A quirky, charming musical with a larger-than-life world
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What’s it about?
Kimberly Akimbo follows Kimberly, a teenager with a rare genetic condition that causes her to age rapidly. Moving to a new town with her dysfunctional family, she is trying to navigate all the usual complications of being a teenager — school, friendships, family and first love — while knowing that her experience of growing up will be anything but usual.
With music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, based on his play of the same name, it’s an unconventional coming-of-age musical that mixes the touching and poignant with the wonderfully quirky.
What I loved
There is something undeniably charming about Kimberly Akimbo. Quirky, funny and populated by a wonderfully colourful collection of characters, this is a great production — beautifully performed, inventively staged and full of personality.
The production makes excellent use of a striking set dominated by a giant three-storey house that rotates throughout the evening to create a variety of locations, from the school hall and garage to Skater Planet, where Kimberly and her friends like to hang out. It’s a clever design that creates a wonderfully distinctive world for the musical.
The standout performance comes from Gilli Jones as Seth Weetis. Jones is superb: full of youthful energy, wide-eyed, endlessly likeable and completely convincing as the wonderfully uncool puzzle obsessive caught up in his own slightly eccentric world. There is a natural charisma to his performance that makes Seth immediately endearing.
Some of the most touching moments of the evening come from the developing relationship between Seth and Kimberly. Their scenes together have a lovely tenderness, with the unlikely connection between these two outsiders giving the show much of its heart.
Kimberly’s four school friends are another highlight played by Sara Hajizadeh (Teresa), Ronav Jain (Aaron), Robin Simões da Silva (Martin) and Aviva Tulley (Delia). They are enormous fun and each brings their character vividly to life, creating a colourful and slightly chaotic group of teenagers. Collectively, they inject a huge amount of youthful energy into the production and make the high-school world feel wonderfully alive.
In fact, it’s remarkable that the entire cast numbers just nine actors. The production feels populated by far more — testament to the larger-than-life world this small company manages to create on stage. There is always a sense of activity, personality and colour that makes Kimberly’s world feel much bigger than its cast size might suggest.
The choreography is another strength — lively, playful and constantly helping to keep things moving. The end of Act One is particularly clever, when the cast actually appear to go ice skating despite there being no ice. It’s a delightful piece of theatrical invention.
Anything I’d change?
For me, Maria Friedman as Kimberly is less convincing. There is no question that Friedman is a hugely accomplished performer, but I never quite believed the teenager beneath Kimberly’s prematurely aged appearance. Her interpretation feels too mature, without enough of the youthful mannerisms, energy or awkwardness that might bridge the gap between how Kimberly looks and the fact that she is actually a teenager.
It becomes particularly noticeable when she is surrounded by her school friends, who so convincingly inhabit their teenage characters.
The costume choices for Kimberly also reinforce this. The costumes across the production work well, but Kimberly is predominantly dressed in dark colours, including a checked shirt, giving her a rather boyish and subdued appearance. It’s an unusual choice. Rather than helping establish the contrast between Kimberly’s teenage identity and her prematurely aged body, the styling seems to push her further away from the youthful world around her.
This matters because Kimberly’s condition affects how she looks, but she is still a teenage girl. For the central conceit to completely land, I needed to see and feel more of that teenager beneath the exterior. Given that Kimberly is the emotional centre of the show, not completely believing in her age inevitably lessens some of the emotional impact.
Who Created It
Kimberly Akimbo features music by Jeanine Tesori, with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, who adapted the musical from his original play. This new Hampstead Theatre production — the musical’s European premiere — is directed by Michael Longhurst.
The creative team includes:
- Director: Michael Longhurst
- Designer: Soutra Gilmour
- Musical Supervisor & Musical Director: Nigel Lilley
- Choreographer: Matt Cole
- Lighting Designer: Jack Knowles
- Sound Designer: Paul Groothuis
- Video Designer: Luke Halls
Verdict
Kimberly Akimbo is a charming, quirky and beautifully realised production, packed with colourful characters and genuinely touching moments. The staging and choreography are inventive, the nine-strong company creates a world that feels far bigger than its numbers, and Gilli Jones gives a standout performance as the utterly endearing Seth.
I just wish the production had allowed me to see more of the teenager at the centre of Kimberly’s extraordinary story. It’s a significant reservation given how central she is to the piece, but there is still so much to enjoy in this warm, funny and wonderfully distinctive production.