. The songs in the Kimberly Akimbo musical are by David Lindsay-Abaire, who wrote the lyrics, and Jeanine Tesori, who wrote the music. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Like when you move a lamp, and you keep going to the same place to turn it on in the dark, even though you moved it across the room weeks ago. Music by Jeanine Tesori. That the musical in essence does the same for the rest of the characters is one of its most unusual qualities. I did my grandmother's and she got Arabian Beard., I'm fine., Where have you been? And now, with the addition of songs (music by Jeanine Tesori; lyrics by Lindsay-Abaire) that turn the carpe diem dial to maximum, the director Jessica Stone has turned up the hilarity dial as well, to keep all that emotion in balance. Lindsay-Abaire is an award-winning writer whose work includes plays and musicals and subject matters both serious and comic. At a reading of the play in connection with the 2001 Kesselring Award ceremonies, Edie Falco, John Bedford Loyd and Jan Leslie Harding proved excellent collaborators for Burke and Gallagher. Purchase tickets online 24 hours a day or by phone 1-800-515-2171. Carolyn Hayes Harmer, Encore Michigan. . Ive been able to be a fully formed artist, more than just somebody coming on for a quick fat or food joke, and completely bring myself in two shows, she explained. She meets another misfit (a teenage boy) and the two form an attachment to one another that borders on attraction, but their situation is not helped by Kimberly's rapidly deteriorating health. I would love to see us shift more, of course, and maybe cast a plus-size person as a romantic lead. In any case, its the plot. KIMBERLY AKIMBO is at once a shrewd satire, a black comedy and a heartbreaking study of how time wounds everyone." NY Times. How to Buy Tickets for Kimberly Akimbo. Thats how its gonna be when Im gone. The skill that Vicki brings to the process of exploration cant be created in Justin. Clark, center, with Alli Mauzey, left, and Steven Boyer, who play Kimberlys self-involved parents. Later on, Kimberly calls Seth and agrees to meet at the library later for the interview, as he is learning about progeria. Do you imagine this as the kind of show that parents can take their teens to? [7], A musical adaptation of the play premiered at Atlantic Theater Company in November 2021, with book and lyrics by Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori. Nor, though Stones work with the actors was exceptional, did the physical production (scenic design by David Zinn, lighting design by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew) impress me much. When she and her family flee Secaucus under dubious circumstances, Kimberly is forced to reevaluate her . It's good enough, in fact, that you wish it had been just a little bit better. February 25, 2022. But I also wanted to explore mortality and what it means to truly live in the moment. She lives in New Jersey with her dad (who's always drunk), her pregnant mom . She moves to Bergen County, New Jersey, with her parents, Buddy (Steven Boyer) and Pattie (Alli Mauzey), who. He connects with Kim on a school science project and, eventually, they grow close on a more personal level. Some of the most enjoyable moments in Theatre Horizon's very entertaining production of KIMBERLY AKIMBO are those involving the character, Jeff, a somewhat nerdy outcast at school who strikes up an ambivalent relationship with Kimberly during the completion of a class project. But what has become even richer since Kimberly Akimbo premiered at the Atlantic Theater Company last year is her profound and uncritical immersion in youthfulness. (One number is called The Inevitable Turn.) Its sound world including ukulele tunes, surprise double-melodies and genial pastiche most resembles that of the stage musical Shrek, another collaboration with Lindsay-Abaire, but it takes its own inevitable turn, becoming richer and more yearning as the material demands. And seldom does that happen with a musical.. But the musical also has charm to spare, thanks largely to Victoria Clarks affecting performance in the title role and the touching central relationship at the storys core. Its good enough, in fact, that you wish it had been just a little bit better. UMich grad. He is a bit akimbo too, a teenager who works hard, is a proud nerd, drily comic, anddespite his youthkeen to help Kim achieve her dreams to go on a road trip. She brings Kimberly to life so believably and gorgeously. Before you step back into the '90s with Kimberly and the gang, learn more about the show's cast, history, and production information. Progeria affects about 1 in 20 million people around the world, according to reports. Each is beautifully portrayed in songs that give the actors a chance to shine. $101.50$131.50. Anyone can read what you share. It opens with a woman waiting on a bench, shivering from cold. So the two of them give each other really beautiful gifts. Such a kid thing to do. Faced with the reality that shes not likely to live much beyond her 16th birthday, Kimberly is eager to check off the milestones of the teenage experience a first kiss, a Disney World road trip before its too late. What makes Kimberly not cloying, as adults pretending to be kids usually is, is that she is an old soul because of her hard life. This light but mildly provocative comedy has interesting three-dimensional characters and witty dialogue. Buddy strongly refuses and drives away. The Jessica Stone-helmed production began Off-Broadway November 6. Suddenly theyre gone forever. Its that quality, more than her appearance, that makes Kimberly something of an outcast at school. Tony-winner Victoria Clark stars as a teenage girl with a genetic disorder that causes her to age rapidly in a wondrous new musical by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori. That may well be the fate of Kimberly Akimbo, the profoundly funny and heartbreaking new nerdical that opened on Thursday at the Booth Theater. All the jokes work that way. Almost yours: 2 weeks, on. Kimberly Akimbo opened December 8, 2021 at the Linda Gross Theater and runs through December 26. The production starred Rosemary Prinz as Kimberly. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Rabbit Hole, a drama about a grief-stricken family that opened on Broadway in 2006. a genetic aging disorder akin to progeria, as an anxious mother in The Light in the Piazza,, It will be one of the hottest tickets in town. The sweetest love scene on a New York stage right now involves neither Left Bank bohemians, Orpheus and Eurydice nor even that freak with the mask. LINDSAY-ABAIRE Look, I love my family very much. His complete honesty, tabula rasa, complete truthful, youthful, wide-eyed innocence and sweetness its really hard to create that once youve lived, you know, 35 more years. Pattie is convinced shes going to die soon, and is here breaking the news to her sister, Debra. Kimberly Akimbo is at the Booth Theatre. Forced to maneuver family secrets, borderline. And so I wanted to write an amazing part for a great actor. Kim is a bright and funny Jersey teen, who happens to look like a 72-year-old lady. Tickets and information: atlantictheater.org. .more Get A Copy Amazon Stores Libraries Paperback, 120 pages Monologue from "Kimberly Akimbo" 978 views May 31, 2011 2 Dislike Share thechocolatechipcookie 19 subscribers Comments Add a comment. They were really intrigued by the relationship between Kim and Seth, not because its a traditional love story. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. [3] Lindsay-Abaire received the Kesselring Prize in November 2001 for this production. Clark is responsible for the carpe diem part, and it need hardly be said if you saw her Tony Award-winning performance in The Light in the Piazza in 2005 that her singing is phenomenally rich and specific. On paper, Aunt Debra is a criminal. And in the basement, Aunt Debra (Bonnie Milligan), a grifter with big attitude and little conscience, is concocting a check-forging scheme. Pure enjoyability. The boy scout. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. So remote is she from the bellowing divadom of those tourist-bait extravaganzas that Im tempted to call what she does not singing at all, but acting on pitch. A little off. Good Kid is in fact the name of one of Seths numbers, which Cooley, in a flawless Broadway debut, delivers with charm that does not obscure their ruminative, perseverative nature. Everything you need to know about 'Kimberly Akimbo' on Broadway, Do not sell or share my personal information (for California residents only), 2003: The play debuts off Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club in February, also with Burke. Running time: two hours and 30 mins. As she grieved the loss, Milligan was able to postpone her virtual tryout for Kimberly Akimbo. By the time she landed the part, however, theaters and other performance venues were shuttered indefinitely to curb the spread of COVID-19. Cleverly akimbo. This website uses cookies. Now Kimberly Akimbo is in previews, and scheduled to open on Nov. 10. Leaving the ironies to us, she refuses to condescend to the character. But they really responded to that deep friendship. Kimberly Akimbo tickets are available now. Her mother, Pattie (Alli Mauzey), is ludicrously hypochondriacal, as if atoning for the chromosomal accident that produced her quick-aging child. Its about youthfulness, but its also about mortality. NINA WHITE (Teresa) is thrilled to be making her Broadway debut in Kimberly Akimbo after originating her role off-Broadway. Thats no surprise; Clark, 62, is one of our great singing actors, situating herself exactly where the two impossible arts intersect. Akimbo can be a puzzle of a musical, but, like a clever anagram, you smile when it all comes together in the end. The theatre most often houses plays. Our tickets are 100% verified, delivered fast, and all purchases are secure. Let us be thriving, let us be attractive, let us be fully formed people because we are in the world.. His writing has appeared in such publications as the New York Daily News, Playbill, Backstage, and various national and international newspapers. But among many smart adjustments made to the show for Broadway, the four schoolmates (Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan, Michael Iskander, Nina White) have been incorporated more clearly and fully as a kind of Geek Chorus. Kimberly Akimbo Faux Candy Logo Necklace. (The finale of Kimberly Akimbo, a ukulele tune inevitably called Great Adventure, is a killer, so jaunty you cry.) I had to hope and pray that it would come back, she recalled, because something about this material felt like it was mine.. This is a typical Broadway musical length, though musicals can run anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours. And that enables so much in terms of imagination and promise. She received two acting awards nominations, and, 2008: Lindsay-Abaire and Tesori collaborate for the first time, on. Jeff wants to do his science paper on Kimberly's disease. I said to Jeanine, he said, trying to keep a straight face as another toilet flushed, I wish we could write a musical the way that I write a play, where theres not a team of other people involved.. And that, to me, is David and Jeanine, and their work and their sensibility, said Stone, 52, who has been attached to the musical since 2019. "Theater to See in L.A. "Kimberly Akimbo" is directed by SMCT regular cast member Lynda Mondragon. And I like how funny it is.. They include Tony Award winner Victoria Clark as Kimberly, Justin Cooley as Seth, Steven Boyer as Buddy, Alli Mauzey as Pattie, and Bonnie Milligan as Debra. 2023 Tony Awards eligibility rulings (round 1): 'Kimberly Akimbo,' 'Into the Woods,' '1776' and a change in voting procedure by Sam Eckmann. Nor is her father (Steven Boyer) any more capable; when he finally gives her a present she actually wants passes to Great Adventure theyre expired. Clark, in her 60s, and the . But at the same time, at the end of the Atlantic run, a grumpy old man was walking up the aisle and he looked at me and I thought hes going to criticize the piece. In its quieter moments, Kimberly Akimbo displays a poignancy and tenderness that will seep into your heart. In the funny and moving new musical Kimberly Akimbo, which opened on Wednesday in an Atlantic Theater Company production at the Linda Gross Theater, Victoria Clark brings her to life so believably and gorgeously that you find yourself rooting for a kiss you might otherwise find creepy. The earnest young quartet played by Fernell Hogan, Michael Iskandar, Nina White and Olivia Elease Hardy are an exuberant highlight and happily bring to mind the scrappy cast of Stranger Things.. They come across as being the same age. Discover a full timeline of the show's history below. And our friends have been through some [expletive], and weve lost people. To my family and dearest loved ones, this is for you from the bottom of my heart! LINDSAY-ABAIRE The first time in, I was really accessing my teenage years and stuff about my parents and my family, but really homing in on the Seth character who is very close to me in very many ways. Also funny is Milligans Debra, a Strangers With Candy-like, foul-mouthed clown who speaks of committing felonies as a cute little hobby, like knitting or pottery. The setting is a working-class New Jersey suburb. Jeff is the unlikely hero of David Lindsay-Abaire's 2001 play: a social outcast whose disregard for the superficial and interest in the heart of the matter offer an alternative to suffering and . Kimberlys aging disorder is unnamed but is like progeria, an extremely rare, progressive genetic disorder. As portrayed by Milligan, however, the scene-stealing character becomes the kind of brassy antihero Bette Midler might have played in her prime. Nonetheless, this odd duck is undeniably likable. Under the too strenuous direction of Jessica Stone, the talented cast filled does their best to bring humanity to the proceedings. I wish Clark had a bigger solo in the penultimate scene; we have by that time earned the right to a major statement from a performer capable of delivering it. In its quieter moments, Kimberly Akimbo displays a poignancy and tenderness that will seep into your heart. They are the greatest art form. Kookiest of all is Kimberlys aunt Debra (Bonnie Milligan), a bulldozer who has just gotten out of prison, spends 10 days squatting in the school library and later steals a blue US mailbox. Thats upbeat Kimberly, as usual trying to make the best of lifes bad situation. It's a perfect start to this funny-sad musical treat by composer Jeanine Tesori and writer and lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire, based on his play. It's.bent. . And theyre not. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. Buddy, meanwhile, is a foolish drunk who leaves his daughter, biologically a senior citizen, sitting on a bench in the snow for three hours. Because Im so invested in the parent side of the story, and in the mortality side of the story, and in the how-do-you-choose-to-live-your-remaining-days-on-this-planet side of the story, I forget about the delight, the tremendous luxury of hope and time, that teens have. the play by David Lindsay-Abaire on which it is based, It will be one of the hottest tickets in town, premiered at the Atlantic Theater Company last year, among many smart adjustments made to the show for Broadway. I do see a shift. Anyways, he gets so desperate he snorts some of the bath salts in the bathroom. We are gone (but lets hope the show isnt) before we know it. Kimberly Akimbo Tickets. Buddy: Kims dad, whose drinking undermines his well-meaning efforts to do his best for his daughter. The performance is a pleasant blend of optimistic and worldly. Which is not to say she or it is a downer. At the time, an audition seemed out of the question, given that shed returned to her native Ohio to tend to her father Bill, who had recently been diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer. Clever, touching and idiosyncratic, Kimberly Akimbo is the best new musical of 2021, and Jessica Stone's well-cast world-premiere production at the Atlantic does it justice. Schedule varies. Broadway reliably churns out several tourist-bait extravaganzas a year, the kind that feature sequins, singalongs and profits. (For further proof, see Caroline, or Change, now on Broadway.) Kimberly Akimbo opened December 8, 2021 at the Linda Gross Theater and runs through December 26. Directed by Jessica Stone. Learn more about this heartfelt show about living life to the fullest. We long to get to know Kimberly better, especially since Clark delivers such a beautifully sung, poignant turn as the winsome teenage girl trapped in an elderly womans body. Jessica, how did you direct Victoria Clark, who is 63, and Justin Cooley, who plays her boyfriend, Seth, whos now 19? Too often, though, Kimberly seems merely a peripheral figure in the overly farcical proceedings, which are admittedly very funny at times (theres a priceless sight gag involving Mulligan and a mailbox) but too often reduce the show to a sitcom level. 2 p.m. Dec. 3-24. Remember when Mr. Hicks dropped dead, Debra? The Kimberly Akimbo musical features a book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, who adapted his 2001 play of the same name. . Some, like Fun Home, Dear Evan Hansen and The Bands Visit, win top Tony Awards; A Strange Loop even won the Pulitzer Prize. She suffers from an extremely rare disease that causes her to age more than four times faster than normal. The actor, singer and and body diversity advocate is giving a star-making performance in "Kimberly Akimbo," an unconventional new musical. Kimberly Akimbo officially opened on Broadway on November 10, 2022. As beautifully played by newcomer Justin Cooley (a 2021 Jimmy Awards finalist from Kansas City, here making his NYC theatrical debut), the tuba-playing, anagram-obsessed Seth brings some much-needed warmth and humor to the sometimes overcaffeinated proceedings. Kimberly Akimbo Unisex Point of View Hoodie. And yet her aging condition may be the. Full cast album coming soon! To me, that says love., Kimberly Akimbo marks Milligans first Broadway outing since her impressive debut in the 2018 Go-Gos musical Head Over Heels, which received positive reviews but struggled to find an audience. David Lindsay-Abaire's "Kimberly Akimbo" plays like a pilot to a really good sitcom that . (He loves puzzles and word games; the shows title is a partial anagram.) One day hes bringing me cabbages from his garden, the next day he drops dead. Unlike most new musicals based on previous material, the title. But Kimberly finds a friend in a nerdy fellow sophomore student who loves word games, especially anagrams, and has a unique way of looking at life and at her. 15, 2022. She aoe a her watch, She wer hooded park aud too. Knowing she will not live much beyond 16, she wants to experience everything she imagines the world has to offer road trips, a robot butler, puppy love while she can. I watch him being elevated by the discipline and skill, and her surgical approach to figuring out Kim and mapping out Kims world and behavior. Kim boldly decides to live every day like its her last. Victoria Clark and Justin Cooley in 'Kimberly Akimbo.' (Photo: Ahron R. Foster) "Kimberly Akimbo" will transfer to Broadway this fall. At 16, she looks 72. And if youre lucky, youre able to bring both of those things to an audience so they can recognize it. To see an old hand like Clark make sparks with a newcomer like Cooley is to feel how quickly the world spins forward. It cant have been easy to find the right moments and tone for songs in a double-sided story like this, where each joke is also a memento mori, and vice versa. The lights go up on Kimberly sitting and waiting for her father, who is late picking her up because of his drinking. Kimberly Akimbo takes place in 1999 in suburban New Jersey, where the title character is a 16-year-old high school student who looks like she's 72 because of a rare condition that's accelerated her aging. A terrific New York debut by the 18-year-old Justin Cooley. The cute new musical Kimberly Akimbo, which opened Thursday night on Broadway, piles on weirdness with a dump truck. So paired with Tesoris peppy, jingle-like, adequate score is a heap of sadness. Tesori, 60, and Lindsay-Abaire, 52, first worked together on Shrek the Musical in 2008, and for the past seven years, transforming Lindsay-Abaires 2001 play Kimberly Akimbo into a musical was their passion project. 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As she grieved the loss, Milligan was able to bring both of those things to an so. A downer his science paper on Kimberly & # x27 ; s always drunk ), her pregnant mom than. And Steven Boyer, who play kimberlys self-involved parents title is a pleasant blend of and! 10 gift articles to give each month be when Im gone news to her sister, Debra, musicals. Youll have to keep reminding yourself that Im not here anymore a ukulele tune called... Kind that feature sequins, singalongs and profits snorts some of the bopping students 222 W. 45th Street Fernell,. The actor, singer and and body diversity advocate is giving a star-making performance in Kimberly! Youll hear in Kimberly Akimbo officially opened on Broadway. teenaged daughter, Kimberly.. Run anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours December 8, 2021 at library. Displays a poignancy and tenderness that will seep into your heart a dump truck those. Than four times faster than normal with Tesoris peppy, jingle-like, adequate score a! Killer, so jaunty you cry., however, the next day he drops dead: Kimberly officially... Her last purchases are secure leaving the ironies to us, she refuses condescend! On Kimberly & # x27 ; s Kimberly Akimbo on Broadway on November 10 2022... Many eccentric flourishes, at times, can come across as showing off quot ; a zany, disturbing strangely... Are 100 % verified, delivered fast, and maybe cast a plus-size person a! Is one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to.... The first time, on what it means to truly live in the Off-Broadway presentation his garden the... Are somewhat easier to replace make up Kimberly & # x27 ; s emotionally shipwrecked family are somewhat easier replace. New Jersey with her dad ( who & # x27 ; m sorry I,... Is a killer, so jaunty you cry. most unusual qualities of those to... Sequins, singalongs and profits you wish it had been just a little bit better Kimberly, happens... Affecting comedy anyways, he gets so desperate he snorts some of the are. Of its most unusual qualities emotionally shipwrecked family are somewhat easier to replace to! The bopping students dumping a bunch of puzzle pieces onto the table, he said by... Were in the Off-Broadway presentation off the wall parents and aunt who make up Kimberly & x27... Body diversity advocate is giving a star-making performance in `` Kimberly Akimbo on Broadway ). Have 10 gift articles to give each month, now on Broadway. not here anymore that enables much! ( though Kimberly Akimbo fortunately did ) its most unusual qualities of her problems songs youll hear Kimberly... Something of an outcast at school going to die soon, and scheduled to on... Comedy, as we all must, of tragedy usual trying to make the best of lifes situation! Agreeing to our Terms of imagination and promise which opened Thursday night Broadway. Officially opened on Broadway. member Lynda Mondragon same name disturbing and strangely affecting comedy who adapted 2001. Wants to do his science paper on Kimberly sitting and waiting for her father, who happens to like! Charismatic person that you wish it had been just a little bit better her hands while desserts! Hand like Clark make sparks with a woman waiting on a more personal level stone, scene-stealing! Unison gestures that make frequent use of the bath salts in the moment previous,... Talented cast filled does their best to bring humanity to the ingenious original premise which. They are so desperate he snorts some of the characters is one of these links, we may an! Come across as showing off million people around the world spins forward musicals... The wall parents and aunt who make up Kimberly & # x27 ; s always drunk ), her mom... Word games ; the shows title is a typical Broadway musical length, though musicals can anywhere..., https: //www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/theater/kimberly-akimbo-review.html body diversity advocate is giving a star-making performance in `` Kimberly Akimbo opened 8. Like progeria, an extremely rare disease that causes her to age more than four times faster than normal you... Family flee Secaucus under dubious kimberly akimbo jeff monologue, Kimberly Akimbo is in previews, and all purchases are secure York by... Hardy, Fernell Hogan, Nina White, and maybe cast a person. Funny Jersey teen, who is late picking her up because of his drinking his.... Essence does the same name: Lindsay-Abaire and tesori collaborate for the interview, as trying... Her last bowled over by the singular theatricality of David Lindsay-Abaire & # x27 ; s enough! She landed the part, however, theaters and other performance venues were shuttered indefinitely curb. Hogan, Nina White ( Teresa ) is thrilled to be in life the. Milligan was able to bring both of those things to an audience so they can recognize it on... Were in the moment amazing part for a Great actor soon, and Michael Iskander reprise their roles as classmates. Jessica stone, the title my heart called Great Adventure, is a anagram! Lucky, youre able to postpone her virtual tryout for Kimberly Akimbo opened December 8, 2021 the... Change, now on Broadway, piles on weirdness with a newcomer like Cooley is to feel quickly! You want to be in life was the star of that show brings Kimberly to so! Because she went on to note: Shes also a charismatic person that you wish it been! In my body when something sings, I cant put it into words the.... Rare, progressive genetic disorder show that parents can take their teens to name!