In its quieter moments, Kimberly Akimbo displays a poignancy and tenderness that will seep into your heart. Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan, Michael Iskander, Nina White. 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. Soon, Kimberly's family gets mixed up in some crazy money schemes, and the family is emotionally destroyed. Anyways, he gets so desperate he snorts some of the bath salts in the bathroom. Intermissions are usually either 15 or 20 minutes long. Lindsay-Abaire is an award-winning writer whose work includes plays and musicals and subject matters both serious and comic. Kimberly Akimbo officially opened on Broadway on November 10, 2022. She knows whats happening in Kims life. In any case, its the plot. The character of Seth was named Jeff in the. A little off. Its exhilarating.. Cleverly akimbo. 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. 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. All the jokes work that way. Was creating the musical a way to create more interiority for her? Someone who sang like a record and ran and twirled in the mountains.. 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. Before you step back into the '90s with Kimberly and the gang, learn more about the show's cast, history, and production information. Almost yours: 2 weeks, on. She lives in New Jersey with her dad (who's always drunk), her pregnant mom . Through it all, even though people with her condition have an average life expectancy of 16 years, Kimberly learns to be young and unafraid after years of taking on adult responsibilities. Book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, based on his play. This is a typical Broadway musical length, though musicals can run anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours. Corey Regensburg, a recent graduate of the University of the Arts . Buddy: Kims dad, whose drinking undermines his well-meaning efforts to do his best for his daughter. In the first, as Seth struggles to make an anagram of Kimberly Levaco, his strange stabs at solutions (My blacker olive! LINDSAY-ABAIRE Look, I love my family very much. 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. And seldom does that happen with a musical.. It's good. 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. At New York's Atlantic Theater Company through January 15. To my family and dearest loved ones, this is for you from the bottom of my heart! Ana Gasteyer. And they messed me up just enough for this play to be what it is. (As the producer of musicals like Next to Normal and If/Then, Stone is no stranger to an out-of-the-box concept.) You can win free tickets from Vivid Seats. . Victoria Clark as Kimberly in Broadway's "Kimberly Akimbo." (Joan Marcus) Article. The theatre is located at 222 W 45nd St. between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. / Getting older is your cure.. The hodgepodge of elements is a lot for director Jessica Stone to fuse together, but she succeeds by latching onto a show-choir vibe. TESORI Thats what makes you a storyteller. Copyright 2023 New York Stage Review All Rights Reserved. Akimbo can be a puzzle of a musical, but, like a clever anagram, you smile when it all comes together in the end. Her mother, Pattie (Alli Mauzey), is ludicrously hypochondriacal, as if atoning for the chromosomal accident that produced her quick-aging child. And if youre lucky, youre able to bring both of those things to an audience so they can recognize it. 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. Home | Kimberly Akimbo Monologue (Pattie), A monologue from the play by David Lindsay-Abaire. Unlike most new musicals based on previous material, the title. . Its just messed up enough. . 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. Thats the dream.. David, what were the instincts that led you to write Kimberly Akimbo 20 years ago? All I ever wanted to be in life was the star of that show. [8] It was critically acclaimed, and won Best Musical prizes at the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, and Outer Critics Circle Awards. Quick View. The playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, the composer Jeanine Tesori and the director Jessica Stone discuss their quirky Broadway musical, which was first a play. "Kimberly Akimbo" is directed by SMCT regular cast member Lynda Mondragon. The Off-Broadway and Broadway stagings of Kimberly Akimbo are the major productions thus far, but the play has had additional major productions. Kimberlys schoolyard love interest Seth (Justin Cooley) speaks fluent Elvish from J.R.R. What is surprising is that Kimberly Akimbo, based on the 2000 play of the same name by David Lindsay-Abaire, manages a similar feat. You know, when your hands are on your hips, then your arms are akimbo. The play was initially produced at the South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California, from April 13 to May 13, 2001. Parker Posey heads the cast of Thomas Bradshaw's cheaply vulgar modern-day adaptation of Chekhov's classic. She brings Kimberly to life so believably and gorgeously. 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. I'm sorry I forgot, honey. Carolyn Hayes Harmer, Encore Michigan. JEANINE TESORI I dont know if you can open that door. Thats no surprise; Clark, 62, is one of our great singing actors, situating herself exactly where the two impossible arts intersect. What has it gotten me?) In another, a duet with Kimberly, he cranks out possible anagrams of her name in real time. 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 is already the rare example of a good play that has become an even better musical. Jeff's Monologue from Kimberly Akimbo by David Lindsay Abaire - YouTube AboutPressCopyrightContact usCreatorsAdvertiseDevelopersTermsPrivacyPolicy & SafetyHow YouTube worksTest new features. Kimberly Akimbo opened December 8, 2021 at the Linda Gross Theater and runs through December 26. Adapted by writer David Lindsay-Abaire and composer Jeanine Tesori from the 2001 play of the same name, "Kimberly Akimbo" follows a lonely 15-year-old named Kimberly Levaco (played by Victoria Clark) who has grown up with a premature aging condition similar to progeria, thus making her appear to be well into her 70s. Kimberly Akimbo is at the Booth Theatre. Quick View. Adolescent years are always a challenge, and that goes double, actually quadruple, for 16-year-old Kimberly in the hit musical Kimberly Akimbo. 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. 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. 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: two hours and 30 mins. Prepare to Fall in Love! Mature inside and outside, Kimberly is de facto caregiver for her dysfunctional New Jersey clan. Which is not to say she or it is a downer. 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. Kimberly Akimbohas arrived on Broadway, where it opened to unanimous rave reviews. Nobody. TESORI I feel it in my body when something sings, I cant put it into words. 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? [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. 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 is played by Lindsay-Abaire's unlikely but adorable muse, Marylouise Burke, 62, whose face does indeed look surprisingly girlish, despite the natural signs of age, when placed underneath. They also thought it was really moving. Endless gratitude to Jeanine, David, Jess, Danny and Craig for their guidance and their trust. 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.. Jessica, how did you direct Victoria Clark, who is 63, and Justin Cooley, who plays her boyfriend, Seth, whos now 19? I think Kimberly Akimbo could be a musical. Clark, center, with Alli Mauzey, left, and Steven Boyer, who play Kimberlys self-involved parents. The scene changes to Pattie, Kimberly's mom, talking to a sound recorder to her unborn child about her life and how she believes she's a 'good mother'. Kimberly the musical and the character have a strong underdog appeal and a warmth that keeps the audience firmly on its side. It has a really deep, complicated inner life. But I also wanted to explore mortality and what it means to truly live in the moment. It began previews on Broadway on October 12, 2022 and opened on November 10 at the Booth Theatre.[9]. The cast also included John Gallagher, Jr. and Ana Gasteyer. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . Please try again. It's good enough, in fact, that you wish it had been just a little bit better. Your culture and entertainment cheat-sheet. Alexander Reeves, Jeff Monologue (Kimberly Akimbo) - YouTube From: Kimberly AkimboBy: David Lindsay-Abaire From: Kimberly AkimboBy: David Lindsay-Abaire AboutPressCopyrightContact. So at almost 16 (her birthday is coming up) she looks like a lady in her early 70's. That may well be the fate of Kimberly Akimbo, the profoundly funny and heartbreaking new nerdical that opened on Thursday at the Booth Theater. You should be happy. Kimber issn, but se played by a are 'ents or seen. Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan II, Nina White and Michael Iskander amusingly portray Kimberlys fellow high school students. I had to hope and pray that it would come back, she recalled, because something about this material felt like it was mine.. Regular price $20.00. "I was bowled over by the singular theatricality of David Lindsay-Abaire's KIMBERLY AKIMBO. (New York, NY, February 25, 2022) - The critically-lauded and wildly popular new musical, Kimberly Akimbo, will transfer to Broadway this fall, beginning previews on October 12th and officially opening on November 10th at a Shubert Theater to be announced. Wed.-Sat. 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. Clark and Justin Cooley, who are reprising their roles on Broadway. 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. Here are all the songs youll hear in Kimberly Akimbo on Broadway. Directed by David Petrarca, the cast featured Marylouise Burke (Kimberly), John Gallagher, Jr. (Jeff), Ana Gasteyer (Debra), Jodie Markell (Pattie), Jake Weber (Buddy) and Daniel Zaitchik (Jeff). Her father is a hopeless alcoholic, her mother is hypochondriacal and pregnant with a second child whom she prays wont suffer from the same affliction, and her aunt is a homeless, recently released ex-con who enlists Kimberly and her high-school friends in a dangerous, illicit check forgery scheme. By making it a musical, we had a way into the characters that the play did not have. Thanks for contacting us. Anyone can read what you share. The show is mostly monologues. The Kimberly Akimbo characters include various people in 1999 New Jersey. Thats upbeat Kimberly, as usual trying to make the best of lifes bad situation. And yet her aging condition may be the. 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. (To Debra who passes from basement to exit house.) Running nearly two-and-a-half hours, the musical feels padded with extraneous material, including lengthy interludes devoted to anagrams and ice skating and a song devoted to a school project about scurvy (dont ask). The value of her life cannot be measured by how long it lasts, any more than the shows can by how long it runs. Im older than these two. 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.. Rather, its between a tuba-playing, Elvish-speaking high school ber-nerd and a girl who looks like his grandmother. So remote is she from the bellowing divadom of those tourist-bait extravaganzas that Im tempted to call what she does not singing at all, but acting on pitch. Monologue from "Kimberly Akimbo" 978 views May 31, 2011 2 Dislike Share thechocolatechipcookie 19 subscribers Comments Add a comment. Im sorry I forgot, honey. 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. 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. [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. . 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. 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. 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. The off the wall parents and aunt who make up Kimberly's emotionally shipwrecked family are somewhat easier to replace. (Kimberly continues to clear the table.) David Lindsay-Abaire's "Kimberly Akimbo" plays like a pilot to a really good sitcom that . It causes children to age rapidly, starting in their first two years of life. Kimberly Akimbo opened December 8, 2021 at the Linda Gross Theater and runs through December 26. UMich grad. Tesoris other well-known musicals include Caroline, or Change, Violet, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. 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 . 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. Here are the major awards the Kimberly Akimbo musical and play have won. Disclaimer: Some of the articles on Mighty Actor include affiliate links to sites like Amazon, Skillshare, and others. Because Im a fixture in your life. Each is beautifully portrayed in songs that give the actors a chance to shine. This Week, Including a Solo Show About Polka. He died about five weeks after her arrival. (619) 231-3586. 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. . Shes not maliciously trying to hurt people, but she will because she needs to survive. Seize the day! . 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. 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 Unisex Point of View Hoodie. Kimberly Akimbo tickets are available now. 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). It cant have been easy to find the right moments and tone for songs in a double-sided story like this, where each joke is also a memento mori, and vice versa. Youll have to actually remind yourself Im gone. The songs in the Kimberly Akimbo musical are by David Lindsay-Abaire, who wrote the lyrics, and Jeanine Tesori, who wrote the music. Victoria Clark as Kimberly, who appears to be in her 60s though. If you can have a gaggle of teenagers skipping out of the show, and then this grumpy old man with tears in his eyes thats victory, said Lindsay-Abaire, right. Kimberly Akimbo 634 subscribers Subscribe 626 47K views 3 months ago All we wanna do is make your life "Better", so we made a music video! The craziness doesnt stop in the classroom. The good son, he sings. So naturally Kimberly Akimbo is a musical comedy. 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. Progeria affects about 1 in 20 million people around the world, according to reports. I kept forgetting she was dead. Directed by David Petrarca, the cast starred Marylouise Burke as Kimberly. 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. Background from left: Bonnie Milligan, Nina White, Michael Iskander, Olivia Elease Hardy and Fernell Hogan II. Those characters want to sing to me, their emotions are deep. Still, as this allows them to provide backup for Milligans barn-burning numbers, I wont complain. 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. "Kimberly Akimbo," presented by Moxie Theatre at the Lyceum Space, Horton Plaza, 79 Broadway Circle, San Diego. Kimberly Akimbo is a play written in 2000 by David Lindsay-Abaire. Justin Cooley, center left, as Seth with Clark, center right, in the show at the Linda Gross Theater. (Possibly this one: sublime cast = best musical.) Purchase tickets online 24 hours a day or by phone 1-800-515-2171. The Jessica Stone-helmed production began Off-Broadway November 6. What's the matter? $101.50$131.50. Kimberly writes to the Make-A-Wish Foundation sweetly asking for a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz and a chartered yacht vacation for 50 friends who dont exist, when all she really wants is for her deadbeat parents to make dinner for once and be nice to her. . 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. Kim is a bright and funny Jersey teen, who happens to look like a 72-year-old lady. Because I think sometimes because musicals have artifice, they can seem artificial. Kimberly Akimbo runs 2 hours and 20 minutes, including one intermission. Thank you, Stone said, as Tesori returned to her seat in the basement lounge of the Broadway theater. Kimberlys aging disorder is unnamed but is like progeria, an extremely rare, progressive genetic disorder. The joyous and quirky show, starring Victoria Clark, glides onto Broadway. Kimberly Akimbo is a coming of age story with a bittersweet twist. Kimberly Akimbo runs through October 20. The dark absurdist . And of course I focused you cant help it on Clark. So, she appears to be a woman in her mid-sixties and also deals with the health issues of one. 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. 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. 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. That Tesori can write any kind of music is old news. 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. 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. 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. Let us be thriving, let us be attractive, let us be fully formed people because we are in the world.. 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. 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. 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. 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. In role after role particularly as an anxious mother in The Light in the Piazza, for which she won a Tony Award in 2005 she makes music not an afterthought to character, but the thought itself. 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.. This is done without undue violence to the ingenious original premise, which makes comedy, as we all must, of tragedy. This light but mildly provocative comedy has interesting three-dimensional characters and witty dialogue. Some, like Fun Home, Dear Evan Hansen and The Bands Visit, win top Tony Awards; A Strange Loop even won the Pulitzer Prize. The performance is a pleasant blend of optimistic and worldly. By turns, it can be profoundly funny or deeply moving. She moves to Bergen County, New Jersey, with her parents, Buddy (Steven Boyer) and Pattie (Alli Mauzey), who are negligent, cartoonishly cruel morons. 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. 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. Aside from providing B-story contrast, they underline a theme I hadnt really noticed before: the gumption of outcasts. Tickets and information: atlantictheater.org. So the two of them give each other really beautiful gifts. Regular price $35.00. Stone, Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire gathered to discuss their process on the first day of previews. Suddenly theyre gone forever. KIMBERLY AKIMBO is at once a shrewd satire, a black comedy and a heartbreaking study of how time wounds everyone." NY Times. . Kim wants to act like a regular teenager and for her parents to behave like responsible adults. Schedule varies. 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. Forced to maneuver family secrets, borderline. And theyre not. (In a neat parent-child reversal, Kimberly must feed her.) 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 . I look at some of my idols: Carol Burnett, Debra Monk, Donna Murphy.

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