Her mother, Pattie (Alli Mauzey), is ludicrously hypochondriacal, as if atoning for the chromosomal accident that produced her quick-aging child. Debra: Kims aunt, a street-smart schemer who is always on the lookout for another illicit scheme and pawns to use to her advantage. Kimberly Akimbo is a 2021 musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, and lyrics and book by David Lindsay-Abaire.It is based on Lindsay-Abaire's 2001 comedy of the same name.. 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. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Kimberly's last name isn't really "akimbo." But her stance is increasingly headed that way. In its quieter moments, Kimberly Akimbo displays a poignancy and tenderness that will seep into your heart. Kimberly is her favorite person in the world, because shes the only person who frankly likes being around her and does more than tolerate her. You know, when your hands are on your hips, then your arms are akimbo. Shop with confidence thanks to the Vivid Seats 100% Buyer Guarantee. The performance is a pleasant blend of optimistic and worldly. Buying tickets to see Kimberly Akimbo is easy, fast, and . Audiences from 4 to 104 will be moved by Kim's story of finding one's people and making the most of life while one has it. What's akimbo? Buddy, meanwhile, is a foolish drunk who leaves his daughter, biologically a senior citizen, sitting on a bench in the snow for three hours. It's good enough, in fact, that you wish it had been just a little bit better. 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.. 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. (In a neat parent-child reversal, Kimberly must feed her.) Buddy strongly refuses and drives away. At the center of David Lindsay-Abaire's Kimberly Akimbo is Kimberly Levaco, a 16-year-old girl whose body thinks she's 72. And that enables so much in terms of imagination and promise. (The bookworm. This is a typical Broadway musical length, though musicals can run anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours. The show tells the story of a lonely teenage girl, Kimberly Levaco, who suffers from a condition similar to progeria that causes her to age rapidly, thereby giving her the appearance of an elderly woman, and how, according to . "Theater to See in L.A. Kimberly is now an ordinary teenage trapped in a much older person's body, and only through song can she escape to be truly free. When the show premiered Off Broadway last winter at Atlantic Theater Company, Jesse Green, the chief theater critic for The New York Times, called it a funny and moving new musical. Led by the producer David Stone (no relation to the director), the show sold out its run, and a Broadway transfer was quickly announced. Kimberly the musical and the character have a strong underdog appeal and a warmth that keeps the audience firmly on its side. The skill that Vicki brings to the process of exploration cant be created in Justin. Thank you, Stone said, as Tesori returned to her seat in the basement lounge of the Broadway theater. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes. 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. In a household filled with impulsive, appetitive childishness, Kimberly, who has to feed Pattie her morning cereal because both her arms are in casts, is the adult by default. And yet her aging condition may be the. 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. It's good. 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. UMich grad. As the past and the present interpenetrate in Clarks performance, you may feel, as I did, the themes of Kimberly Akimbo recombining to achieve an even sharper focus. David Lindsay-Abaire, Jeanine Tesori and Jessica Stone on the Kimberly Akimbo set. Played with a nicely unforced ease by the veteran Marylouise Burke, Kimberly is still going through adolescence emotionally, even though she looks to be in her 60s. David Lindsay-Abaire, Jeanine Tesori and Jessica Stone on the Kimberly Akimbo set.CreditVictor Llorente for The New York Times. 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. How to Buy Tickets for Kimberly Akimbo. It will be one of the hottest tickets in town. The dark absurdist . Because I think sometimes because musicals have artifice, they can seem artificial. 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. Kimberly Akimbo. Tony winner Victoria Clark stars as a teenager with a rare rapid-aging disease in 'Kimberly Akimbo,' David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori's poignant comedy about adolescent outsiders grasping life. That relationship isnt between Kimberly and any of her dysfunctional family members, vividly portrayed by Steven Boyer, Alli Mauzey and a scene-stealing Bonnie Milligan as the larcenous aunt respectively, but rather with her nerdy classmate Seth. 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. I think Kimberly Akimbo could be a musical. But these are really minor complaints about a show that gets so many major things so right. 8 p.m., Sun. Victoria Clark stars in a playful yet powerful musical about a girl who is aging too fast among adults who behave like children. "Kimberly Akimbo," presented by Moxie Theatre at the Lyceum Space, Horton Plaza, 79 Broadway Circle, San Diego. Seth: A high school geek who's into anagrams and playing the tuba. Born with a fatal aging disorder akin to progeria, Kimberly Levaco (Victoria Clark) is a 15-year-old girl whose body resembles that of a woman well into her 70s. Lindsay-Abaire is an award-winning writer whose work includes plays and musicals and subject matters both serious and comic. Youll have to keep reminding yourself that Im not here anymore. To that end, Milligan has seen a bit of a shift in recent years on Broadway, alluding to shows like Hadestown and Some Like It Hot, which have featured actors with plus-size bodies in principal roles. 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. Im older than these two. Im gonna die, Kim. Nothing better., Isnt that enough? Tesori responded. Its far from a tragedy, though, thanks in part to the quirky characters: Kimberlys pregnant mother is a hypochondriac; her best friend, Seth, loves anagrams and plays the tuba; and her aunt is trying to persuade her to commit some white-collar crimes. It's still funny. STONE Were all parents. Victoria Clark as Kimberly, who appears to be in her 60s though. But theres also this sense, like, weve been through some [expletive]. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings (the musical is set in 1999, so the movies hadnt turned Tolkien cool yet) and is a genius with anagram word puzzles. Set in the wilds of suburban New Jersey, Kimberly Akimbo is a hilarious and heartrending play about a teenager with a rare condition causing her body to age faster than it should. By making it a musical, we had a way into the characters that the play did not have. Prepare to Fall in Love! No matter how much life wants to sideline them, they insist on having the spotlight, and even the sequins. 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. Get Kimberly Akimbo tickets now on New York Theatre Guide. 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. And I also got the chance to put all of my high school friends up onstage. Victoria Clark, left, as Kimberly and Justin Cooley as Seth in David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesoris musical Kimberly Akimbo at the Booth Theater in Manhattan. Their classmates may have chosen scurvy and fasciolosis, but what they really suffer from is a bad case of adolescence, she sings. Those four kids in the show choir were not in the play. To see an old hand like Clark make sparks with a newcomer like Cooley is to feel how quickly the world spins forward. Kimberly Akimbo Review: Whats an Anagram for Wonderful? 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. They also thought it was really moving. Copyright 2023 New York Stage Review All Rights Reserved. But the hope is just to have a career. So the fact that shes in his orbit, this beautiful, innocent, youthful presence also washes over her. For the complete performance schedule and show times, please visit the Kimberly Akimbo page. Someone who sang like a record and ran and twirled in the mountains.. 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. TESORI Its part of being of a certain age, and what we have all experienced at this age. And seldom does that happen with a musical.. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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 new musical, with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, will start previews on Oct. 12, ahead of a Nov. 10 opening. Home | Kimberly Akimbo Monologue (Pattie), A monologue from the play by David Lindsay-Abaire. If it still doesnt, well, this is a nerdical, after all. 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. Kimberly Akimbo is the rare example of a good play that has become an even better musical, our critic writes. Later on, Kimberly calls Seth and agrees to meet at the library later for the interview, as he is learning about progeria. 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. Kim is a bright and funny Jersey teen, who happens to look like a 72-year-old lady, and yet, her aging disease may be the least of her problems. . 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. www.ovationtix.com. I'm sorry I forgot, honey. Kimberly Akimbo has become one of the top acts in the 2023 Musical world, delighting fans with a one-of-a-kind show. Kimberly Akimbo Faux Candy Logo Necklace. 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. Jessica, how did you direct Victoria Clark, who is 63, and Justin Cooley, who plays her boyfriend, Seth, whos now 19? 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. Kimberly Akimbo plays eight performances a week at the Booth Theatre, with performances usually scheduled every day except Monday. Those classmates (charmingly played by Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan II, Nina White and Michael Iskander) are the most obvious addition to the musical, having been invented to provide social context, a singing ensemble and broader humor. CUSTOMER SERVICE. The Tony Awards Administration Committee met for the first time during the 2022-2023 Broadway season on January 31 to discuss eligibility of 20 productions for the 76th Annual Tony Awards in 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. Jeanine Tesori composed the music for the Kimberly Akimbo musical. 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. Her best song the shows best, actually is Anagram in which she starts to fall for Seth as he rearranges the letters of her name into a new phrase. So at almost 16 (her birthday is coming up) she looks like a lady in her early 70's. TESORI [laughs] Its exposition, which is generally not great for a song. When I read the play, I saw love. Less convincingly, Lindsay-Abaire ties them into the story as accomplices in Aunt Debras check-forging scheme; they hope to raise enough cash to buy spangly costumes for a show choir competition. Bonnie Milligan, center, as Kimberlys scheming aunt, with, from left: Olivia Elease Hardy (foreground), Michael Iskander, Clark, Cooley and Nina White. But I feel messed up just enough to be the writer and be the person that I am. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. Both actors are good sports, but not for a single second do we sympathize with their flat characters. What I probably didnt know at the time was that I was also writing about my family in many ways, and things that I was afraid of and angry about. Before you step back into the '90s with Kimberly and the gang, learn more about the show's cast, history, and production information. The whole dynamics between parents and teenagers that I was sort of making up 20 years ago, now I know it deeply and personally. MONOLOGUE BANK From: The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry EDNA: The hills are alive with the sound of music was the first best movie I ever saw and the first best music I ever heard. Let us be thriving, let us be attractive, let us be fully formed people because we are in the world.. and her teenaged daughter, Kimberly, who has a disease that causes premature aging. Kimberly Akimbo runs through October 20. 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.. I would love to see us shift more, of course, and maybe cast a plus-size person as a romantic lead. Nobody. 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. Victoria Clark. Get tickets to Kimberly Akimbo on New York Theatre Guide today. The songs in the Kimberly Akimbo musical are by David Lindsay-Abaire, who wrote the lyrics, and Jeanine Tesori, who wrote the music. 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. 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. 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