Feature: KIMBERLY AKIMBO Star Ann Morrison Brings Heart and Wisdom to National Tour

When the national tour of KIMBERLY AKIMBO arrived in New Orleans, it brought a Tony-winning musical balancing quirky humor and emotional depth. The show tells the story of a teenage girl with a rare condition that causes her to age four to five times faster than normal, appearing 70 while still facing the challenges of being 16.

Ann Morrison, who starred as the titular character, brought both her 70 years of life experience and the boundless energy of a teenager to the role. The actress taught a class at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts before sitting down to discuss her approach to this touching and unconventional character.

The musical, which originated as a play before being adapted by composer Jeanine Tesori and playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, follows Kimberly as she turns sixteen in a body that resembles a septuagenarian. She must navigate a new high school, a deeply dysfunctional but comedic family and the knowledge that her life expectancy is limited. Along the way, she forms a precious friendship with a classmate, and the show includes an unexpected element: skating.

Morrison explained that each new city on the tour required careful preparation.

"When we get into a city, we have to usually come in at 5 p.m. to lay the land, because even though we have the same set, the same floor and everything, we have to figure out the wing space," Morrison said.

To prepare for each venue, the cast performed sound checks and practiced their skating routines, allowing them to adjust to each theatre's unique specifications.

After Victoria Clark originated the role on Broadway, Morrison auditioned via Zoom and eventually joined the national tour following Carolee Carmello's departure. The actress revealed that when the show premiered Off-Broadway, friends immediately told her it seemed written specifically for her.

"I got non-stop emails and texts from people saying, ‘Oh, my God, they wrote you a show, there was a show that was written for you’" Morrison said.

What made Morrison's interpretation distinctive was director Jessica Stone's encouragement to make the role her own rather than simply replicating previous performances.

"She really didn't want me to just do Victoria Clark,” Morrison said, adding that they agreed from the start not to play Kimberly as a victim. “She wanted everyone who does Kimberly to have their own spin on it and their own take.”

The production benefited from an unusually harmonious company.

"I have never done a show where we all adore each other, not just the cast, but the crew, the creative staff," Morrison said, describing it as "going on the road with people with full heart."

One of the show's most powerful moments came in the song "Before I Go," when Kimberly realized she cannot save her dysfunctional family and must embrace whatever time she has left. Morrison noted the significance of Kimberly being sixteen, meaning her prefrontal cortex hasn't fully developed, yet she reaches this mature understanding.

"She's her most mature,” Morrison said, describing the emotional weight of the scene. “She just gets it. I'm not gonna be able to heal my family. They're not gonna get this. I'm probably going to die. Could be any day soon, but I have to have a life.”

Morrison brought thoughtful physicality to the role, drawing on her own experience with aging at 70.

She incorporated small details like a clicking finger that Kimberly discovers and plays with throughout the show. Morrison maintained consistency while showing how the character's physical condition evolves.

"I happen to be a person who finds aging fascinating, because what can you do?" Morrison said. “I look in the mirror and I go, Oh, look, there's a new wrinkle.”

The actress also shared her metaphysical approach to the role, explaining that before each performance, she walked the stage and called upon "all the ancestors of the theatre."

"All those who walk the stage before me and all those who will walk the stage after me, time is all happening once," Morrison said, describing how this ritual helped her align with each moment.

Morrison observed that young people dealing with serious illness often possess a particular wisdom and optimism, something she felt Kimberly embodied.

"There's a wisdom about that, that they have an optimism about it, that is a really wonderful thing to learn," she said.

The musical's final number, "Great Adventure," took on special meaning during the tour.

In Houston, a show choir dressed in red t-shirts and jeans performed the song before seeing the production. They later discovered that the teenagers in the show wear the exact same costumes while discussing their own show choir's budget limitations.

“That was a precious moment,” Morrison said.

In reflecting on the story's message, when asked what advice Kimberly might give her younger self, Morrison considered the character's awareness of her limited time.

"Kimberly would probably tell her younger self to be in the now, take the ride,” Morrison said, a philosophy that seemed to guide both the character and the actress who brought her to life with such warmth and authenticity. “Enjoy the ride. Life is short. Enjoy the ride.”