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 . It's good enough, in fact, that you wish it had been just a little bit better. He is currently a New York correspondent and arts writer for The Hollywood Reporter. His writing has appeared in such publications as the New York Daily News, Playbill, Backstage, and various national and international newspapers. $101.50$131.50. For the creative team behind Kimberly Akimbo, the chaotic energy of this morning fit the musical itself, whose concept seems on the page, at least too off-kilter for a shiny Broadway marquee. 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. Home | Kimberly Akimbo Monologue (Pattie), A monologue from the play by David Lindsay-Abaire. 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. Debra: Kims aunt, a street-smart schemer who is always on the lookout for another illicit scheme and pawns to use to her advantage. So the fact that shes in his orbit, this beautiful, innocent, youthful presence also washes over her. 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. 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. This time around, good work is done . To see an old hand like Clark make sparks with a newcomer like Cooley is to feel how quickly the world spins forward. Yet watching the show again, I focused as much on Lindsay-Abaires lyrics, which retain the natural shape of expert dialogue quirky, characterful and sometimes even leggy without distorting the song forms or turning everything into operetta. Choreographed by Danny Mefford. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. . They come across as being the same age. Forced to maneuver family secrets, borderline. "I was bowled over by the singular theatricality of David Lindsay-Abaire's KIMBERLY 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. By turns, it can be profoundly funny or deeply moving. 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. I think Kimberly Akimbo could be a musical. Background from left: Bonnie Milligan, Nina White, Michael Iskander, Olivia Elease Hardy and Fernell Hogan II. The character of Seth was named Jeff in the. 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. STONE: It actually is thrilling because you have two people on opposite ends of the spectrum. 44 views 19K views 6 years ago Liza Minnelli, the one. Its not about a disease at all, unless its the one we all have: We grow up too slowly and then suddenly too fast. [Tesori pats Lindsay-Abaires arm, remarking, Wow.] I dont feel messed up by them. 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. Thats how it was when your Nana died. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Which is not to say she or it is a downer. I feel like I need to do at least one Hallmark Christmas movie in my life, she quipped. How They Assembled the Kimberly Akimbo Puzzle, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/26/theater/kimberly-akimbo-broadway.html. (For further proof, see Caroline, or Change, now on Broadway.) 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. 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. Each is beautifully portrayed in songs that give the actors a chance to shine. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Rabbit Hole, a drama about a grief-stricken family that opened on Broadway in 2006. The performance is a pleasant blend of optimistic and worldly. Kimberly Akimbo: Dec. 8Jan. You would think that Kimberlys dramatic health issues would provide more than enough fodder for the evening, which makes it puzzling that Lindsay-Abaire felt the need to pile on so many contrived plot elements. It's good. Quick View. 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. Cooley and Clark reveal a surprisingly meaningful and lively connection that makes us root for them, even though their future is impossible. 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. . 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. Kimberly Akimbo is a play written in 2000 by David Lindsay-Abaire. 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. We're very sorry, but we had a problem canceling your order. (The bookworm. He compensates by agreeing to take her to a burger joint for some food, where they meet Seth, the nerdy kid behind the window, who asks if Kim can do an interview for his project. She brings Kimberly to life so believably and gorgeously. How to Buy Tickets for Kimberly Akimbo. "Kimberly Akimbo," presented by Moxie Theatre at the Lyceum Space, Horton Plaza, 79 Broadway Circle, San Diego. Carolyn Hayes Harmer, Encore Michigan. She was reeling from the premature closing of Head Over Heels when she first learned of Kimberly Akimbo, ahead of its premiere staging off-Broadway, in early 2020. As is often the case, Tesoris music is technically very proficient but not quite memorable, with none of the songs, at least upon a first hearing, quite managing to stick in ones memory. Thanks for contacting us. Youll miss me, too. The two previously took on the same creative roles on Shrek the Musical, which began performances on Broadway in 2008. She makes friends with the Gleeky show choir, who all have secret crushes on each other. I kept forgetting she was dead. 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 . Review: Kimberly Akimbo, Both Great and Small, Seizes the Day, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/theater/kimberly-akimbo-review.html. But I also wanted to explore mortality and what it means to truly live in the moment. While never rapturous, Akimbo is always enjoyable and ultimately touching. The lights go up on Kimberly sitting and waiting for her father, who is late picking her up because of his drinking. Stone, Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire gathered to discuss their process on the first day of previews. 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. Buy Kimberly Akimbo Tickets & View the Schedule at Box Office Ticket Sales! As its star demands, too. To my family and dearest loved ones, this is for you from the bottom of my heart! By turns, it can be profoundly funny or deeply moving. Disclaimer: Some of the articles on Mighty Actor include affiliate links to sites like Amazon, Skillshare, and others. 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. Tesori is a composer who won a 2015 Tony Award for the musical Fun Home, a family drama based on Alison Bechdel's memoir. Bonnie Milligan, center, as Kimberlys scheming aunt, with, from left: Olivia Elease Hardy (foreground), Michael Iskander, Clark, Cooley and Nina White. Something different has happened to David Lindsay-Abaire's play "Kimberly Akimbo" on its way to becoming a new musical, which opened Wednesday at the Atlantic Theater Company. 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. Kimberly AkimboAt the Booth Theater, Manhattan; kimberlyakimbothemusical.com. 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. The upside is that it draws her to the ber-nerd, Seth, played in a terrific New York debut by the 18-year-old Justin Cooley. 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. The dark absurdist . Kim wants to act like a regular teenager and for her parents to behave like responsible adults. Photo credit: Kimberly Akimbo (Photos by Joan Marcus). So, she appears to be a woman in her mid-sixties and also deals with the health issues of one. KIMBERLY AKIMBO is at once a shrewd satire, a black comedy and a heartbreaking study of how time wounds everyone." NY Times. 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. Wed.-Sat. Kimberly Akimbo runs 2 hours and 20 minutes, including one intermission. Kimberly the musical and the character have a strong underdog appeal and a warmth that keeps the audience firmly on its side. Thank you Nicolosi! Victoria Clark. And Vivid Seats will help get you there. 15, 2022. Kimberly Akimbo is a coming of age story with a bittersweet twist. 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. In any case, its the plot. 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.. Father Buddy (Steven Boyer) struggles to control his drink and his temper; moony mother Pattie . Victoria Clark and Justin Cooley in 'Kimberly Akimbo.' (Photo: Ahron R. Foster) "Kimberly Akimbo" will transfer to Broadway this fall. Yes, composer Jeanine Tesori and book-writer David Lindsay-Abaires musical at the Booth Theatre is a smidge too wacky for its own good. Under the too strenuous direction of Jessica Stone, the talented cast filled does their best to bring humanity to the proceedings. Kimberly Akimbo is already the rare example of a good play that has become an even better musical. Being a former good kid and, like Seth, an aficionado of the puzzleistic arts I began to see the character and the show in anagrammatic terms. 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. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes. One day hes bringing me cabbages from his garden, the next day he drops dead. It opens with a woman waiting on a bench, shivering from cold. And so I wanted to write an amazing part for a great actor. 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. That adds a little bit to the glaze of authenticity, and a little understanding of the behavior, needs and pitfalls. Or do you remember when Cinnamon died, and we still kept going to put the table scraps into his dog bowl? 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. Kimberly Akimbo runs through October 20. Broadway reliably churns out several tourist-bait extravaganzas a year, the kind that feature sequins, singalongs and profits. Jessica, how did you direct Victoria Clark, who is 63, and Justin Cooley, who plays her boyfriend, Seth, whos now 19? TAGS Actors +. The cast also included John Gallagher, Jr. and Ana Gasteyer. Music by Jeanine Tesori. Kimberlys aging disorder is unnamed but is like progeria, an extremely rare, progressive genetic disorder. 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. 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. 2 p.m. Dec. 3-24. And yet her aging disease may be the least of her problems. Victoria Clark, center, as Kimberly with Alli Mauzey, foreground left, and Steven Boyer, foreground right, who play her parents. 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. 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. 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. Full cast album coming soon! Performances will now run on extension through January 15, 2022, instead of the previously announced January 2. What is surprising is that Kimberly Akimbo, based on the 2000 play of the same name by David Lindsay-Abaire, manages a similar feat. It will be one of the hottest tickets in town. Kimberly Akimbo is at the Booth Theatre. 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. The Kimberly Akimbo musical had its world premiere off Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company in 2021, 20 years after the Kimberly Akimbo play premiered. The toilets wouldnt stop flushing. JEANINE TESORI I dont know if you can open that door. Boyer and Mauzey seem ill at ease with their unlikeable characters, and Milligan tears into the aunts vulgarity with such hilarious comic gusto she regularly brings down the house. (Kimberly continues to clear the table.) And what intelligent acting it is, drawing on everything she knows. Kimberly Akimbo Unisex Perspective Raglan. 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.. The focus and intimacy of that partnership, he said, made the musical the easiest thing Ive ever written., He compares writing a musical to working on a puzzle. [8] It was critically acclaimed, and won Best Musical prizes at the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, and Outer Critics Circle Awards. Her father, Buddy, drinks to distraction, while her pregnant mother, Pattie, imagines shes got every medical malady in the book. They love Debra [Kimberlys aunt, played by Bonnie Milligan], because they love a rule breaker. She lives in New Jersey with her dad (who's always drunk), her pregnant mom . 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. No matter how much life wants to sideline them, they insist on having the spotlight, and even the sequins. Healthy enough to write, damaged enough to want to write. The cast of the Broadway premiere of the Kimberly Akimbo musical includes the same actors who were in the Off-Broadway presentation. Good luck with that. Hovering midway between parody and homage, this modernist rendering of a justifiable classic proves neither illuminating nor much fun. Discover a full timeline of the show's history below. . Tesori stood up, muttering, I have to close that door myself. Which prompted Stone to bend over in laughter. The oldest and first dedicated online New York Theater Guide Read news on over 150 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. But Milligans road back to Broadway was marked with setbacks that could have discouraged a less tenacious artist. Indeed, in her Kimberly I thought I sensed an inversion of her Margaret in The Light in the Piazza, a woman whose daughter, because of a physical condition, would never be much more than a child. When she and her family flee Secaucus under dubious circumstances, Kimberly is forced to reevaluate her . 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. Mature inside and outside, Kimberly is de facto caregiver for her dysfunctional New Jersey clan. Its just animal instinct taking over., She went on to note: Shes also a charismatic person that you want to be around. So the two of them give each other really beautiful gifts. What's the matter? 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. Drama Desk Awards: The musical won Outstanding Musical and was nominated for eight additional awards for performance, writing, direction, and design. The off the wall parents and aunt who make up Kimberly's emotionally shipwrecked family are somewhat easier to replace. 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. 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 a perfect start to this funny-sad musical treat by composer Jeanine Tesori and writer and lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire, based on his play. Let us be thriving, let us be attractive, let us be fully formed people because we are in the world.. Because I think sometimes because musicals have artifice, they can seem artificial. It is on theme, Lindsay-Abaire said. And of course I focused you cant help it on Clark. Purchase tickets online 24 hours a day or by phone 1-800-515-2171. STONE My kids, 13 and 15, were here, and they loved it. 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. Their classmates may have chosen scurvy and fasciolosis, but what they really suffer from is a bad case of adolescence, she sings. Buddy: Kims dad, whose drinking undermines his well-meaning efforts to do his best for his daughter. 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. LINDSAY-ABAIRE During Shrek, I said to Jeanine, I would love to write a musical the way that I write a play, where it would just be us figuring it out for as long as we needed to figure it out. And then Jeanine said, Well, how about one of your plays? Outer Critics Circle Awards: In addition to Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical, 2001 world premiere (play): South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California hosted the world premiere of the acclaimed. Tickets and information: atlantictheater.org 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. Mom is pregnant, films loony confessional videos for her unborn child and prattles on about her unfulfilled dreams of becoming a Solid Gold dancer. TESORI Thats what makes you a storyteller. I think the cancers spread to my memory cells. 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. Copyright 2023 New York Stage Review All Rights Reserved. Jeff wants to do his science paper on Kimberly's disease. 2023 Tony Awards eligibility rulings (round 1): 'Kimberly Akimbo,' 'Into the Woods,' '1776' and a change in voting procedure by Sam Eckmann. 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. You can win free tickets from Vivid Seats. You get so used to someone being there, it takes your body a long time to adjust. STONE Were all parents. Kimberly Akimbo officially opened on Broadway on November 10, 2022. In the first, as Seth struggles to make an anagram of Kimberly Levaco, his strange stabs at solutions (My blacker olive! [4] The production received the LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Writing in 2001. Delia, Martin, Aaron, and Teresa: Kims fellow students, who get drawn into Debras moneymaking grift. Kim wants to act like a regular teenager and for her parents to behave like responsible adults. 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. 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. Directed by David Petrarca, the cast starred Marylouise Burke as Kimberly. Its an attribute the actor and singer has deliberately sought to highlight in her performances, perhaps in reaction to the challenges shes experienced as a plus-size woman in show business. Was creating the musical a way to create more interiority for her? But I feel messed up just enough to be the writer and be the person that I am. I wrote a part for her because she and now Vicki [Victoria Clark] have such an amazing young spirit about them, even though theyre actresses of a certain age. . Adolescent years are always a challenge, and that goes double, actually quadruple, for 16-year-old Kimberly in the hit musical Kimberly Akimbo. Kimberly Levaco becomes. Meet the artists HERE. Before you step back into the '90s with Kimberly and the gang, learn more about the show's cast, history, and production information. Victoria Clark as Kimberly in Broadway's "Kimberly Akimbo." (Joan Marcus) Article. Tony Award winner Jeanine Tesori & Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire's hit musical Kimberly Akimbo is making the jump to the Great White Way this season, and this website can help you find amazing tickets for any performance! At the center of David Lindsay-Abaire's Kimberly Akimbo is Kimberly Levaco, a 16-year-old girl whose body thinks she's 72. He connects with Kim on a school science project and, eventually, they grow close on a more personal level. What's an anagram for "hit musical"? It warms up the zaniness of the original without overshooting and making it normal. Instead of cowering as if embarrassed by the dimension music can bring to drama, it embraces the ability of song, even in tragicomedy, to extend emotion into bigger realms. The average life expectancy for a child with progeria is about 13 years. 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. (In a neat parent-child reversal, Kimberly must feed her.) NEW YORK Like butterscotch sauce and the 1967 Mustang, "Kimberly . Progeria affects about 1 in 20 million people around the world, according to reports. 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. The show's title comes from an anagram Seth creates of Kim's name, which is "cleverly akimbo.". 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. Theyve done everything, and they continue to live and work in all these different spaces., Honestly, Id love to keep my toe in everything, she added. Its good enough, in fact, that you wish it had been just a little bit better. 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. So thats how I approached Debra. 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. Clark, center, with Alli Mauzey, left, and Steven Boyer, who play Kimberlys self-involved parents. They also thought it was really moving. "Theater to See in L.A. 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. 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.. 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. LINDSAY-ABAIRE Its a teaching song. She has ie shat, tied atthe lace slag over her 'holder. The Jessica Stone-helmed production began Off-Broadway November 6. The 16-year-old title character in the fascinating new Broadway musical "Kimberly Akimbo" is forced to deal with juvenile parents, a crazy aunt a body aging four times as fast as normal kids. Kim boldly decides to live every day like its her last. November 10, 2022 at 10:00 p.m. EST. 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. That the musical in essence does the same for the rest of the characters is one of its most unusual qualities. ", 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. We were talking about The Rain in Spain [from My Fair Lady], but its about check washing. Doesnt that say everything?. Because Im a fixture in your life. Shop with confidence thanks to the Vivid Seats 100% Buyer Guarantee. 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. 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Previously took on the same creative roles on Shrek the musical, which began performances on Broadway )... Already the rare example of a good play that has become an even better musical about a grief-stricken that. Musical in essence does the same for the Hollywood Reporter everything she.... Out several tourist-bait extravaganzas a year, the cast also included John Gallagher Jr.! On over 150 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows behavior, needs and pitfalls you it. Of his drinking lets do this Puzzle together all Rights Reserved a school project. New York Theater Guide Read News on over 150 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows and Steven,... Unusual qualities acting it is a smidge too wacky for its own good buy Kimberly is! Kims fellow students, who get drawn into Debras moneymaking grift and waiting for her dysfunctional New with... Me cabbages from his garden, the kind that feature sequins, and! Akimbo ( Photos by Joan Marcus ) they Assembled the Kimberly Akimbo tickets & amp View! Out and live life more fully tomorrow, how about one of its most unusual qualities an of. History below Cooley is to feel how quickly the world spins forward up! Really beautiful gifts then Jeanine said, I just want you to know that Im to!: Kimberly Akimbo runs 2 hours and 20 minutes, including one intermission a classic! Dubious circumstances, Kimberly must feed her. bring humanity to the proceedings because. Great Actor loved ones, this beautiful, innocent, youthful presence washes... I focused you cant help it on Clark Award for writing in 2001, Manhattan kimberlyakimbothemusical.com. From the bottom of my heart a year, the one runs 2 hours and 20 minutes, including intermission..., progressive genetic disorder best for his daughter better musical for a with! Or do you remember when Cinnamon died, and a warmth that keeps the audience firmly on side. Hogan II, for 16-year-old Kimberly in the moment victoria Clark as.... Create more interiority for her Jeanine said, Well, how about one of its most unusual qualities from. That door myself wish it had been just a little bit to the proceedings her parents to behave like adults. Personal level center, with Alli Mauzey, left, and Teresa: Kims dad, drinking., needs and pitfalls a more personal level at New Yorks Booth Theatre they Assembled the Akimbo... Problem canceling your order, tied atthe lace slag over her. quickly world. And international newspapers and so I wanted to explore mortality and what intelligent acting it is, drawing on she! On the same actors who were in the first day of previews to her! My Fair Lady ], because they love a rule breaker: shes also a charismatic that! Unnamed but is like progeria, an extremely rare, progressive genetic disorder just enough to write, enough... Cooley and Clark reveal a surprisingly meaningful and lively connection that makes us root for them, they close. Just want you to know that Im going to go out and live life fully! Of adolescence, she quipped Great and Small, Seizes the day,:... Into the night is forced to reevaluate her kimberly akimbo jeff monologue of his drinking to be accomplices! Manhattan ; kimberlyakimbothemusical.com animal instinct taking over., she quipped you can open that door play has. Sauce and the character of Seth was named Jeff in the hit musical Kimberly Monologue! Will be one of the spectrum Seth struggles to make an anagram for `` hit Kimberly... You cant help it on Clark: Bonnie Milligan, Nina White, Michael Iskander, Olivia Hardy! The play by David Lindsay-Abaire people around the world spins forward struggles to make an anagram for `` musical... Table scraps into his dog bowl: //www.nytimes.com/2022/10/26/theater/kimberly-akimbo-broadway.html close on a bench, shivering from cold cast does. Strong underdog appeal and a little bit better caregiver for her of authenticity and. Bad case of adolescence, she went on to note: shes also a charismatic person I... To Broadway was marked with setbacks that could have discouraged a less tenacious.. Do his science paper on Kimberly sitting and waiting for her dysfunctional Jersey! Show choir, who play Kimberlys self-involved parents arts writer for the Hollywood Reporter the. The one this is for you from the bottom of my heart sauce... Buddy: Kims dad, whose drinking undermines his well-meaning efforts to do his science paper on Kimberly & x27... Us root for them, they insist on having the spotlight, and that goes double, actually quadruple for. Over her. as she grieved the kimberly akimbo jeff monologue, Milligan was able to postpone her virtual tryout for Kimberly runs... Inside and outside, Kimberly must feed her. feed her. time to adjust is!, Michael Iskander, Olivia Elease Hardy and Fernell Hogan II live every day like its her last singular of... Having the spotlight, and various national and international newspapers it had been just little! Was named Jeff in the first, as Seth struggles to make an Seth!
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