Exclusive: Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Zachary Pang Talk KIMBERLY AKIMBO

Singapore--"Kimberly Akimbo,” featuring the engaging music by Jeanine Tesori and lyrics and book by David Lindsay-Abaire, is not your ordinary musical. The 2023 Tony Award Best Musical tells the unique story of 16-year-old Kimberly Levaco (Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo), who has a rare aging condition—she's turning 17, but she looks 70. Opposite Kim is Seth (Zachary Pang), her "quirky tuba player" love interest.  

BroadwayWorld sat down with both stars to explore their personal journeys into these complex characters and the challenge of building an authentic bond that defies age, expectations, and (in Kim's case) a limited lifespan.  

In the Philippines, where she's based, Menchu is known for tackling influential female roles, such as Diana Goodman in "Next to Normal," Eva Peron in "Evita," or Anette in "God of Carnage." Why play a 16-year-old?   

"As a musical theater actress, I always enjoy a challenge, which makes me grow as an actress. It’s important to me that I learn and push myself in every role I accept," Menchu said.   

It's not just about "playing young"; it's a complex duality.  

She explained: "Although Kimberly is really just a teenager, her main problem is really dealing with and accepting the consequences of her disease and knowing her mortality. Something is not typical of a 'normal' teenager. Finding that inner conflict and creating a believable character IS the challenge. Kimberly’s inner strength and resilience are admirable.  

"As an actress, my challenge is to be able to balance the mind of a 16-year-old with the body of a 60-year-old woman [in real life]. That alone is quite difficult. Figuring out how she should sound and move. This essentially is what drew me to the role."  

While Menchu navigates the complex duality of Kim's mind and body, Zach's challenge is to build the sincere, grounded character who gives her a reason to live in the moment.  

Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Zachary Pang, and Benjamin Chow

Zach's character, Seth, is not created for mere "awkward comedy" onstage but serves as a safe space or a place of sincerity, where Kim gets to live the typical life of a teenager: attending a biology class, playing word games, and experiencing her first kiss.   

Playing Seth is also Zach's return to the Pangdemonium Theatre's stage, after playing Jared in "Dear Evan Hansen" last season.   

Zach told BWW: "Jared's inner motivations expressed themselves in a much more performative act of confidence, whereas Seth, while rooted in vulnerability, is very sincere. His awkwardness stems more from the unexpected directness and honesty can be (especially when it might seem less welcome or inappropriate to others).  

"It's almost like two ends of a spectrum, and so playing Jared has allowed me to access what I feel their biggest differences are, rather than what makes them similar. It's been an experience that requires me to be delicate in my choices, which I'm really enjoying."  

In the musical, Seth is fascinated with anagrams, which spell out his individuality.  

"I think it's a lovely representation of how Seth can take any situation and try to turn it around into something fun. He thinks in his own way, not succumbing to groupthink, and is happy with being different."  

He added, "The mental puzzles he engages with show how bright he can be, but also how he redirects his attention to escape sometimes. His uniqueness and quirkiness really shine through, and he is not ashamed of his interests that others would otherwise overlook." 

Bridging Generations, Universal Message  

As musical theater performers from different generations, how do Menchu and Zach, in his 20s, find their common language?    

"It’s easier to play the role and age that I have already experienced. The language between Seth and Kimberly is quite easy to build on since Zack is a wonderful actor to play opposite to,” Menchu said.  

Zach agrees, noting that their connection is rooted in their characters' shared humanity.  

"I think we always boil it down to what their shared experience is as characters; both of them are not quite fitting in, and both of them are trying to make the best out of their situations and try to see the best in others. They're both teens figuring themselves out and trying to understand the world and people around them, and that's an experience that everyone in the world shares at some point."  

"We all know what it's like to have felt awkward, we all know what it's like to have tried to connect with someone, and we depend on this shared experience not only as actors connecting our characters, but also in getting our audience to connect with us, too," he added.  

Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Zachary Pang

Onstage, their chemistry is palpable, which is built not on ignoring their age difference but on focusing on the universal, timeless experience of being an outsider.  

In fact, the show's message is all-inclusive—it's for everyone.  

"Kimberly's story is one of positivity and living life to the fullest. Making the best of what she has and always seeing the best in people," Menchu said.  

For Zach, "Its message is a universal one of trying to find hope and joy in circumstances that seem stacked against us, and also, in trying to be kind to other people.  

"The characters don't just discover how to make themselves happy; they understand how they can share happiness with others. I think that is a good takeaway for anyone."  

Kim and Seth's tender love story is quiet, brave, and rooted in presence over grand gestures.  

Fascinatingly, the collaboration between Menchu and Zach embodies this very same idea—a performance built on an authentic, shared presence.  

Directed by Tracie Pang, Pangdemonium Theatre's "Kimberly Akimbo," currently playing at the Victoria Theatre, Will Close on November 2.