Uplifting musical Kimberly Akimbo one for the ages

It’s hard enough being the new girl at a high school in suburban New Jersey.

But when Kimberly Levaco arrives as a student, she’s mistaken for a lunch lady. That’s because the teenager, the central character in the Tony Award-winning musical Kimberly Akimbo, has a rare genetic disorder that causes her to age about four times more quickly than normal.

The grey-haired Kim appears to be a woman in her 60s. She’s not at risk for teen pregnancy because she’s already been through menopause. Her life expectancy? Sixteen years — a birthday she celebrates in the second act.

You might expect that a story built around Kim’s rapidly ticking clock would call on us to appreciate each moment and live life to the fullest. Kimberly Akimbo does just that, but in fresh, irreverent ways.

The 2021 musical, set in the late 1990s, features rock-based music by Jeanine Tesori and clever lyrics and book by David Lindsay-Abaire, adapted from his play of the same name.

Although it carries a warning for profanity and “adult humour,” teens will probably love it.

Mounted for the first time in Winnipeg by Dry Cold Productions, ably directed by Justin Stadnyk, the show opened Wednesday at Prairie Theatre Exchange. It succeeds in blending broad comedy, heart-wrenching family dysfunction and a touching portrait of first love between Kim and a fellow teen misfit, Seth.

Seth, who may be neurodivergent, is obsessed with rearranging people’s names into anagrams — a metaphor for the possibility of redefinition or reinvention. He turns “Kimberly Levaco” into “Cleverly Akimbo.”

The word “akimbo,” usually used in reference to standing with one’s hands on one’s hips, can also mean off-kilter or “askew” — a word that applies to Kim’s strange life. She uses “askew” in appreciating the anxious, nerdy, tuba-playing Seth.

Debbie Maslowsky, a mature musical theatre performer, radiates wisdom and a strong moral centre in the challenging role of Kim. The petite actress doesn’t quite pull off the physicality or voice patterns of an adolescent, but is enormously spunky and sympathetic.

Brady Barrientos is the show’s greatest delight as the awkward Seth, who has in common with Kim a screwed-up family. Their performance is sweet, funny and sensitive. In a perfect moment, they sing about the burden of always being good, then actually play the tuba.

The four young adults in the ensemble — Jean Blandon, Kris Cahatol, Saraya Clayton and Sophie Vermeylen — convincingly portray Kim and Seth’s friends, who are spoofed as Glee-style show-choir obsessives. They deliver outstanding backing harmonies and slick choreography in show-choir style by Katelyn Mestito-Dao.

At Kimberly’s home, there are heavy ironies (laid on a bit too thickly) as she has to function as the responsible adult with her childish parents.

Although there’s comedy woven throughout, the behaviour of the selfish, alcoholic dad (Ben Krawchuk) and narcissistic, pregnant mom (Sarah Luby, costumed with a bad fake baby bump) is often shocking.

“I hate getting old,” the mother complains, oblivious to the fact that her daughter is aging much too fast.

When Kim’s trashy, out-on-parole Aunt Debra shows up — played with raunchy relish and terrific vocal chops by Michele Shuster — the show gets a welcome jolt.

“Grab life by the balls! Make your shitty life better!” Debra urges the teens, gleefully recruiting them for an illegal cheque-fraud scheme.

Debra gifts Kim with a huge pine cone, suggesting seeds of hope. But it will be up to Kim and Seth to get into the driver’s seat and grab hold of life’s possibilities as they define them.

The Broadway production of Kimberly Akimbo won five Tony Awards in 2023, including Best Musical, though it’s by no means in the league of Tony winners such as The Lion King, Hairspray or Hamilton.

The four-piece band led by music director Rachel Cameron is excellent, but at the opening performance there were many points (such as in Seth’s anagram song) when it slightly overpowered the singers. Let’s hope that gets ironed out, along with the apparent failure of a photo presentation at the end of the show that was hardly visible.

Having said that, the running time of 2 1/2 hours (including intermission) flies by and there are many winning numbers. Comedic standouts include the very funny song in which Aunt Debra teaches the inept teens how to “wash” a cheque, and a hilarious number featuring their science-project presentations about icky diseases.

On the serious side, there’s a moving lullaby about time sung by Kim’s mother, and a song called The Inevitable Turn that all-too-accurately observes how, in dysfunctional families, every gathering that starts out pleasantly takes a turn into recrimination and conflict.

Kimberly Akimbo is, in the end, compassionate toward all its characters. It suggests that life is full of pain and disappointment, people break their promises and let us down, but human connection can be meaningful.

In a deeply touching scene, Kim is hospitalized — perhaps nearing her end — and Seth visits with a bag of unhealthy snacks and silly activities. Both teens grasp that being together in the moment is enough.

Later, Kim addresses her parents in the song Before I Go, telling them, “I was never the daughter you wanted” and asking them to give up “the ghost of a girl I’ll never be.” Who doesn’t find that resonant in their own life?

Endearing and uplifting, the show invites us to devise new anagrams for ourselves, no matter how off-kilter we may look to everybody else.

arts@freepress.mb.ca