Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Broadway San Diego

“Kimberly Akimbo” brings teenage angst, youthful enthusiasm, and a little bit of ice skating and committing a felony to Broadway San Diego at the Civic Theatre through October 13th.

For most teenagers, everything just feels like a matter of life or death, but for the title character, Kimberly (Carolee Carmello), that is more literal than hyperbole.  Born with a rare genetic condition where she ages 4 times faster than normal, she may be turning 16, but her body is closer to 70.  Her parents, Buddy (Jim Hogan) and Pattie (Dana Steingold), are not the most mature, are expecting another baby, and have recently moved everyone to Bergen County, New Jersey, to try to evade Debra (Emily Koch), Kimberly’s aunt, who always seems to have some criminal master plan in the works.

A new town also means a new school, where Kimberly is in class with Seth (Miguel Gil), a sweet nerd who works at the local ice rink and loves word puzzles.  They bond over being different, while a dramatic group of theatre/show choir kids are willing to do anything to beat their rival school in performance but lack any awareness of their interpersonal relationships.

Carolee Carmello leads the show as Kimberly, a girl who not only looks older based on her disease but also has to act as the main grown-up in her family since her dysfunctional parents seem to live in a stunted existence. Dad is an alcoholic, and Mom is a narcissist. Carmello's voice and performance are undeniably strong (she’s a three-time Tony nominee for a reason), and she so thoroughly captures the enthusiasm for the life of a young girl that it is genuinely shocking when she comes out in the second act in an all-to-convincing disguise. 

Miguel Gil is delightfully nerdy and funny as Seth, a kid who is a bit of an outcast who speaks Elvish and has a deep love for word puzzles and anagrams. Like Kimberly, he feels alone in his family. He has a clear and sweet voice, with a tenderness that is especially apparent in his second-act solo, “Good Kid.”

Emily Koch, as the felonious aunt Debra, is funny and charismatic.  Sure, she’s a felon and an admittedly bad influence, but at least she’s supportive and gives all of the kids, not just Kimberly, an adventure to support their (and her) goals. 

Jim Hogan and Dana Steingold are excellent at playing some pretty terrible narcissistic parents who do love their daughter but say and do some terrible things.

Grace Capeless, Skye Alyssa Friedman, Darron Hayes, and Pierce Wheeler prove that anything can be improved with choreography and backup singers, except for being part of a criminal gang. Unfortunately, their theatre kid's tendency towards jazz hands makes them easily distracted.  An extra shout out to Darron Hayes for singing the word “scurvy” with such dramatic flair that it made the audience cheer during the school biology project “Our Disease.”

Jessica Stone,'s direction keeps the show moving along, with emotional highs and lows reminiscent of the roller coaster at an amusement park; you enjoy the build-up even as you know the coming drop may make your heart drop along with it. It is based on a play by David Lindsay-Abaire, who wrote the books and lyrics with music by Jeanine Tesori, who has a knack for making difficult family stories sing onstage. The show feels like it has a lot of similarities to “Fun Home”, a challenging family dynamic, embracing who you are, and the specter of dying casting a long shadow over the proceedings.

Danny Mefford's choreography is bouncy and fun and works well with David Zinn's scenic design and Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew's lighting design. All are bright, colorful, and adaptable, and complimented by  Sarah Laux's costumes that fit the 1990s so well that you might remember wearing some of those outfits.

“Kimberly Akimbo” is a bittersweet musical about love, hope, family, and living your most authentic life daily. “So just enjoy the ride because no one gets a second time around.”

How To Get Tickets

“Kimberly Akimbo” is only at Broadway San Diego at the Civic Theatre through October 13th before moving on to another adventure.  For ticket and show time information, go to www.broadwaysd.com 

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

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