KIMBERLY AKIMBO Reviews- Page 8

[phantom1978]

Posted: 3/19/23 at 5:11am

Justin Cooley was the true star of this show. 

[inception]

Posted: 3/19/23 at 8:32am

Saw this yesterday.  I went in having listened to the recording a couple times, and not loving it. I thought the songs worked better in the show than standing alone, but I think this is far from Tesori's best work.  The score to Fun Home is so incredibly superior. 

This show almost feels like a twisted carnival mirror reflection of Fun Home.  

SPOILERS  below

 

 

 

The family here is just as messed up, but not because anyone has any secrets.  Here terrible people doing terrible things openly is played for laughs.  No one loves anyone except themselves.  Even the four teenagers, experiencing their first crushes, brutally learn that their love has all been in their own minds.

The whole show has such sarcastic & warped humour, and I am at a loss as to why the creative chose this path instead of dealing with what is a very real illness in a more earnest & empathetic manner?

The family are straight out of an episode of Jerry Springer or Maury Povich.  Does anyone believe those people are real?  It is pretty well documented that those television programs would completely fabricate the situations in their episodes.  Since  everything here is  equally fabricated,  how can an audience react with authentic emotion?

I felt like someone being fed a pill of fentanyl:  a synthetic opiod, meant to mimic the effects of of the natural substance - but which usually kills those who take it.  This show killed any real emotions I might feel.

In Fun Home people can heal & recover from trauma & loss.  Here there will be no recovery.  At the end the children flee.  They leave on a "great adventure, " which a thinking audience knows only postpones the inevitable: DEATH.  And it is played for laughs.

What has happened to tragedy?  For centuries audiences were very happy to leave the theatre drenched in their own tears.  Hamlet dies.  Both Mimi & Violetta die surrounded by those that love them.

Kimberly will die. But, since the clumsily constructed cartoon family created here are satisfied to let her die on her own, off in the hospital, while they get on with their own lives,  the creative seemed to decide that would be too bitter & clumsily constructed a pleasant ending. 

Ultimately, I don’t think it works.  It is like they are feeding the audience fentanyl to anesthetize their emotions.  They forgot though that when you are drugged like that you not only don't feel sorrow, you also can't feel joy.  So for myself I left the theatre feeling nothing.

The set was nicely constructed, and staging effective.

I didn't belive for one minute that Victoria Clark was a 16 year old with a debilitating illness.  If she gets the Tony over Annaleigh Ashford it will be a crime of historic proportions.

 

 

 

 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/19/23 at 9:15am

I finally saw this recently and found the entire show to be wildly charming, quick, and weird in the very best way possible. As someone who didn't really care for Fun Home and absolutely loathed Caroline, or Change, I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I loved Kimberly Akimbo.

Victoria Clarke was wonderful, and I have to disagree with the poster that mentioned she didn't read as a 15 year-old girl. I thought she exhibited youth and sorrow in a beautiful way. The entire supporting cast was wonderful - Bonnie Milligan had me in stitches.

This is truly such a special show that is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I definitely predict a slew of Tonys for this come June. 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 3/19/23 at 10:13am

All the haters coming out of the woodwork, lol

Where have you all been for the last 5 months?

[Collingswood]

Posted: 3/19/23 at 10:50am

I didn't belive for one minute that Victoria Clark was a 16 year old with a debilitating illness.  If she gets the Tony over Annaleigh Ashford it will be a crime of historic proportions.

A crime of historic proportions?? Oh boy, that's a good one! 
 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 3/19/23 at 3:16pm

jkcohen626 said: "All the haters coming out of the woodwork, lol

Where have you all been for the last 5 months?"

Lolz. Who cares what they think? Critics and most people really enjoyed it so they can bitch into the void all day with their over dramatic statements, nobodies listening.

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 3/19/23 at 3:50pm

and yet here you are responding to them lolz

[bear88]

Posted: 3/20/23 at 2:26am

Hmm. So I didn't like a critically-praised musical that I paid to see and I get labeled a "hater" who is "bitch[ing] into the void" because my opinion - and those of anyone else who didn't agree with the consensus view - is irrelevant.

This is true. I'm just a random tourist from California who saw Kimberly Akimbo on Thursday night. The full cast was in, and the actors are very talented. I understand that people are protective of the shows they love, especially smaller musicals like this one. But given its status as an award-winning critical darling and likely favorite for the Tony Award as Best Musical, Kimberly Akimbo can certainly survive a little scrutiny from me. Nobody's listening anyway, and this is a message board devoted to discussing theater. So let's dive in (SOME SPOILERS INCLUDED):

-- The subject of the musical is inherently tragic. Kimberly Levaco is a 15-year-old girl with a rare disease, apparently something like progeria, which is causing her to age at four and a half times the normal rate. She's about to turn 16, and Kimberly explains early that most people don't live beyond that age. She's a teenager in the body of an old woman, and her new friend Seth must assist her when she gets up.

-- Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, who adapted his own play and wrote the lyrics, is determined not to treat the story as a tragedy. The plot includes Kimberly's irresponsible parents who are having another baby and her aunt Debra, who arrives and immediately plans a criminal check-washing grift with Kimberly's friend and some other high school kids who want money for show choir costumes. None of Kimberly's family members seems to care about her. The father, Buddy, has an alcohol problem and keeps making promises to her that he can't keep. Her mother, Pattie, is preoccupied with making videos for the unborn baby and treats Kimberly as a bit of a servant due to medical problems that may or may not exist. Debra seems to like Kimberly well enough, but she mostly wants to use her as part of the fraud scheme. 

-- These are all terrible people, but they're not terrible in ways that give the audience an understanding and appreciation for how difficult it would be for her parents - blue-collar people without resources who had Kimberly as teenagers - to have a child with such a horrible disease. Instead, they say awful things to Kimberly, neglect her, or make things worse. And except for the fact that the audience is meant to feel sorry for her, it's mostly played for laughs. The show is "Married... With Children," but with a body count and less actual humor.

-- Kimberly, dressed in a jumper as if she's 5 instead of 15, is portrayed as an old soul with the patience of a saint, aside from a few outbursts and a penchant for sarcasm. Her friend Seth is even more of a saint, and gets a solo in which he asks what being good has ever got him.

- We eventually learn other unpleasant and increasingly implausible things about Kimberly's family, with a last straw that seemed so cruel as to be unbelievable even given the low opinion I already had of them. She decides to run while she has any time left to have a "great adventure," even if that means involving her only friend Seth - who is Black - in federal crimes. Does anyone consider what's going to happen after the musical ends? The possibilities are grim.

It's art, and everyone will react to it their own way. For me, the musical isn't nearly funny or smart enough to work as a really dark comedy. And it certainly isn't serious enough to work as the tragedy that it's determined not to be. I couldn't get past the stupid caper plot, the story of what happened in their old town, or the unforgivable things that Kimberly's parents did to take any of it seriously. It's a great musical for people who hate parents who repeatedly let them down, though.

Updated On: 3/20/23 at 02:26 AM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/20/23 at 3:31am

jkcohen626 said: "All the haters coming out of the woodwork, lol

Where have you all been for the last 5 months?"

People on this board have been bemoaning not enough people seeing Kimberly Akimbo, and telling anyone seeking recommendations that they should go see Kimberly Akimbo, for 5 months. Be careful what you wish for. Was it just assumed that every person who was told or cajoled to see it would like it, and shouldn't say otherwise?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/20/23 at 7:47am

I have to admit, I didn't care for the sister's storyline much....and yes, these are not good people.  They are people struggling dealing with things with limited resources and little common sense or support. I don't think they lack love, they have just never grown up - can you imagine the lives THEY have come from?  Do I mind the humor in it? No, it makes one think later.   Kimberly WILL die, but she will also experience joy and love and true friendship before she does.

That being said - sorry to anyone that disliked the show after I've recommended it so strongly here.  Different strokes, after all.

[bear88]

Posted: 3/20/23 at 11:27am

dramamama611,

No one, and certainly not you, owes me or others any sort of apology for recommending a Broadway show. I have agency, and a long list of major critics lauded Kimberly Akimbo without reservation. The show is easily the most-praised new musical of the season. I would have been curious to see it even if the plaudits had been more nuanced.

You (and many others) loved the show. I didn’t. Different strokes, as you say. I’m not usually this negative and was honestly surprised by how much I disliked it. Part of my problem was the sense that the playwright didn’t respect most of his characters enough to bother painting them as anything but broad caricatures. By contrast, Kimberly and Seth are long-suffering saints, with the title character suffering an endless series of humiliations before she finally breaks.

Spoiler (behind tags):

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

Did the parents really plan to just leave Kimberly at the hospital to die? Buddy isn’t really portrayed as a monster, and he seems to love Kimberly as much as he is able, but was he really on board with that? The whole crib scene was too much. 

The Lodi revelations also felt cartoonish, the sort of thing one might find in a bad sitcom or movie trying to be edgy. ‘What is wrong with you people,’ Kimberly yells. And yet Kimberly’s parents and aunt (and even the show choir kids, who apparently have no parents who could make them costumes or stop them from getting into serious trouble) share the story with that of a dying girl and her saintly friend who ultimately decide to seize the day - and commit multiple federal and state crimes. But Kimberly and Seth wouldn’t have gotten far. And if they somehow did, what was supposed to happen next?

For everyone who loved the show, what am I missing? Was Kimberly’s last, desperate grasp at a little bit of happiness enough?

Updated On: 3/20/23 at 11:27 AM

[ShowBro]

Posted: 3/20/23 at 12:30pm

bear88 said: "

--. None of Kimberly's family members seems to care about her..
--. Instead, they say awful things to Kimberly, neglect her, or make things worse. And except for the fact that the audience is meant to feel sorry for her, it's mostly played for laughs.
--- We eventually learn other unpleasant and increasingly implausible things about Kimberly's family, with a last straw that seemed so cruel as to be unbelievable even given the low opinion I already had of them. She decides to run while she has any time left to have a "great adventure,"

As much as these “implausible” plot points are hard for you to swallow/believe, you are preaching to the choir. I know many MANY people that were disowned, neglected, kicked out, and forced to “run” from their own family because their own mothers and fathers disapprove of their child’s identity in the queer community. It’s v tragic but it happens! 



 

 

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 3/20/23 at 12:32pm

I think the point is they ARE caricatures. Alcoholic father. Negligent mother. Crazy aunt. And it plays on those stereotypes so Kimberly can escape her own narrative. And it does so brilliantly imho. 
 

also remember the original play premiered in 2000. What we would now consider “independent cinema” was on the rise, and the plot lines that dominated these genres brought this inherent quirkiness to otherwise simple stories. I’d hardly consider this show one that takes place in “reality” if that makes sense. I think it’s the perfect show, and I’ve gotten something new from it every time I’ve re-visited. 
 

“These are all terrible people, but they're not terrible in ways that give the audience an understanding and appreciation for how difficult it would be for her parents - blue-collar people without resources who had Kimberly as teenagers - to have a child with such a horrible disease.”

This is a hard disagree for me. Sure it’s difficult, and I don’t think one person in the audience doesn’t see that, but that isn’t an excuse. Father Time hints at the fear of death, but they’re still trapping her in a cycle where they’ll never give her daughter true happiness, resources or not. 

Updated On: 3/20/23 at 12:32 PM

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 3/20/23 at 12:37pm

Ok, a couple things.

First, I'm sorry I upset you with the label of "hater." I honestly didn't mean it in a way to be mean to the posters. It's not really a serious label to me, I was just using it to denote people who didn't like the show. I also 100% respect your opinion to dislike any show you want, my older comment was just me expressing surprise at what seemed like a sudden pile-up on the show.

Second, I think maybe the reason you didn't like the show while so many did is suspension of disbelief. I view the show as something inherently absurdist and cartoonish and that that makes it better. When viewing this show, I throw out any real-world morality of things like check fraud or the Lodi affair. If you go in expecting something a lot more grounded and are shocked by the true nature of the show, I can totally understand not liking it. 

[bear88]

Posted: 3/20/23 at 7:19pm

Thanks for the replies. I would certainly rather discuss the success, or lack thereof, of the show itself. I was just annoyed by what seemed like the rather dismissive attitude toward anyone - not just me - who dared to criticize the show. It's a theater message board. Everyone doesn't have to agree.

SPOILERS ARE BELOW. 

 

BroadwayNYC2's argument is that the show deliberately treats Kimberly's family as caricatures and that the show can't necessarily be regarded as taking place in reality at all. jkcohen626 says the show's "inherently absurdist and cartoonish" qualities make it better, and that any consideration of real-world morality of the characters' actions is the wrong way to think about the show.

Fair enough. Plenty of serious shows - especially musicals - include ludicrous, comic subplots, and it's fine to argue that getting too caught up in the criminal code or the likelihood that Buddy would report his beloved car stolen is being too literal. But the show makes a point of stating it's taking place in 1999, repeatedly saying it's in Bergen County, New Jersey. The details of Kimberly's medical condition, and her likely death in a year or less, are drummed home in scene after scene. That feels like an odd choice for a show that might not exist in reality.

And all the cartoonishness of Kimberly's family exists in the show uncomfortably alongside her own misery, which doesn't feel absurdist at all. It feels awfully grounded to me. "I was never the daughter you wanted," Kimberly sings at the outset of the show's emotional pinnacle, "Before I Go." She's accompanied in the second half of the song by her parents, singing parts of their only serious songs, including her mother's "Father Time."

How can Kimberly's song to her parents about "the ghost of the girl I'll never be," just before she leaves her family to die, be treated as anything but a tragedy? Forget Lodi. Forget the caper stuff. Just that song. 

The musical feels like it's trying to have things both ways. It's a tragedy, Kimberly's going to die, abandoned/driven away by her family to make way for the new baby, but don't feel sad. Don't even be angry at her parents - the ones she's singing to in "Before I Go" - because they're absurd caricatures and maybe not even real. At least Kimberly is getting to go on a great adventure with her only friend (who apparently can just drop out of school).

I'm glad that many people have enjoyed this show and weren't bothered by the things that irked me. I just couldn't accept the show's abrupt tonal shifts and logical inconsistencies.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 3/20/23 at 7:41pm

I don’t think viewing it as a tragedy is correct either. Sure, she will die. There will be sad songs. But there’s comedy in death and circumstances.
 

Updated On: 3/20/23 at 07:41 PM

[bear88]

Posted: 3/20/23 at 8:07pm

I think you've hit on the source of our disagreement. I saw the story as a tragedy, not just because Kimberly will die - although that seems sad enough - but because of the heartless circumstances that compelled her to leave home. 

You don't see it as a tragedy, and bookwriter David Lindsay-Abaire agrees with you. It's his adaptation of his own play, so I'm probably debating this with the wrong person.

Anyway, I'll shut up now. Thanks for the thoughtful discussion.

[musikman]

Posted: 3/20/23 at 8:49pm

bear88 said: "Thanks for the replies. I would certainly rather discuss the success, or lack thereof, of the show itself. I was just annoyed by what seemed like the rather dismissive attitude toward anyone - not just me - who dared to criticize the show. It's a theater message board. Everyone doesn't have to agree.

SPOILERS ARE BELOW.



BroadwayNYC2's argument is that the show deliberately treats Kimberly's family as caricatures and that the show can't necessarily be regarded as taking place in reality at all. jkcohen626 says the show's "inherently absurdist and cartoonish" qualities make it better, and that any consideration of real-world morality of the characters' actions is the wrong way to think about the show.

Fair enough. Plenty of serious shows - especially musicals - include ludicrous, comic subplots, and it's fine to argue that getting too caught up in the criminal code or the likelihood that Buddy would report his beloved car stolen is being too literal. But the show makes a point of stating it's taking place in 1999, repeatedly saying it's in Bergen County, New Jersey. The details of Kimberly's medical condition, and her likely death in a year or less, are drummed home in scene after scene. That feels like an odd choice for a show that might not exist in reality.

And all the cartoonishness of Kimberly's family exists in the show uncomfortably alongside her own misery, which doesn't feel absurdist at all. It feels awfully grounded to me. "I was never the daughter you wanted," Kimberly sings at the outset of the show's emotional pinnacle, "Before I Go." She's accompanied in the second half of the song by her parents, singing parts of their only serious songs, including her mother's "Father Time."

How can Kimberly's song to her parents about "the ghost of the girl I'll never be," just before she leaves her family to die, be treated as anything but a tragedy? Forget Lodi. Forget the caper stuff. Just that song.

The musical feels like it's trying to have things both ways. It's a tragedy, Kimberly's going to die, abandoned/driven away by her family to make way for the new baby, but don't feel sad. Don't even be angry at her parents - the ones she's singing to in "Before I Go" - because they're absurd caricatures and maybe not even real. At least Kimberly is getting to go on a great adventure with her only friend (who apparently can just drop out of school).

I'm glad that many people have enjoyed this show and weren't bothered by the things that irked me. I just couldn't accept the show's abrupt tonal shifts and logical inconsistencies."

 

So, for me, at its most basic, this piece is a fable and reminder to live life to its fullest whenever you can because “no one gets a second time around.” This is cloaked in a story about a girl with a much greater sense of urgency when it comes to needing to cherish every moment possible due to the inevitability of her circumstances and reality.  
 

If you’re getting too bogged down in the absurdity of the parents and Kimberly’s aunt and whether or not Kimberly and Seth would be caught or arrested in real life, I think you’re missing the point of the show.  Everything that happens to Kimberly (good and bad) is a catalyst towards her end goal before her life is abruptly cut short. 
 

But, if we really want to get into the weeds: Kimberly’s parents are literal white trash who peaked in high school and Debra is an actual criminal.  These aren’t exactly saintly people.  Couple this with the fact that Buddy and Patti have a kid in their late teens (already somewhat traumatic) who turns out to have an extremely rare disease that will ensure that they outlive their child.  We don’t know what kind of trauma response they are going to have to this knowing that their kid could die any moment.   It doesn’t excuse their behavior, but it certainly explains it.  Despite all this, you know deep down they still care (their immediate emotional responses after the inevitable turn, and sticking by her hospital bed for days). 


Some SPOILERS:

All that said, if you’re not believing in Kimberly’s arc or rooting for her, I suppose you may not enjoy yourself (though it frankly feels impossible not to!).  One of the most surprising things about this show is that you’re expecting the ending to be tragic and yet, it ends on such a heartwarming and sweet note. I like how that subverted a cliche plot line.  
 

In “before I go” where she also sings “let me go,” (which by the way has made me tear up more than just about any song in memory), there’s the double meaning:

1) literally let me go on my trip to see the world before I go (die) 

2)  let go of the memory of me.  It’s an unselfish act where Kimberly wants to set her parents free of the grief, guilt, and fear they’ve been harboring for 16 years.   


I’ve seen the show three times now and each time becomes more endearing and so very personal and moving. Kimberly as a character so affects me and I care deeply about her as an audience member.   I’ve never recommended a show this much and often to friends and family before.  For weeks after I first saw the show, just thinking about Kimberly’s story and joie de vivre made me misty.   I get that not everyone is going to have that response.   

 

Anyway, that’s just some really jumbled thoughts.  

 

 

[Ceej]

Posted: 3/20/23 at 9:58pm

Question for those who have seen it - how high is the stage? Getting tickets and have BB or A center orchestra available but A is premium. Worth the extra? Thanks in advance. 

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 3/21/23 at 9:45am

Finally got around to seeing this since it's been on TDF and after all the raves on here.  Did I think it's the "one to beat" for the Tony like I read when it first opened?  No.

It was ok.

While I think that Victoria will win the Tony, probably, but I couldn't get beyond seeing her as an old woman playing a young girl, maybe that's what they were going for?

At intermission my husband mentioned to me about expecting a "Jason's Bar Mitzvah"  in the second act and sure enough, we have a hospital scene.

It's a fine show, kooky, well acted, song are a bit basic and this musical will be a BIG hit in community theaters around the country where they have that one older woman that's due to play a lead in a production.

[yellibean2]

Posted: 3/21/23 at 12:15pm

Ceej - I just sat front row when I won the lottery and you do have to look up the whole time (I'm 5'7 but it seemed like other people taller than me were also looking up), but you don't miss anything. If I could choose a seat I would probably go a few rows back, but it's an intimate story that does benefit from being up close. 

[Ceej]

Posted: 3/21/23 at 3:16pm

yellibean2 said: "Ceej - I just sat front row when I won the lottery and you do have to look up the whole time (I'm 5'7 but it seemed like other people taller than me were also looking up), but you don't miss anything. If I could choose a seat I would probably go a few rows back, but it's an intimate story that does benefit from being up close."

Thank you so much!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/26/23 at 1:59am

Finally saw this show - full cast - and I both loved it and felt "meh." Victoria can act a song. So that was great to see and watch. But honestly my biggest standout was Allie as the Mom. Such great comedic timing. Just incredible. I'd give her supporting over Bonnie, who is good, but acting wise she felt uncomfortable/off. 

Score wise I think Tesori dabbles earworms and then leaves them. There were moments of Oh i love this melody and then it would never repeat. And I never felt like Kimberly every had a "moment." It was very well acted but I just wanted a big song or moment. 

That said, gorgeous show that I would see again. Also great design and direction.

[Dolly80]

Posted: 3/26/23 at 4:17am

Is Victoria Clark scheduled to do all 8 shows?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/26/23 at 2:43pm

Yes, she is.