KIMBERLY AKIMBO Previews

Quick – what’s an anagram for “highly anticipated”?

Fresh off a critically acclaimed run at Atlantic Theatre Company last fall, Kimberly Akimbo begins previews tomorrow night at the Booth Theatre, before a November 10 official opening. The tuner features music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics and book by David Lindsay-Abaire, choreography by Danny Mefford, and direction by Jessica Stone. Victoria Clark leads the cast in the titular role; rounding out the onstage company are Justin Cooley, Steven Boyer, Alli Mauzey, Bonnie Milligan, Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan, Michael Iskander, and Nina White.

“Tony Award winner Victoria Clark stars as Kim, a bright and funny Jersey teen who just happens to look like a 72-year-old lady. And yet her aging disease may be the least of her problems. Forced to maneuver family secrets, borderline personalities, and possible felony charges, Kim is determined to find happiness in a world where not even time is on her side.”

Who’s embarking on this great adventure?

Veteran's Day Weekend for me.

This feels like it had tons of momentum last fall but I haven’t heard much lately. Is it still highly anticipated? I have a day coming up where I have two slots but I can’t decide between four shows (this, piano lesson, salesman, top/under); any thoughts?

Seems a bit too soon to forecast it as one of the biggest flops we've seen in awhile, despite the somewhat tepid ticket sales at the moment.

This is selling poorly - no buzz or advertising at all and 1st night of previews is embarrassing.

Seeing it in December. The Prom had no stars- and was a big, unexpected hit- so it can happen. Lots of niche musicals have made it without big stars- though, of course, the odds are highly against this. Hoping for the best- the reviews Off BWAY have been so good that I really wanted to see it- plus YouTube clips are very good as well.

BWAY Baby2 said: "Seeing it in December. The Prom had no stars- and was a big, unexpected hit- so it can happen. Lots of niche musicals have made it without big stars- though, of course, the odds are highly against this. Hoping for the best- the reviews Off BWAY have been so good that I really wanted to see it- plus YouTube clips are very good as well."



THE PROM was a great show with an unexpectedly decent run -- but it was in no way, shape or form a "hit" (unfortunately).

It's more accurate to say The Prom limped for a while- producers kept pumping money into it, apparently hoping for a Tony or a word-of-mouth pickup.

atleast The Prom had several Broadway veterans (Beth, Brooks, Chris, Michael Potts) in it and was directed/cherographed by a Tony winner and had a much less weird story and might brighter ad-campaign

this show has three notiable names, one of which has never done a musical on Broadway and is directed by a total unknown, the website is blah, the social media is blah, the entire ad campaign is blah

the fact they aren't papering this first week is kind of absurd

If this last past January 15th then its either because a major sales shift somehow happened (it already got rave reviews off-broadway and tons of awards so not sure how reviews will cause a spike) or the producers are going to burn money for 7 months hoping it wins best musical which if A Strange Loop showed us today is no longer the garuantee recoupment marker it used to be

We are talking about ticket sales only and no, I don’t think I’d say the same thing about most of those shows because they had much stronger starts at the box office. Look, I could be wrong and I genuinely hope I am because I love the show - I remember being one of the first here to praise it after some mixed reviews. But just look at the empty seats for the first week and beyond. Previews start tomorrow. This is not a healthy start for a show and it is very difficult to gain the momentum it needs. Especially at this time of year - it’s not a stereotypical spring opening that Tony nominations and a win might help. This is more THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS than FUN HOME.

Ravenclaw said: "I think there's a path to success for this show based on word-of-mouth and good critical reception (both of which this show already has). Everyone in this thread is pointing to intimate, serious drama musicals or big musical comedies, but this show is much more along the lines of a ...Spelling BeeorUrinetown, a small, off-beat/quirky musical comedy. It doesn't have broad name-recognition right now, but the fans are deeply enthusiastic. I've recommended it to lots of people from out-of-town, and I can tell you it's much easier to convince someone to buy tickets to "a quirky comedy in the '90s about a teenager who looks like she's in her 60s and commits check fraud to help her friends get a costume budget for their show choir" than "Egyptian musicians buy the wrong bus tickets and end up in the middle of nowhere and nothing happens, but trust me, it's beautiful." I expect numbers to grow over the first several weeks of the run as buzz re-builds."

Excellent analysis and well said!!

It’s not a sign at all: very few people outside of the New York / Broadway community have ever heard of this. It’s a new musical and it’s going to have an uphill road, but I think (hope, pray) that it gets the necessary rave reviews and good word of mouth for a nice run straight through the Tony’s.