Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Broadway At The Hobby Center

This touring production of the 2023 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, KIMBERLY AKIMBO, is based on David Lindsay-Abaire’s play of the same name. Kimberly, about to turn 16, has just moved with her family to a quiet suburb in New Jersey. In this “howlingly funny heartbreaker of a show” (The New Yorker), she navigates family dysfunction, a rare genetic condition, her first crush… and even potential felony charges. Ever the optimist, Kimberly is determined to find happiness against all odds and embark on her own adventure. Full of quirky humor and sharp social satire about grown-up immaturity, the musical boasts a score by Jeanine Tesori (music) and Lindsay-Abaire (lyrics) that leaves audiences both grinning and deeply moved.

I went in knowing virtually nothing about this show and was blown away. KIMBERLY AKIMBO treats its sad, even dark, subject matter with a rare blend of levity and care. The script reveals Kimberly’s circumstances slowly and cleverly. Early on, she calls a man who looks far younger than she does “Dad,” but it’s several more scenes before we understand why. That kind of deliberate pacing draws the audience in and deepens our investment in her story.

Kimberly is played by Ann Morrison, who is outstanding. Though visibly older than a teenager, she embodies a 16-year-old with warmth and depth. You empathize immediately, but she never plays Kimberly for pity, she simply invites us along on the journey she is so desperate to take.

Along the way Kimberly befriends classmate Seth (Miguel Gil), who has his own peculiarities. Morrison and Gil’s chemistry could easily tip into awkwardness, but instead it’s handled with such grace that, like Seth, we see Kimberly not for what she looks like but for who she is. Gil’s anagram-loving Seth is phenomenal—he’s got a little something everyone can relate to, and you root for both of them from the start.

Rounding out Kim’s family are her mother Pattie (Laura Woyasz), father Buddy (Jim Hogan), and Aunt Debra (Emily Koch), all Broadway alums who really “bring the goods” to this production. Pattie, heavily pregnant and encumbered by various injuries, is both hilarious and heartbreakingly oblivious to how she demoralizes her daughter. Woyasz shines in two solos of wildly different styles. Buddy, meanwhile, even more inept as a father, is a total putz. Hogan makes him funny and despicable at once, no small feat. Then…Debra. She’s that lovable, chaotic troublemaker every family seems to have. Koch’s vocal power is astounding, and she seizes every opportunity to belt the house down.

A side plot involving four other teens: a love square, if you will, where Martin likes Aaron, Aaron likes Delia, Delia likes Teresa, and Teresa likes Martin adds plenty of laughs. Darron Hayes, Pierce Wheeler, Grace Capeless, and Skye Alyssa Friedman lean into the innuendo with glee, and once Debra ropes them into her latest scheme, the show becomes a riotous romp.

The last “character” in the production is New Jersey itself. As a former New Yorker, I found the jokes and nods to Garden State culture hilarious, but the humor transcended regional in-jokes leaving the whole audience in stitches. Costumes were spot-on, and the set design transported us effortlessly, exactly what you hope for from a top-tier touring production.

KIMBERLY AKIMBO is unlike anything else on the musical stage that I have seen. It is quirky, funny, and full of heart. It takes a story that could be maudlin and makes it vibrantly alive, reminding us that life’s limitations don’t have to limit joy. And that life, no matter the length, is a celebration.

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