Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Bass Concert Hall

Now playing at the Bass Concert Hall through October 5th, KIMBERLY AKIMBO is a darkly funny and deeply heartfelt musical about finding joy in the midst of life’s complications. At its center is Kimberly Levaco (played by the magnificent Ann Morrison), a bright, witty teenager from suburban New Jersey who looks like a 72-year-old woman due to a rare genetic condition that drastically accelerates aging. As she navigates high school friendships, first crushes, and a wildly dysfunctional family, Kimberly wrestles with big questions about time, love, and what it means to live fully—even if life might be shorter than expected.

The show is based on David Lindsay-Abaire’s 2001 play of the same name, which won the Obie Award for Playwriting. Lindsay-Abaire later reunited with composer Jeanine Tesori (FUN HOME, CAROLINE OR CHANGE) to adapt his play into a musical, which premiered Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company in 2021. At the 2023 Tony Awards, KIMBERLY AKIMBO won five major honors: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Leading Actress (Victoria Clark), and Best Featured Actress (Bonnie Milligan).

KIMBERLY AKIMBO joins a long line of coming-of-age musicals such as FUN HOME, SPRING AWAKENING, and last year’s Tony Award-winning THE OUTSIDERS. In this case, we get a delightful small ensemble that feels more like a live sitcom with music than a Broadway spectacle, thanks to Lindsay-Abaire’s intimate adaptation. Don’t expect to be wowed by large-scale production numbers—do expect to be moved by the bittersweet yet uplifting optimism of this show.

A tight and ebullient ensemble featuring Gabby Beredo (Delia), Skye Alyssa Friedman (Teresa), Darron Hayes (Martin), and Pierce Wheeler (Aaron) welcomes us to Skater Planet, where we meet a charming and effervescent Kimberly. In Ann Morrison’s more-than-capable hands, Kimberly is at once awkward, idealistic, mature, and innocent. We quickly learn that her outlook may be a survival mechanism, forged by the narcissistic (and yes, somehow it works in a song—thank you, David Lindsay-Abaire) tendencies of her dad Buddy (Jim Hogan) and her mom Pattie (Laura Woyasz). Curiously, these two seem stuck in high school emotionally, while their daughter yearns only to live long enough to graduate. Woyasz and Hogan squeeze every drop from these roles, broadly playing up dysfunctions of alcoholism, hypochondria, and narcissism, and navigating the brief but telling climax Lindsay-Abaire provides them.

This is not a show that wallows in the pain of Kimberly’s existence, and that is never more apparent than in the stellar work of Kimberly’s love interest Seth (Miguel Gil, reprising his Broadway role) and her Aunt Debra (Emily Koch). Gil brings a hilariously awkward innocence that parallels and complements Morrison’s Kimberly—he’s a delight. Koch’s Debra, written as a thief and schemer, becomes something more in Koch’s hands: a scene-stealing comedic actor and powerhouse singer. Despite her obvious vices, I couldn’t help but hope I’ve given my own nieces and nephews the kind of encouragement Debra gives to Kimberly. This is a tight ensemble, directed with brisk charm by Jessica Stone.

The production is straightforward and beautifully executed, with a fine orchestra under the direction of Leigh Delano, choreography by Danny Mefford that supports rather than overwhelms, and a design team that delivers the show with polish and precision.

KIMBERLY AKIMBO will make you laugh and make you cry. It may not dazzle in the grand tradition of Broadway spectacle. Instead, it gives us an intimate and deeply human look at a teenager whose greatest challenge is how to use what little time she has.