‘KIMBERLY AKIMBO’: Victoria Clark & Justin Cooley. Photo: Joan Marcus.

KIMBERLY AKIMBO
Book & lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Directed by Jessica Stone
Booth Theatre
222 West 45th Street.
(212-239-6200), www.KimberlyAkimboTheMusical.com

By David NouNou

I had no idea that Kimberly Akimbo the musical was originally a 2001 play of the same name. I only knew the musical opened in 2021 Off-Broadway and was a huge success—and has now transferred to Broadway. As I was watching the show, I was mesmerized by David Lindsay-Abaire’s book and how compelling the storyline was, and thinking to myself of how the score was getting in the way of the script. When a book is so strong, the score becomes superfluous. I realize now that, in modern-day musicals, the score doesn’t propel the storyline forward as in yesteryear’s musicals, but the score now describes the characters and who and what they are. It’s the characters words with the music twisted around them that forms the score. This often makes most 21^st century scores unmemorable.

Back to the script, set in New Jersey in 1999.  It’s about a lonely 16-year-old high school girl, Kim (Victoria Clark) who suffers from a condition that causes her to age four times faster, which makes her look like 64. She is befriended by an anagram genius, Seth (Justin Cooley) who wants to work with Kimberly on the science project about her condition so that they can present to the class together.

There are also other teenagers that are fraught with their teenage angst and who wants to work with whom on various school projects. They are presented as real normal kids with their frailties but trying to figure things out for themselves. It’s the adults that are horrid with their repellent behaviors and attitudes.

Kim’s father, Buddy (Steven Boyer), is an alcoholic who is mostly repelled by her, and her mother, Patti (Alli Mauzey) is pregnant again, and hopes the second child doesn’t turn out like Kim, so she gets pregnant by a neighbor. Add to the mix, Patti’s sister, Aunt Debra (Bonnie Mulligan), who is a con artist and a convicted felon. Her aunt is ultimately Kimberly’s friend and helps Kim follow her dreams and her right to enjoy her life despite her handicap.

If you’ve seen Mr. Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole and Good People, you have an idea of what a genius he is with words and setting up a play and Kimberly Akimbo is no exception. There are so many layers to this beautifully textured show, it has to be seen and relished. His handling of Kim and Seth is both beautiful and touching. It is nothing like the perverse Harold and Maude. That’s thanks in large part to Victoria Clark.

Although a veteran of many Broadway shows, with the part of Kim, this establishes Victoria Clark as a contender in the theatre. Her dazzling performance is sublime. You can see her as 16 when she is giddily happy and 64 when she is down. Don’t ever count her out because she makes Kimberly a winner all the way because she lives on hope.

Her counterpart, Seth (Justin Cooley), making an impressionable Broadway debut is so charming and uplifting; there is nothing creepy about their relationship but genuine love of two lost teenage souls who see each other’s beauty.

Just as she stole the show in the ill-fated, short-lived musical Head Over Heels, once you get to know Debra, you’ve got to love Bonnie Milligan. Her quirkiness makes her lovable and you forgive her inequities.

The tough pills to swallow are Buddy and Patti—not the fault of Steven Boyer and Alli Mauzey, both of whom give their all. As characters, they are just vile.

Director Jessica Stone brings sensibility to all the proceedings, especially when dealing with the teenagers, but her main focus always centers around Kim and Seth and Aunt Debra. From a personal observation, at our performance there were a lot of older teenagers who were really into the show, and it is always a thrill to see younger audiences being absorbed by what’s going on stage and not what’s on their smartphones. Kudos to all the teenagers who will discover Kimberly Akimbo when they come and see the show.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 16, 2022
Reviewed at November 15, 2022 press performance.

‘KIMBERLY AKIMBO’ (left to right): Michael Iskander, Justin Cooley, Victoria Clark, Nina White, Olivia Hardy & Fernell Hogan. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘KIMBERLY AKIMBO’ (left to right): Nina White, Michael Iskander, Fernell Hogan & Olivia Hardy. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘KIMBERLY AKIMBO’ (left to right): Victoria Clark, Justin Cooley & Steven Boyer. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘KIMBERLY AKIMBO’: Victoria Clark & Justin Cooley. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘KIMBERLY AKIMBO’: (left to right): Victoria Clark, Justin Cooley, Michael Iskander, Olivia Hardy, Nina White & Fernell Hogan.

‘KIMBERLY AKIMBO’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘KIMBERLY AKIMBO’: (left to right): Alli Mauzey, Victoria Clark & Steven Boyer. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘KIMBERLY AKIMBO’: Victoria Clark & Alli Mauzey. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘KIMBERLY AKIMBO’: Alli Mauzey. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘KIMBERLY AKIMBO’: Bonnie Milligan. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Kimberly Akimbo’: Broadway transfer is a hit appeared first on StageZine.

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: Taylor Iman Jones & the company. Photo: Joan Marcus

HEAD OVER HEELS
Songs by The Go-Go’s
Based on The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney
Conceived & Original Book by Jeff Whitty
Adapted by James Magruder
Music supervision, orchestrations & arrangements by Tom Kitt
Choreographed by Spencer Liff
Directed by Michael Mayer
The Hudson Theatre
141 West 44th Street
(855) 801-5876
www.HeadOverHeelsTheMusical.com

By Scott Harrah

Being an aging Generation X member and a longtime Go-Go’s fan, I was initially thrilled when I heard about Head Over Heels, thinking it would be a fun chronicle of the ups and downs of Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Kathy Valentine and the rest of the L.A. all-female rock group from the 1980s. When I later realized the show is a jukebox musical featuring Go-Go’s music and a story based on Sir Philip Sidney’s obscure Elizabethan story The Arcadia, my expectations were low indeed. A tale set in a mythical land with a royal family facing the threat of its beloved “beat” sounds like an absurd premise for a jukebox musical showcasing the iconic hits of the most successful female rock band ever, but naysayers and skeptics beware: The show grows on you if you simply go along with it and accept it for nothing other than the mindless, splashy entertainment it is.

Brought to us by musical supervisor Tom Kitt, choreographer Spencer Liff, book writer Jeff Whitty and director Michael Mayer–the creative team behind such Broadway blockbusters as Hedwig and the Angry Inch and American Idiot, Spring Awakening and Avenue Q—Head Over Heels is a mixture of a 17^th century romance with gender-bending characters that often speak in Shakespearean iambic pentameter.

The plot revolves around the King of Arcadia, Basilus (Jeremy Kushnier) and Queen Gynecia (Rachel York) reigning over an ancient kingdom, along with their younger daughter Philocea (Alexandra Socha). The younger princess is romantically involved with a shepherd, Musidorus (Andrew Durand). Their older daughter Pamela (Bonnie Milligan) has a secret. The kingdom’s future is threatened when the non-binary Pythio, the Oracle of Delphi (Peppermint), unleashes a prophecy of doom.

Such Go-Go’s classics as “We Got the Beat,” “Vacation,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Turn to You” and “Lust to Love,” along with the Belinda Carlisle solo hits “Mad About You” and “Heaven is a Place on Earth,” are woven into the wacky narrative of changing genders, revolution in the monarchy and sexual discovery.  The story’s humor is sometimes riddled with corny visual puns, such as the choreography for “Mad About You” when dancers are dressed as sheep. Get it? Ewes.

The show is a colorful mess, thanks to winning period costumes by Arianne Phillips and Spencer Liff’s frenetic choreography.

Some of the cast members are also refreshing. Jeremy Kushnier, Andrew Durand and Rachel York give good but mostly serviceable performances, and Peppermint as Pythio primarily serves up the boilerplate camp that made her (or they?) famous on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The true standouts here are the winning Bonnie Milligan as Pamela, the brash and zaftig young princess who gets many of the laughs, as well as Taylor Iman Jones as her gal pal Mopsa. Both Ms. Milligan and Ms. Jones are a sheer delight whenever they are onstage.

In comparison to some of the dreadful jukebox musicals recently, from the inane Escape from Margaritaville (featuring Jimmy Buffett songs) to the factually challenged Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, Head Over Heels is a vast improvement for the genre. Perhaps an escapist tale with Go-Go’s songs, full of characters exploring nonconformity and sexual freedom, is exactly the tonic needed in these troubled times.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published August 3, 2018
Reviewed at August 2, 2018 press performance.

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: Rachel York & Jeremy Kushnier & the company. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: Peppermint (center) & the ensemble. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: Tom Alan Robbins & Jeremy Kushnier. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: Andrew Durand & Alexandra Socha. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: The ensemble. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: The company. Photo: Joan Marcus

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