Sheri Gross

Kimberly Akimbo at Playhouse Square, with its multi-talented cast, conjures up every kind of emotion: One minute, we’re laughing out loud, and the next, we may be reaching for the tissues. The show is daring and different, and it makes us appreciate the time we have on this earth while forcing us to take stock in the way we spend that time.

Where the show tends to stall is during the long list of musical numbers, all performed well, but many feeling a bit unnecessary and unmemorable. It is certainly not due to a lack of creativity. This is not Grammy-winners Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard’s first rodeo. But it might be the fact that the story simply does not need 21 songs and four reprises to be “rad.” It just needs a strong cast, a script that every Gen Xer can quote from top to bottom and totally tubular special effects that appeal to the kid in all of us. And this production has all of the above.

The magic of this production is front and center within the spectacular voices that color the many genres of music found in the iconic score, including rock, pop, gospel, soul and ‘70s funk, with updated arrangements to align with the script changes in order to make the show more current. Each actor stands out as a superb individual vocalist, and together, they take the already stunning complex harmonies, and somehow make them even more beautiful.