KIMBERLY AKIMBO to Broadway this Fall!- Page 2

[ShowBro]

Posted: 2/25/22 at 4:12pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: “FUN HOME and BAND'S VISIT might have been even more accessible than this. Not on a recoupable level without the general audience/critical love, but FH appealed toLGBTQ+ folks and BV appealed to a Jewish audience...both of which have good overlaps with full-price theatergoers. This has a SIDE SHOW problem where if you explain the premise to a random person, it can easily sound morbid or unappealing.” 

So your logic is that Fun Home appealed to mostly gays, TBV appealed to mostly Jews, and Kimberly Akimbo will only appeal to people with rare genetic diseases like progeria because this subject matter is too “morbid or unappealing” for the general public to digest?

 

"

 

Updated On: 2/25/22 at 04:12 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 2/25/22 at 4:27pm

Lolz. I am neither Jewish, Gay or have a rare genetic disease and I loved all three of these shows because they were GOOD. I don't have to relate to the least interesting thing about characters in order to love them or the show. 

[Peronista]

Posted: 2/25/22 at 4:36pm

Any new musical that is this quirky that finds the backing to make the move to Broadway deserves celebration. And this show is quirky personified. Who it appeals to is often unknown until it starts its run - honestly, some shows think they know their target audience and then some other niche or community claims it as their own. Never know.

But what I know - and it's only one opinion - is that this show has terrific performances, all the heart in the world and no real cogent story. The source material always felt like a genius gimmick (cast a woman of a certain age in the role of an accelerated-aging chid) in search of a story. The musical plays like it believes it's a long-running HBO or NETFLIX series where you can dip and dive into different story threads over time: the episode about the dysfunctional parents, the episode about the band geeks, the episode about the new boyfriend, the episode about the check fraud, the episode about the kooky aunt who stays for a month... Trouble is, musicals don't work that way. At the end, the comments above about the final moments not feeling truly cathartic are valid because the audience has not been given a clear path to follow, a clear dream to want along with the main character, a clear triumph or heartbreaking but character-building failure. And it feels like they're riding off into next season's series of new adventures and high-jinx.

One awesome discovery throughout, though: the lyrics. David Lindsay-Abaire turns out to be a much stronger lyricist than most probably expected.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/25/22 at 4:45pm

Peronista - funnily enough, I felt the reverse about the show's strengths and weaknesses. I actually appreciated the bizarre, "anything goes" plot structure. It kept me on my toes. Meanwhile I thought the lyrics were the fundamental crux of the show's problems; I found them extremely bland, obvious, and thin, and felt very shoe-horned into the story. To the point where the whole thing just felt like a pointless exercise - I kept thinking "this could've stayed a play." 

But I guess that just further proves that you never know who's going to respond to what elements of the show, let alone the show as a whole. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/25/22 at 5:59pm

ShowBro said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: “FUN HOME and BAND'S VISIT might have been even more accessible than this. Not on a recoupable level without the general audience/critical love, but FH appealed toLGBTQ+ folks and BV appealed to a Jewish audience...both of which have good overlaps with full-price theatergoers. This has a SIDE SHOW problem where if you explain the premise to a random person, it can easily sound morbid or unappealing.”

So your logic is that Fun Home appealed to mostly gays, TBV appealed to mostly Jews, and Kimberly Akimbo will only appeal to peoplewith rare genetic diseases like progeria because this subject matter is too “morbid or unappealing” for the general public to digest?"

You have grossly and ignorantly misinterpreted my logic.

I'm saying that there were inherent aspects to those stories that were more easily promotable to certain demographics of theatergoers –– not that they only appealed to those people. (As I said, the appeal wasn't on a recoupable level...plenty of other shows with Jewish or gay characters have failed spectacularly.) It's all about an "angle" to the advertising, and some shows have better angles than others. KIMBERLY doesn't have a cultural angle on that level; it would be easy for an inarticulate person to describe the show in a way that sounds offputting.

CFA overcame being "the 9/11 musical" and DEH overcame being "the teen suicide musical," so...we'll see what happens with this. Only time will tell.

[ShowBro]

Posted: 2/25/22 at 7:50pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "ShowBro said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: “FUN HOME and BAND'S VISIT might have been even more accessible than this. Not on a recoupable level without the general audience/critical love, but FH appealed toLGBTQ+ folks and BV appealed to a Jewish audience...both of which have good overlaps with full-price theatergoers. This has a SIDE SHOW problem where if you explain the premise to a random person, it can easily sound morbid or unappealing.”

So your logic is that Fun Home appealed to mostly gays, TBV appealed to mostly Jews, and Kimberly Akimbo will only appeal to peoplewith rare genetic diseases like progeria because this subject matter is too “morbid or unappealing” for the general public to digest?"

You have grossly and ignorantly misinterpreted my logic.

I'm saying that there were inherent aspects to those stories that were more easily promotable to certain demographics of theatergoers –– not that they onlyappealed to those people. (As I said, the appeal wasn't on a recoupable level...plenty of other shows with Jewish or gay characters have failed spectacularly.) It's all about an "angle" to the advertising, and some shows have better angles than others. KIMBERLY doesn't have a cultural angle on that level; it would be easy for an inarticulate person to describe the show in a way that sounds offputting.

CFA overcame being "the 9/11 musical" and DEH overcame being "the teen suicide musical," so...we'll see what happens with this. Only time will tell."

If we are talking solely about advertising/promotion now, I really don’t remember anything specific about FH or TBV that screamed “come watch me if you are gay or a Jew” respectively. I mean wasn’t the ad for TBV the men in their iconic blue Egyptian uniforms with Katrina dancing around?

Not trying to badger you, and yes, we will have to see how they market KA next. It being a quirky dark musical comedy seems to be an obvious choice of an “angle” for promotion, and that alone would attract many people or at least peak their interest a bit. And yes you are correct it would be the Fun Home, The Band’s Visit demographic for sure. 

 

Updated On: 2/25/22 at 07:50 PM

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 2/26/22 at 12:09am

It’s the same group that want to see prestige films. The reviews were calling it the best new musical. That alone is going to peak interest. And since it’s not based on a well known film or musical catalogue, that sets it apart.
 

i can’t wait to see the marketing.  

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 2/26/22 at 5:47am

Peronista said: "But what I know - and it's only one opinion - is that this show has terrific performances, all the heart in the world and no real cogent story. The source material always felt like a genius gimmick (cast a woman of a certain age in the role of an accelerated-aging chid) in search of a story. The musical plays like it believes it's a long-running HBO or NETFLIX series where you can dip and dive into different story threads over time: the episode about the dysfunctional parents, the episode about the band geeks, the episode about the new boyfriend, the episode about the check fraud, the episode about the kooky aunt who stays for a month... Trouble is, musicals don't work that way. At the end, the comments above about the final moments not feeling truly cathartic are valid because the audience has not been given a clear path to follow, a clear dream to want along with the main character, a clear triumph or heartbreaking but character-building failure. And it feels like they're riding off into next season's series of new adventures and high-jinx."

I think that's a fair assessment though I think the clear through line is a bigger problem than just having a lot of little subplots. What does Kimberly want? She wants to finally have a normal happy family dynamic and to know her parents love her. She ends the show leaving them behind. Yes, she wanted the road trip but did she want it appreciably more than the tree house or anything else she wrote about in her letter to the charity? I didn't find the ending cathartic or uplifting. It felt nice. Fine. But while the teen romance was sweet, it couldn't ever be too explicit because of the age difference between the actors and it also had about the same level of depth as most teen romances. Learning to like the thing your crush likes (e.g. anagrams) is not a bad thing but Kimberly and Seth didn't seem to have that much in common. Except perhaps dysfunctional family lives. I remember his solo but I can't remember if he actually talked to her about his home life and they bonded over it. Should the show be more explicitly about Kimberly always looking to the future and finally choosing at the end to live in the moment? It's not that it needs a moral/lesson but it does have that TV show feeling where subplots get wrapped up rather than the movie feeling where the character gets what they want/or doesn't get what they want but gets what they need. 

The dark comedy/family dysfunction elements are too much like a sitcom to be prestige. Make it more uplifting and target the demographic who enjoys Malcolm in the Middle, Raising Hope, Roseanne, Young Sheldon, etc. 

[JasonC3]

Posted: 2/26/22 at 6:55am

While every production has to deal with both to be financially viable, I prefer artists create works that honor their intentions rather than ones heavily designed to attract a certain demographic. 

The former is about art and creation; the latter is a marketing and business issue and often results in productions that feel like they were created by a committee: they offend few and delight no one.

 

[BJR]

Posted: 2/26/22 at 7:50am

JBroadway said: "Peronista - funnily enough, I felt the reverse about the show's strengths and weaknesses. I actually appreciated the bizarre, "anything goes" plot structure. It kept me on my toes. Meanwhile I thought the lyrics were the fundamental crux of the show's problems; I found them extremely bland, obvious, and thin, and felt very shoe-horned into the story. To the point where the whole thing just felt like a pointless exercise - I kept thinking "this could've stayed a play."

But I guess that just further proves that you never know who's going to respond to what elements of the show, let alone the show as a whole."

Other than a few great performances (which stand in contrast to some bad ones), I think the strength is the book. And since that's already a play, that's really saying it gained nothing by becoming a musical. Definitely Tesori's weakest, IMHO

[Collingswood]

Posted: 2/26/22 at 8:27am

OhHiii said: "Tag said: "My bet is this will take the Music Box."

It's going into the Golden."

I'll say the Booth!

 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 2/26/22 at 9:58am

I personally found the end quite cathartic. So much so that I went back to see it again.  I loved being reminded by a dying teenager that it is really important to be YOU and live YOUR life because life is short.  Not deep enough? It is for me and I will happily return to see it a third time in October.  
 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 2/26/22 at 9:58am

I personally found the end quite cathartic. So much so that I went back to see it again.  I loved being reminded by a dying teenager that it is really important to be YOU and live YOUR life because life is short.  Not deep enough? It is for me and I will happily return to see it a third time in October.  
 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/26/22 at 10:28am

SouthernCakes said: "i can’t wait to see the marketing."

Website has a landing page with key art: https://kimberlyakimbothemusical.com

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/26/22 at 1:31pm

Oh see, I like that artwork. That's interesting. I'll be curious if they redesign the show now that they don't have the confines of that smaller theater. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/26/22 at 2:32pm

I like the key art too.

I hated the design and direction off-Bway, so my hope is that Jessica Stone has learned a lot from the Atlantic production and is able/willing to reimagine things for Broadway.

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 2/27/22 at 10:39am

This is not a dig at the shows merits, but I'm worried this may not make it through the harsh Winter. I'm curious about their strategy. This is a good show and deserves a life.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 2/27/22 at 12:28pm

Collingswood said: "OhHiii said: "Tag said: "My bet is this will take the Music Box."

It's going into the Golden."

I'll say the Booth!

Word is that it's going to re-open the Cort.

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/27/22 at 3:05pm

Oh that's exciting! Probably not the best house for it, but that's still exciting

[ScottK]

Posted: 2/27/22 at 10:21pm

It'll be the Booth--Stone had N2N there--recreate the magic!

[missthemountains]

Posted: 3/1/22 at 11:02am

I think this show fundamentally has a problem with an older woman playing a girl with a disability. I am honestly surprised there isn't more discussion about this. 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 3/1/22 at 11:17am

missthemountains said: "I think this show fundamentally has a problem with an older woman playing a girl with a disability. I am honestly surprised there isn't more discussion about this."

OFFS

[JasonC3]

Posted: 3/1/22 at 11:30am

missthemountains said: "I think this show fundamentally has a problem with an older woman playing a girl with a disability. I am honestly surprised there isn't more discussion about this."

Nonissue.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/1/22 at 12:19pm

Makes total sense as to WHY it's cast this way.

[OhHiJohnny]

Posted: 3/1/22 at 12:30pm

JSquared2 said: "Collingswood said: "OhHiii said: "Tag said: "My bet is this will take the Music Box."

It's going into the Golden."

I'll say the Booth!

Word is that it's going to re-open the Cort.

"

NOT THE CORT THEATER IN FEBRUARY