The show's title comes from an anagram Seth creates of Kim's name, which is "cleverly akimbo.". This Week, Including a Solo Show About Polka. I had to hope and pray that it would come back, she recalled, because something about this material felt like it was mine.. ", 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. No one gets a second time around, they sing in the finale (though Kimberly Akimbo fortunately did). 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. Lindsay-Abaire is also an avid anagram creator and solver in real life. 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. I think Kimberly Akimbo could be a musical. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . Don't miss a beat. The Seagull: Not Your Great-Great-Great-Grandmothers Chekhov, The Seagull/Woodstock, NY: The Chekhov Updating You Didnt Need, Letters From Max, a ritual: A Playwright and Poet Open Their Hearts, Letters From Max, a ritual: Intimate Teacher-Student Work, The Sign in Sidney Brusteins Window: Lorraine Hansberrys Largely Forgotten Play Shows Signs of Life, A Bright New Boise:Hunters First Play in off-Broadway Premiere, Endgame: A Fine-Tuned Production of Becketts Favorite Play, Kimberly Akimbo: The Sweet Musical Treat We Need Right Now, Leopoldstadt: Stoppard Examines His Roots, in Extraordinary Fashion. 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. All the jokes work that way. And theyre not. (Possibly this one: sublime cast = best musical.) They were really intrigued by the relationship between Kim and Seth, not because its a traditional love story. Kimberly Akimbo officially opened on Broadway on November 10, 2022. 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. A little odd. I did my grandmother's and she got Arabian Beard., I'm fine., Where have you been? 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. A high-school student, Kimberly, crushes on the tuba-playing, Elvish-speaking Seth, and the two nerdy adolescents express their affection by making word scrambles. But they really responded to that deep friendship. Kimberly Akimbo plays eight performances a week at the Booth Theatre, with performances usually scheduled every day except Monday. Ana Gasteyer. 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. Her mother, Pattie (Alli Mauzey), is ludicrously hypochondriacal, as if atoning for the chromosomal accident that produced her quick-aging child. Shes not maliciously trying to hurt people, but she will because she needs to survive. Kimberly Akimbo runs through October 20. What's akimbo? Kim is a bright and funny Jersey teen, who happens to look like a 72-year-old lady. 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. And he said, I just want you to know that Im going to go out and live life more fully tomorrow. My eyes welled up and then he was gone into the night. Do you imagine this as the kind of show that parents can take their teens to? They love Debra [Kimberlys aunt, played by Bonnie Milligan], because they love a rule breaker. The cute new musical Kimberly Akimbo, which opened Thursday night on Broadway, piles on weirdness with a dump truck. And if youre lucky, youre able to bring both of those things to an audience so they can recognize it. And I like how funny it is.. Lindsay-Abaires lyrics are frequently very funny, if too often resorting to a broadness that sacrifices pathos for cheap laughs. Kimberly Akimbo Tickets. These are edited excerpts from the discussion. 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. Someone who sang like a record and ran and twirled in the mountains.. 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. First theres the main character, Kimberly (Victoria Clark), who is 16 but suffers from a rare unnamed condition that makes her age at an accelerated rate. The whole dynamics between parents and teenagers that I was sort of making up 20 years ago, now I know it deeply and personally. Forced to maneuver family secrets, borderline. Or do you remember when Cinnamon died, and we still kept going to put the table scraps into his dog bowl? Anyone can read what you share. $25. November 10, 2022 at 10:00 p.m. EST. Jeff wants to do his science paper on Kimberly's disease. And in the basement, Aunt Debra (Bonnie Milligan), a grifter with big attitude and little conscience, is concocting a check-forging scheme. This light but mildly provocative comedy has interesting three-dimensional characters and witty dialogue. 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. 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. I dont need to be famous, but I just love to work. 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.. I have a very big family and I know a lot of complicated people who have done some complicated things and who, in their minds, are doing their best, Milligan told HuffPost. Thats upbeat Kimberly, as usual trying to make the best of lifes bad situation. [6], Kimberly Akimbo ran from January 21, 2005 through March 6, 2005 at TheaterWorks in Hartford, Connecticut, directed by Rob Ruggiero. Cadence Theatre Company in partnership with Barksdale's Theatre Gym is pleased to present Kimberly Akimbo at Barksdale's Theatre Gym October 13-November 2, 2011.This hilarious black comedy will feature Richard Koch (Buddy), Matthew Mitchell (Jeff), Jill Bari Steinberg (Debra), Debra Wagoner (Pattie) and Irene Ziegler (Kimberly), and is directed by Anna Johnson. Drama Desk Awards: The musical won Outstanding Musical and was nominated for eight additional awards for performance, writing, direction, and design. 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. And our friends have been through some [expletive], and weve lost people. When I read the play, I saw love. Thats how its gonna be when Im gone. She received two acting awards nominations, and, 2008: Lindsay-Abaire and Tesori collaborate for the first time, on. Whats apparent in Kimberly Akimbo is that she can also write inerrantly for any kind of show. The play didnt have monologues for Kimberly, but it did have monologues for her parents. Kimberly Akimbo is the rare example of a good play that has become an even better musical. It is like dumping a bunch of puzzle pieces onto the table, he said. There is nothing in quotation marks about her teenage mannerisms, or embarrassing about seeing her, at 63, wear the spot-on embroidered jumpers and colorful hair clips Sarah Laux has costumed her in. 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. (For further proof, see Caroline, or Change, now on Broadway.) Monologue from Kimberly Akimbo YouTube April 1st, 2018 - Monologue from Kimberly Akimbo thechocolatechipcookie Loading Kimberly Akimbo monologue Duration 1 02 Timothy Regan 553 views 1 02 Kimberly Akimbo is Comedy but Not Farce November 1st, 2015 - EBSCOhost serves thousands of libraries with premium essays articles and other content including . 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. [1] [2] Its title character is a lonely teenage girl suffering from a disease similar to progeria, that causes her to age four and a half times as fast as normal, thus trapping her inside the frail physical body of an elderly woman. The staging shares the same DNA as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Ride the Cyclone. David Zinns house-and-school set, however, does feel a little slight for even the intimate Booth. Kimberly: An outcast 16-year-old grappling with an aging disease that makes her look like shes in her 70s. The show is mostly monologues. He connects with Kim on a school science project and, eventually, they grow close on a more personal level. The initial premise is less Act 1 of Dear Evan Hanson and more Season 5 of Greys Anatomy.. Directed by David Petrarca, the cast starred Marylouise Burke as Kimberly. But the hope is just to have a career. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Thats the dream.. NEW YORK Like butterscotch sauce and the 1967 Mustang, "Kimberly . Here are all the major productions of the Kimberly Akimbo play and musical. In the opening moment of Kimberly Akimbo, a misfit New Jersey teenager waiting for a ride home stretches her candy choker into her mouth and chomps down on it. Still, as this allows them to provide backup for Milligans barn-burning numbers, I wont complain. / Getting older is your cure.. Thank you, Stone said, as Tesori returned to her seat in the basement lounge of the Broadway theater. 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.. 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. Those four kids in the show choir were not in the play. "A zany, disturbing and strangely affecting comedy. So paired with Tesoris peppy, jingle-like, adequate score is a heap of sadness. How odd and enlightening that, now 17 years older, Clark is playing a version of that child herself. Kimberly Akimbo tickets are available now. 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 Akimbo is a play written in 2000 by David Lindsay-Abaire. Discover a full timeline of the show's history below. Clark, better known for playing grandiose characters who arent teenagers in plaid shirts, radiates compassion in the part. STONE My kids, 13 and 15, were here, and they loved it. . 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. A old woman sit sie 'ring. Tickets and information: atlantictheater.org. For the complete performance schedule and show times, please visit the Kimberly Akimbo page. I'm sorry I forgot, honey. The off the wall parents and aunt who make up Kimberly's emotionally shipwrecked family are somewhat easier to replace. A terrific New York debut by the 18-year-old Justin Cooley. Healthy enough to write, damaged enough to want to write. This musical adaptation of the same-named David Lindsay-Abaire play, with music by Jeanine Tesori, premiered off Broadway in 2021 and has made the move to Broadway. Its just animal instinct taking over., She went on to note: Shes also a charismatic person that you want to be around. As its star demands, too. 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. STONE: It actually is thrilling because you have two people on opposite ends of the spectrum. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. (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. It's good. 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. The two previously took on the same creative roles on Shrek the Musical, which began performances on Broadway in 2008. In any case, its the plot. Pattie: Kims mom, a pregnant hypochondriac who tends to overlook her daughter. They include teenagers who are high school students as well as members of her family. As portrayed by Milligan, however, the scene-stealing character becomes the kind of brassy antihero Bette Midler might have played in her prime. Victoria Clark as Kimberly, who appears to be in her 60s though. Pure enjoyability. 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. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes. How to Buy Tickets for Kimberly Akimbo. What's the matter? This time around, good work is done . It's a bit of youthful happiness unlike any other." Associated Press. This website uses cookies. Nothing should stop the How of the play KIMBERLY AKIMBO ACT ONE Scene 1 A bs of eld wind, unde of winter wind hurling, maybe Lights come upon a bench ouside. Kimberly Akimbohas arrived on Broadway, where it opened to unanimous rave reviews. Anyone can read what you share. 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. Regular price $35.00. The play was initially produced at the South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California, from April 13 to May 13, 2001. and her teenaged daughter, Kimberly, who has a disease that causes premature aging. Kimberly Akimbo Faux Candy Logo Necklace. Their classmates may have chosen scurvy and fasciolosis, but what they really suffer from is a bad case of adolescence, she sings. The theatre is located at 222 W 45nd St. between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Quick View. 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. 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. Life is short, and for a girl whos growing older around 4.5 times faster than the normal rate, every day is a reminder of that hard reality. But I feel messed up just enough to be the writer and be the person that I am. Kimberly Akimbo Unisex Perspective Raglan. (As the producer of musicals like Next to Normal and If/Then, Stone is no stranger to an out-of-the-box concept.) Kimberly Akimbo is now playing at New Yorks Booth Theatre. Im gonna die, Kim. Each of these subjects produces a wonderfully unexpected song that forwards the plot while deepening the characterizations. Alexander Reeves, Jeff Monologue (Kimberly Akimbo) - YouTube From: Kimberly AkimboBy: David Lindsay-Abaire From: Kimberly AkimboBy: David Lindsay-Abaire AboutPressCopyrightContact. Two hours and 30 minutes at the Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th Street. 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. Doesnt that say everything?. The good son, he sings. 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). Victoria Clark (Kimberly), Justin Cooley (Seth), and Stephen Boyer (Buddy) in the Atlantic Theater Company production of . Kimberly AkimboThrough Jan. 2 at the Linda Gross Theater, Manhattan; atlantictheater.org. 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. Your culture and entertainment cheat-sheet. 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. Body diversity isnt something that weve always talked about, but I think [Broadway producers] are realizing the importance of audiences seeing themselves on the stage in a pleasant light as opposed to someone who is seen as unattractive. A bit unorthodox., And when students present science projects on ailments of their choosing in a hilarious ensemble number called Our Disease, Kimberly veers from the script she and Seth wrote about hers. They come across as being the same age. Kimberly Akimbo: Dec. 8Jan. The seasons most moving new musical earns its place among the behemoths of Broadway. STONE Were all parents. The musical . 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. And seldom does that happen with a musical.. Kim boldly decides to live every day like its her last. Pattie is convinced shes going to die soon, and is here breaking the news to her sister, Debra. Victoria Clark and Justin Cooley in 'Kimberly Akimbo.' (Photo: Ahron R. Foster) "Kimberly Akimbo" will transfer to Broadway this fall. 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. Aside from providing B-story contrast, they underline a theme I hadnt really noticed before: the gumption of outcasts. I feel like I need to do at least one Hallmark Christmas movie in my life, she quipped. Victoria Clark, who plays the lead . I think the cancers spread to my memory cells. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Thanks for contacting us. 8 p.m., Sun. Thats no surprise; Clark, 62, is one of our great singing actors, situating herself exactly where the two impossible arts intersect. Review: Kimberly Akimbo, Both Great and Small, Seizes the Day, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/theater/kimberly-akimbo-review.html. And dont let its pure enjoyability mislead you into thinking its not a tragicomedy. Kimberly Akimbo is the rare example of a good play that has become an even better musical, our critic writes. The hodgepodge of elements is a lot for director Jessica Stone to fuse together, but she succeeds by latching onto a show-choir vibe. Cooley, by the way, is a gifted comedic actor who nails every punchline. "Kimberly Akimbo" is directed by SMCT regular cast member Lynda Mondragon. CUSTOMER SERVICE. And these characters, they reminded me of people I grew up with, they reminded me of people in my family and not always people who are center stage, especially in a musical.
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