To see an old hand like Clark make sparks with a newcomer like Cooley is to feel how quickly the world spins forward. 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. Because I think sometimes because musicals have artifice, they can seem artificial. (To Debra who passes from basement to exit house.) They come across as being the same age. Kimberly Akimbo opened December 8, 2021 at the Linda Gross Theater and runs through December 26. Before that, she honed her craft in off-Broadway shows like Ryan Scott Oliver and Hunter Fosters Jasper in Deadland, as well as on the concert stage, where shes affectionately known to fans as Belting Bonnie.. Her father, Buddy (Steven Boyer), is floridly irresponsible, reneging on promises and drinking himself into stupors. Directed by Jessica Stone. DAVID LINDSAY-ABAIRE I was writing what I hoped would be a great part for an actress that I loved and adored: Marylouise Burke [who starred in the play Off Broadway in 2001]. The titular Kim is a sharp and funny teen growing up in New Jersey who's aging condition makes her look like she's in her 70s. King Charles to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage so he can give it to Andrew, 'Elvis' star Austin Butler was rushed to ER after 'body just started shutting down', Woke Chicago mayor loses re-election bid as city battles crime epidemic, King Charles evicting Harry, Meghan from Frogmore Cottage, giving to Andrew, Hoda Kotbs lengthy Today show absence caused by family health matter, Ed Sheerans wife, Cherry Seaborn, was diagnosed with tumor during pregnancy, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of Today After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry have first night out since bombshell 'Spare' released. (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. Such a kid thing to do. She lives in New Jersey with her dad (who's always drunk), her pregnant mom . I kept forgetting she was dead. . Your culture and entertainment cheat-sheet. UMich grad. 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. Thats the dream.. Kimberly Akimbo has become one of the top acts in the 2023 Musical world, delighting fans with a one-of-a-kind show. It is on theme, Lindsay-Abaire said. They also thought it was really moving. "Theater to See in L.A. Leaving the ironies to us, she refuses to condescend to the character. No one gets a second time around, they sing in the finale (though Kimberly Akimbo fortunately did). Kimberlys schoolyard love interest Seth (Justin Cooley) speaks fluent Elvish from J.R.R. She didnt have anybody looking out for her, so she looks out for herself, and thats how she talks herself into not feeling bad about scamming people because, well, who looked out for her? Tesoris other well-known musicals include Caroline, or Change, Violet, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Our tickets are 100% verified, delivered fast, and all purchases are secure. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. As portrayed by Milligan, however, the scene-stealing character becomes the kind of brassy antihero Bette Midler might have played in her prime. Carolyn Hayes Harmer, Encore Michigan. Buddy says no way is anybody going to do that to his little girl, but Kimberly likes the attention she sure doesn't get much at . Far from it: Though an underground river of sorrow gives Kimberly Akimbo its keenness, the surface is shiny comedy. LINDSAY-ABAIRE Look, I love my family very much. It may be an old-style carpe diem message or a mad recipe, as Seth might have it but in this case, leavened by exceptional craft, it makes a totally satisfying meal. Quick View. That the musical in essence does the same for the rest of the characters is one of its most unusual qualities. The initial premise is less Act 1 of Dear Evan Hanson and more Season 5 of Greys Anatomy.. 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 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. and more. " JESSE GREEN, THE NEW YORK TIMES " A fresh and gorgeous musical. By turns, it can be profoundly funny or deeply moving. Adolescent years are always a challenge, and that goes double, actually quadruple, for 16-year-old Kimberly in the hit musical Kimberly Akimbo. The most recent musical to run at the theatre was the Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal, which opened in 2009; the improv hip-hop show freestyle love supreme also played there in 2021. Kimberly Akimbohas arrived on Broadway, where it opened to unanimous rave reviews. By Charles Isherwood. The skill that Vicki brings to the process of exploration cant be created in Justin. By turns, it can be profoundly funny or deeply moving. Monologue from "Kimberly Akimbo" 978 views May 31, 2011 2 Dislike Share thechocolatechipcookie 19 subscribers Comments Add a comment. He starts to sort of mimic that work ethic and he starts to explore and basically copy that approach. Drama Desk Awards: The musical won Outstanding Musical and was nominated for eight additional awards for performance, writing, direction, and design. The Off-Broadway and Broadway stagings of Kimberly Akimbo are the major productions thus far, but the play has had additional major productions. Kimberly Akimbo is now playing at New Yorks Booth Theatre. Aside from providing B-story contrast, they underline a theme I hadnt really noticed before: the gumption of outcasts. Broadway reliably churns out several tourist-bait extravaganzas a year, the kind that feature sequins, singalongs and profits. Unlike adaptations that do little more than nail vocal Sheetrock onto bare studs of borrowed story, and have approximately the same elegance, this one with music by Jeanine Tesori and a book and lyrics by Lindsay-Abaire remakes the original on new terms, with songs that beautifully tell us new things. 2023 Tony Awards eligibility rulings (round 1): 'Kimberly Akimbo,' 'Into the Woods,' '1776' and a change in voting procedure by Sam Eckmann. . (My Blacker Olive!) Even the parents are given chances to redeem themselves in song. (To Kimberly.) You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. This time around, good work is done . 2021 Off-Broadway premiere (musical): The, 2022 Broadway premiere (musical): Clark and the entire Off-Broadway cast of the, Kimberly's last name isn't Akimbo; it's Levaco. Seth is plenty familiar with premature adulthood syndrome: His widowed father barely notices him, leaving him to figure out how to be a good kid (as one of his songs is titled) on his own. Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes. Whats apparent in Kimberly Akimbo is that she can also write inerrantly for any kind of show. The Off-Broadway run of the Kimberly Akimbo musical was critically acclaimed and won Best Musical prizes and more at multiple awards ceremonies. 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. Kimberly Akimbo is a play written in 2000 by David Lindsay-Abaire. Youll have to keep reminding yourself that Im not here anymore. That Tesori can write any kind of music is old news. [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. Bonnie Milligan, a beloved fixture of New Yorks cabaret circuit for years, is finally getting a chance to establish herself as a full-on theatrical powerhouse by way of Broadways Kimberly Akimbo, this seasons most unconventional new musical. Was creating the musical a way to create more interiority for her? What's an anagram for "hit musical"? Ana Gasteyer. And seldom does that happen with a musical.. Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan, Nina White, and Michael Iskander reprise their roles as Kims classmates. How to Buy Tickets for Kimberly Akimbo. Kimberly Akimbo opened December 8, 2021 at the Linda Gross Theater and runs through December 26. People pass away, you know. 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. If they rarely last as long as, say, Six or Moulin Rouge seem likely to, these shows prove their immense value in the time theyve got. You get so used to someone being there, it takes your body a long time to adjust. In its quieter moments, Kimberly Akimbo displays a poignancy and tenderness that will seep into your heart. Thats how it was when your Nana died. Thats because the girl, Kimberly Levaco, born with a genetic aging disorder akin to progeria, appears to be in her 60s even though shes just turning 16. What is surprising is that Kimberly Akimbo, based on the 2000 play of the same name by David Lindsay-Abaire, manages a similar feat. The whole dynamics between parents and teenagers that I was sort of making up 20 years ago, now I know it deeply and personally. Speaking of teenagers, theres a duality to the show. Jeanine Tesori composed the music for the Kimberly Akimbo musical. Theater Review: 'Kimberly Akimbo,' starring Victoria Clark, opens on Broadway at the Booth Theatre in NYC. Buy Kimberly Akimbo Tickets & View the Schedule at Box Office Ticket Sales! . 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. In the first, as Seth struggles to make an anagram of Kimberly Levaco, his strange stabs at solutions (My blacker olive! You know, when your hands are on your hips, then your arms are akimbo. Learn more about this heartfelt show about living life to the fullest. What's akimbo? "Kimberly Akimbo," presented by Moxie Theatre at the Lyceum Space, Horton Plaza, 79 Broadway Circle, San Diego. Or do you remember when Cinnamon died, and we still kept going to put the table scraps into his dog bowl? Jeff wants to do his science paper on Kimberly's disease. Unlike most new musicals based on previous material, the title. The show works best when its at its simplest, such as the touching song Make a Wish, in which Kimberly tries to decide what exactly shell ask of the Make-a-Wish Foundation, or the character-defining ballads that Kimberlys parents sing to their unborn child. Directed by Jessica Stone and choreographed by Danny Mefford, Kimberly Akimbo tells the story of young Kimberly Levaco, a 16-year-old high school student who, due to a rare genetic aging. 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. Kimberly Akimbo tickets are available now. And I like how funny it is.. I'm sorry I forgot, honey. Here's how. Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan II, Nina White and Michael Iskander amusingly portray Kimberlys fellow high school students. But the hope is just to have a career. Her aunt Debra (Bonnie Milligan) is a cheerful, amoral tornado of bad ideas who squats in the Levaco basement to further a check-forging scheme. In the musical, Kimberlys aunt sings an upbeat number about how to commit mail fraud. That may well be the fate of Kimberly Akimbo, the profoundly funny and heartbreaking new nerdical that opened on Thursday at the Booth Theater. And yet her aging condition may be the. The actor, singer and and body diversity advocate is giving a star-making performance in "Kimberly Akimbo," an unconventional new musical. Its hard when you say, Hey, 20 people, come on in and lets do this puzzle together. But if its just the two of you I have this corner; Im working on the edges; lets get to the middle then it comes into focus. She makes friends with the Gleeky show choir, who all have secret crushes on each other. Victoria Clark stars in a playful yet powerful musical about a girl who is aging too fast among adults who behave like children. 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. 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. 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. [5], Kimberly Akimbo premiered Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club New York City Center Stage 1 on February 4, 2003 and closed on April 6, 2003. So at almost 16 (her birthday is coming up) she looks like a lady in her early 70's. Thats upbeat Kimberly, as usual trying to make the best of lifes bad situation. What's the matter? She moves to Bergen County, New Jersey, with her parents, Buddy (Steven Boyer) and Pattie (Alli Mauzey), who. The toilets wouldnt stop flushing. This is a life that's being. Skater Planet Aaron, Delia, Martin, Teresa, Seth, Kim), Skater Planet (Reprise) Aaron, Delia, Martin, Teresa, Anagram Kimberly, Seth, Aaron, Delia, Martin, Teresa, Better Debra, Aaron, Delia, Martin, Teresa, Hello, Darling (Reprise)/Father Time Pattie, How to Wash a Check Debra, Kim, Seth, Aaron, Delia, Martin, Teresa, Skater Planet (Reprise) Aaron, Delia, Martin, Teresa, Seth, Our Disease Kimberly, Seth, Aaron, Delia, Martin, Teresa, The Inevitable Turn Pattie, Buddy, Debra, Aaron, Delia, Martin, Teresa, How To Wash a Check (Reprise) Debra, Aaron, Delia, Martin, Teresa. The same for the Kimberly Akimbo tickets & amp ; View the Schedule at Box Ticket... A way to create more interiority for her: the gumption of outcasts makes. ( my blacker olive Milligan, however, the scene-stealing character becomes the kind music... Given chances to redeem themselves in song productions thus far, but the is! 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