Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – With Jeanine Tesori’s deeply empathetic music, the quirky KIMBERLY AKIMBO expands its emotional range and gravitas

• By drediman
• December 16, 2021
• No Comments

Is there anything Jeanine Tesori can’t write music to? From Violet to Thoroughly Modern Millie to Caroline, or Change to Shrek The Musical to Fun Home and now to Kimberly Akimbo, the prolific composer has shown a musical deftness that has allowed her to traverse subject matters with impressive ease. Yet, like the scores of Stephen Sondheim, Ms. Tesori’s compositions – which come from a place of honesty and deep empathy – are distinctly her own. Her latest project is a musical adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire’s 2001 play of the same name about Kimberly, a teenager who suffers from a medical condition that causes her to age four to five times faster than normal human beings. In summary, I’m happy to report that Atlantic Theater Company’s production of the new musical Kimberly Akimbo – which is now in the midst of an extended Off-Broadway run at the Linda Gross Theater – most definitely belongs in the illustrious company of Ms. Tesori’s other creations.

The musical version of Mr. Lindsay-Abaire’s quirky original play expands it in both physical scope (the musical introduces a number a new characters, namely Kimberly’s endearingly awkward high school friends, who also function as the show’s chorus), as well as emotional range and gravitas. Ms. Tesori’s music gets the requisite youthfulness of the piece right, but is nuanced enough to nimbly and subtly shift shades of tone within the context of a song when the story and/or a characterization calls for it. For all its moments of warmth and exuberance (and there are plenty of them), Mr. Lindsay-Abraire’s book and lyrics ensures that there’s also a clear-eyed, aching bittersweetness underlying it all, which is especially potent when paired with Ms. Tesori’s music. Director Jessica Stone’s decidedly quaint staging gets the job done with a lot of heart, if unspectacularly. Should the musical move to Broadway – and I earnestly hope it does – the production will need to acquire additional punch for it to sufficiently impact a much larger Broadway house.

As for the performances, they’re all pretty much close to perfection. The character of Kimberly is a beguiling jumble of contradictions. The 16-year-old is both wise beyond her years, yet much younger than her physical appearance. 62-year-old Tony-winner Victoria Clark handles this delicate balance with grace and astonishing authenticity; the performance is a wonder. As her unlikely anagram-obsessed love interest, 18-year-old Justin Cooley hits the bulls-eye with his wonderfully geeky yet disarmingly soulful performance. As Kimberly’s irresponsible and hopelessly juvenile parents, Alli Mauzey and Steven Boyer charm and frustrate in equal measure. And almost stealing every scene she’s in is the big-voiced Bonnie Milligan, who is a force of nature as the title character’s morally-dubious aunt. Although 2021 has been a truncated year for in-person shows, Kimberly Akimbo easily shoots to the top of my list as one of the very best new musicals of the year.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

KIMBERLY AKIMBO
Off-Broadway, Musical
Atlantic Theater Company
2 hours, 20 minutes (with one intermission)
Through January 15