February 25, 2022. And our friends have been through some [expletive], and weve lost people. 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. NEW YORK Like butterscotch sauce and the 1967 Mustang, "Kimberly . 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. Jeff wants to do his science paper on Kimberly's disease. . 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. Enter Kims Aunt Debra (Milligan), a street-smart grifter who, much like the Artful Dodger of Oliver Twist, recruits her niece into an illicit, moneymaking scheme that could help her and her classmates fulfill their dreams that is, if no one gets caught. November 10, 2022 at 10:00 p.m. EST. David Lindsay-Abaire, Jeanine Tesori and Jessica Stone on the Kimberly Akimbo set.CreditVictor Llorente for The New York Times. 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. Id see a sale at the supermarket and think, Oh Ma should get down there for those pork chops. And then Id remember, Oh yeah, shes dead.. Kimberly Akimbohas arrived on Broadway, where it opened to unanimous rave reviews. 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. 2003 Off-Broadway premiere (play): Burke, who starred in the 2001 premiere, reprises her role as Kimberly in the play's Off-Broadway debut at Manhattan Theatre Club. Disclaimer: Some of the articles on Mighty Actor include affiliate links to sites like Amazon, Skillshare, and others. Yes, composer Jeanine Tesori and book-writer David Lindsay-Abaires musical at the Booth Theatre is a smidge too wacky for its own good. 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. Tesoris other well-known musicals include Caroline, or Change, Violet, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. But these are really minor complaints about a show that gets so many major things so right. Performances will now run on extension through January 15, 2022, instead of the previously announced January 2. Seth: A high school geek who's into anagrams and playing the tuba. Two hours and 30 minutes at the Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th Street. No matter how much life wants to sideline them, they insist on having the spotlight, and even the sequins. By turns, it can be profoundly funny or deeply moving. Kimberly Akimbo is a play written in 2000 by David Lindsay-Abaire. The Off-Broadway and Broadway stagings of Kimberly Akimbo are the major productions thus far, but the play has had additional major productions. Victoria Clark, who plays the lead . TESORI I feel it in my body when something sings, I cant put it into words. . Part of HuffPost Entertainment. 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. He connects with Kim on a school science project and, eventually, they grow close on a more personal level. As portrayed by Milligan, however, the scene-stealing character becomes the kind of brassy antihero Bette Midler might have played in her prime. 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. Thats no surprise; Clark, 62, is one of our great singing actors, situating herself exactly where the two impossible arts intersect. The seasons most moving new musical earns its place among the behemoths of Broadway. 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. We were talking about The Rain in Spain [from My Fair Lady], but its about check washing. Forced to maneuver family secrets, borderline. Kimberly AkimboAt the Booth Theater, Manhattan; kimberlyakimbothemusical.com. . Victoria Clark. Akimbo can be a puzzle of a musical, but, like a clever anagram, you smile when it all comes together in the end. Anyone can read what you share. Both actors are good sports, but not for a single second do we sympathize with their flat characters. 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. David, what were the instincts that led you to write Kimberly Akimbo 20 years ago? And theyre not. 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. 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. 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.. (As the producer of musicals like Next to Normal and If/Then, Stone is no stranger to an out-of-the-box concept.) Her aunt Debra is a serial scammer who pulls Kim and her classmates into her schemes. Thank you Nicolosi! Prepare to Fall in Love! But then I thought, Oh, if we make it really sort of furtive, and its got a little bit of a muted guitar thing, and its sort of like Peggy Lee, but maybe on a very, very off day Its having it be fun, so that she can convince the teens to be part of it. Home | Kimberly Akimbo Monologue (Pattie), A monologue from the play by David Lindsay-Abaire. So at almost 16 (her birthday is coming up) she looks like a lady in her early 70's. I understand much more acutely the fear of losing a child. 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. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. 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.. 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 . Corey Regensburg, a recent graduate of the University of the Arts . Kimberly Akimbo Unisex Perspective Raglan. Bonnie Milligan, center, as Kimberlys scheming aunt, with, from left: Olivia Elease Hardy (foreground), Michael Iskander, Clark, Cooley and Nina White. Im older than these two. The Kimberly Akimbo musical features a book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, who adapted his 2001 play of the same name. 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. What is surprising is that Kimberly Akimbo, based on the 2000 play of the same name by David Lindsay-Abaire, manages a similar feat. I wasnt convinced by them Off Broadway. In its quieter moments, Kimberly Akimbo displays a poignancy and tenderness that will seep into your heart. At the center of David Lindsay-Abaire's Kimberly Akimbo is Kimberly Levaco, a 16-year-old girl whose body thinks she's 72. I often missed the grounded power of the writers excellent play, Good People.. And we all have been close observers to adolescents. 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. We've received your submission. NINA WHITE (Teresa) is thrilled to be making her Broadway debut in Kimberly Akimbo after originating her role off-Broadway. Im now the father of teenage boys, and I just had access to the parents in a way that I didnt have when I wrote it. 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. And they messed me up just enough for this play to be what it is. Good luck with that. The mounting insanity almost becomes too much. 15, 2022. Kim wants to act like a regular teenager and for her parents to behave like responsible adults. So the two of them give each other really beautiful gifts. LINDSAY-ABAIRE Its a teaching song. I'm sorry I forgot, honey. Its that quality, more than her appearance, that makes Kimberly something of an outcast at school. "A zany, disturbing and strangely affecting comedy. Discover a full timeline of the show's history below. Some, like Fun Home, Dear Evan Hansen and The Bands Visit, win top Tony Awards; A Strange Loop even won the Pulitzer Prize. The skill that Vicki brings to the process of exploration cant be created in Justin. And what intelligent acting it is, drawing on everything she knows. And that enables so much in terms of imagination and promise. It causes children to age rapidly, starting in their first two years of life. If you continue to use the site, your agreement will result in cookies being set. One of the most effective moments features her dressed up as a grandmother (again, dont ask), making clear in visual terms the illness that will end her life prematurely. 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. (The bookworm. Kim boldly decides to live every day like its her last. They love Debra [Kimberlys aunt, played by Bonnie Milligan], because they love a rule breaker. 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. 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.. All the jokes work that way. 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. 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