REVIEW: Kimberly Akimbo by Jeanine Tesori & David Lindsay-Abaire

High school is hard. You’re growing. You’re changing. Your parents can be mean, can be distant; they can be absent or cruel. You’re in unrequited love with a friend. And there’s family drama you want to keep hidden from your mates. And part of you thinks your life is on hold until you grow up.

Life for Kimberly Levaco is a bit harder than all that. She has a rare genetic condition which means she ages at four times the normal rate. The other kids seem to treat her okay, but her parents are a lot more fragile.

Kimberly Akimbo, which opened last night as part of Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2025 season, is a life-affirming story of teen angst, making the best out of things and living life to the full. If it wasn’t executed so brilliantly, you might roll your eyes at the teen-soap tropes.

Mum Pattie (Christie Whelan-Browne) has both hands in casts from carpal tunnel surgery. She’s heavily pregnant and wilfully chaotic. Dad Buddy (Nathan O’Keefe) is an alcoholic who sometimes forgets about his daughter, while he’s taking bets at the pub to make a little extra cash on the side. Early on, Kim’s parents made me think of Matilda’s parents in Matilda, but these aren’t mercurial Roald Dahl characters; soon we get to see what’s underneath their awful exteriors. And then there’s Aunt Debra (Casey Donovan), whose past none of them want to confront. Kimberly’s family is a lot.

Australian musical theatre legend Marina Prior shines in the role of Kimberly. She perfectly embodies both the enthusiasm of a teen fumbling her way through new experiences, as well as the gravitas of ageing. Prior’s voice can turn from the rich full-body we expect at the height of her powers to the aching vulnerability of youth in a moment.

Of the four actors playing the other students, only Marty Alix has professional musical theatre experience, most notably as John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in Hamilton and as Jack in Belvoir’s production of Into the Woods. The kids work wonderfully as an ensemble, harmonising beautifully and underlining the absurdities of growing up in a world where their parents are fumbling through life.

Darcy Wain is the stand out as Seth, holding his own in his scenes with Prior, cracking us up with his super-nerdy references and penchant for anagrams. His rendition of “Good Kid” is heartbreaking and his tuba solo should not be missed!

Christie Whelan-Browne reminds us all how ridiculously funny she can be, then next minute delivering a moving rendition of “Father Time”. Nathan O’Keefe embodies the hopeless dad role with a twinkle in his eye. And Casey Donovan proves once again how expertly she can steal the show with her booming voice and comic physicality in the role of awful aunt Debra.

The Australian premiere seasons, under the lively direction of Mitchell Butel, is the first major production of the show after its Broadway premiere in 2023, where it won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Original Score. Creators David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori previously collaborated on Shrek: The Musical and they have reunited to adapt Lindsay-Abaire’s 2001 play into a full-hearted musical maelstrom that drags us through teen earnestness and grabs the audience by the balls.

Jonathon Oxlade’s versatile set is filled with simple shapes and bright colours. Amy Campbell’s choreography, for performers both on and off rollerblades, fully articulates the underlying awkwardness and passions of youth. Alisa Paterson’s costumes are eye-catching, capturing the kind of late 90s family that hasn’t really progressed past 1989.

I went into Kimberly Akimbo knowing only the basic premise and having heard raves from New York friends, some of whom saw it multiple times. I didn’t know any of the songs, but from the authors’ pedigree, I expected a lot. Lindsay-Abaire’s lyrics are clever and funny. Tesori’s music is skilfully layered.

I’ve tried not to give too much away; there are some plot swerves and backstory reveals that are ridiculous and delightful and truly surprising. And with Kimberly not knowing what her future will bring or – because of her disease – if she has a future at all, in amongst all the silly ups-and-downs of being sixteen, you might very well have a panic attack or feel like the world is about to end.

Kimberly Akimbo is full of joy, tinged by the grief that comes with growing up too fast.

It’s at the Playhouse at Arts Centre Melbourne until August 30

Photos: Sam Roberts






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