Gary Graff

Every member of the all-female cast of 17, meanwhile, delivers a knockout-caliber performance that sells both the message and the dimension of their portrayals. Keleher is dynamic as Paul, and her exchanges with Catt, especially during "She and I," demonstrate tremendous chemistry between the two. Monica Tulia Ramirez (Milholland) and Joyce Meimei Zheng (Wenclawska) deliver chew up the scenery with their broad performances, while Marcus allows Stevens to grow from eager, naive neophyte into a towering contributor.

Until it’s right in front of you, with the kind of cast that’s at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre again. Then it becomes clear why it’s worth saying “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” every time the musical comes to town.

“The Outsiders'” staging turns a little into a lot as the cast deftly moves props around to create a variety of settings, from a park to a drive-in movie theater. Choreographers Rich and Jeff Kuperman, meanwhile, have crafted a wholly original approach using movement more than conventional dance, as well as slow-motion and lighting effects; the fight scenes in particular — none moreso than the climatic Act II rumble — are visceral ballets that land like any of the punches and kicks being thrown during them.

In truth, however, it’s a hybrid of the two; yes, the “old school” splendor of the Paris Opera House and its environs is being conveyed once again, but with the assistance of contemporary technology that brings a visual richness and an easy flow to its very familiar proceedings.

Over the course of its 22 songs, “Hell’s Kitchen” explores a few layers. It’s ultimately a love story between a mother and daughter and a love letter to the neighborhood and New York City, culminating in Key’s 2009 hit “Empire State of Mind.”

The treatment of the hit 1985 sci-fi comedy — which premiered days before the pandemic shutdown during 2020 in England and on Broadway in 2023 — ticks off all the boxes that make for a winning musical of any kind, regardless of its source material. The songs — by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, save for those couple of Huey Lewis & the News hits from the film. The acting is on a high level, the choreography energetic. And, as an adaptation, it makes tweaks to the plot that are clever enough to make it work on stage but without losing any of the original, joyous and tongue-in-cheeky spirit of the movie.

The treatment of the hit 1985 sci-fi comedy — which premiered days before the pandemic shutdown during 2020 in England and on Broadway in 2023 — ticks off all the boxes that make for a winning musical of any kind, regardless of its source material. The songs — by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, save for those couple of Huey Lewis & the News hits from the film. The acting is on a high level, the choreography energetic. And, as an adaptation, it makes tweaks to the plot that are clever enough to make it work on stage but without losing any of the original, joyous and tongue-in-cheeky spirit of the movie.

The good news is that this tale as old as (post-industrial) time still works, from the bullet-proof story itself to the original songs from Charlie Smalls and others. And it has a solid cast, from Simone’s Dorothy to the 14-member dance company, to deliver those goods with theater-filling charisma.

All of that makes “Kimberly Akimbo” bold, thoughtful, thoroughly original and deeply compassionate — a kind of antithesis to the jukebox musicals and film adaptations that dominate the stage anymore. It’s as much of a must-see as the Fisher has hosted this season, and even good enough to even worth a second time around.

This version of the 1998 show — based on the 2023 edition that won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical — has all the trappings of the big stage, including an inventive, tri-level stage set that covers the width of the Fisher proscenium and is lightly manipulated to convey courtrooms, offices, streets, prisons, the Frank home and the governor’s mansion. A raised platform in the center serves as the focal point for much of the show, but the carefully choreographed side action is important, too, thanks to a cast whose facial expressions and body language provide crucial dimensions. Related Articles One good example; during the investigation into the murder, while one suspect is being questioned on stage left, two officers use flashlights to cast suspicions on Frank as they stand on stage right. Those kinds of subtle touches surface throughout “Parade” — especially during the lengthy trial reenactment that ends Act I — and make the storytelling that much richer.

What the production does have, however, is…well, the “Noise,” and one that’s gloriously rendered by this first national company. If you’re a Diamond fan “A Beautiful Noise” is a welcome stand-in, sequins and all, for what used to be the regular concert tours, with “America’s Got Talent” 2015 winner Nick Fradiani (as Neil (Then)) offering an uncanny vocal impersonation of the star, from the first line of the opening title song to the majestic “Holly Holy” that closes the show. Fradiani isn’t called upon to do much in the way of acting, but he embodies the man in such an authoritative manner that you just know he’ll be “playing” Diamond long after his run with the show ends.

It’s that deft balance — as well as a solid script and batch of songs and fiery choreography — that scored it the Tony Award for Best Musical last year. And rest assured that the first national touring company is as, yes, hot as anything that graced the Great White Way.

And 25 years later the show — at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre through Sunday, April 28 — it still reigns as one of if not the best of its ilk, turning “here we go again” into a rallying cry for anyone with a taste for glitter, sequins, camp, indelible pop songs and a twisted, geometrical love story.