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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Lyndsey Winship

Kimberly Akimbo review – hilarious musical about a sexagenarian teen is one for the ages

Kimberly Akimbo cast sing on a balcony above two actors riding a prop car surrounded by balloons
Brighter than life … Maria Friedman with Gilli Jones in Kimberly Akimbo. Photograph: Marc Brenner

It’s a bizarre concept for a musical: a girl with a rare condition that causes her to age four times faster than her peers, in a family so dysfunctional that she’s the normal one. Meanwhile, the musical highlights are songs about cheque fraud and scurvy. And yet, somehow, through all this artifice and elaborate setup comes a show so sincerely heartfelt, one that is genuine, hilarious and utterly endearing.

Kimberly Akimbo started out as a play, in 2001, by Pulitzer prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire, adapted into a musical with composer Jeanine Tesori (Shrek, Fun Home, Caroline, or Change) in 2021. It was lauded on Broadway, where audiences fell for its feels and kooky charm and it won five Tony awards.

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