Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO at The Paramount Theatre

Dear Readers, first off let me wish you a Happy New Year and here’s hoping we’re in for some outstanding theater in 2025.  But for now let’s set the not so way back machine to 2021 where I managed to see a new musical in previews Off-Broadway, “Kimberly Akimbo”.  And let me say, Readers, it didn’t blow me away.  It was cute with some fun songs but didn’t thrill me.  Then it went to Broadway, and everyone lost their minds over it, and it won the Tony.  Now, here we are in 2025, and that same show is at the Paramount, and while I found it a tighter show and certainly adorable and charming, I still have issue with the lack of memorable songs and, honestly, its Tony win especially when stacked up against some other shows that season. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very sweet and heart wrenching story.  Based on David Lindsay-Abaire’s 2001 play, the show follows Kimberly (Carolee Carmello), a not so average teenage girl.  She has many of the same issues as other teens, finding friends, dealing with her crazy family, school, boys, but she also has to contend with her rare disease that causes her body to age four to five times faster than normal.  So, this bright, bubbly, teen looks like she’s a middle-aged lady.  If that’s not enough, people with her condition on average don’t live past 16 and she’s about to turn 16.  So, when her shifty Aunt Debra (Emily Koch) breezes into town with her latest scheme, Kimberly jumps at the chance to have one last great adventure.

As I said, it’s a tragically sweet show and Lindsay-Abaire’s play and book for the musical is wonderful.  And the music by Jeanine Tesori is lovely and fun.  But, the lyrics from Lindsay-Abaire just aren’t that memorable.  There are some super fun and touching numbers, especially in Act One, but by Act Two we get into a lot of repetition, and the show loses some of its luster.

The cast, however, is top notch.  The always amazing Carmello leads this show with insane talent and grace.  If you’ve seen her in anything before, you know how amazing she is.  Honestly, I would rank her among the top Broadway performers out there and I don’t know how we got so lucky for her to go on tour.  And if you haven’t seen her before, I pity you and insist you rectify that here.  She takes on the sweet but troubled Kimberly with oodles of heart and vulnerability and her vocals are from the musical theater Gods.  A stunner of a performance. 

As her young friend and potential romance Seth, Miguel Gil is also sweet and charming and adorable and manages to hold his own against a Broadway powerhouse.  His insanely awkward patter and mannerisms are a delight to watch, and he runs off with this character.  Equally wonderful but in a more sociopathic way is Koch as Aunt Debra.  She barrels into the show, grabs every scene by the scruff of its neck and tosses it about with fantastic results. 

Rounding out this somewhat small cast are Jim Hogan and Dana Steingold as Kimberly’s two loving, but broken and misguided parents.  I especially need to add some kudos to Hogan who manages some wonderful empathy while also being a trainwreck.  And speaking of trainwrecks, I must mention the quartette of show choir kids (Grace Capeless, Darron Hayes, Skye Alyssa Friedman, and Pierce Wheeler) with their drive to get to the state show choir championships and utterly confused crushes.  A trainwreck in the best possible sense, not only do they bring in their own wonderful characters and storyline, but also beautifully serve as a repeated cadre of otherworldly backup dancers. 

The show is a delight, even with my qualms, and especially with Carmello in the lead, eminently worth your time.  And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give “Kimberly Akimbo” at the Paramount Theatre a sufficiently heart-tugged and somewhat redeemed YAY-.  A sweet, touching, and unabashedly crass show that will fill you with all the emotions. 

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