Jay Barmann — Theater Critic

What's brilliant about Escola's tightly constructed, 75-minute play is that, even with all the raunchy jokes and camp sensibility, it sits just on the edgier fringe of mainstream humor — especially when we live in a time when the mainstream includes things like Rupaul's Drag Race and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And while it might still make some older, more straight-laced audience members bristle, it has succeeded in drawing people in to its Off-Broadway subversiveness and its goofy re-rendering of a sacred chapter of American history.

The Tony Award-winning Best Musical of 2023, Kimberly Akimbo, is already on tour. And in an opening night performance at San Francisco's Curran Theater on Thursday, star Carolee Carmello brought down the house in the hard-to-pull-off lead role.

The role is also a pretty serious acting challenge as well, demanding that the star have the comedic tone and timing of old-school Jewish humor, enough that you're convinced why Fannie Brice became a star in the first place. And without channeling young Barbra directly, McKrimmon also excels at bringing Brice to life between the song and dance numbers.