By Sandi Masori
SAN DIEGO — Who would have thought that a play about a terminal disease could be whimsical and fun? And yet that’s exactly what we get in Kimberly Akimbo, by David Lindsay-Abaire, now playing at Broadway San Diego.
Set in 1999 before social media, 16-year-old Kimberly Akimbo (Carolee Carmello) was born with a rare genetic disorder Progeria which causes her to age four times faster than normal. Due to an incident in Lodi the family moves to Bergen County, New Jersey, where Kimberly must try to make new friends. Life expectancy for kids with Progeria is around 16 years, so though the play is upbeat and uplifting, there is an undercurrent of the fear of what’s to come.
Kimberly has mixed feelings about her life expectancy. On the one hand she worries that she’s not the daughter that her parents really wanted since she has so many medical issues. On the other hand, she’s determined to make the most of the time she has and sees life as a great adventure.
The songs are catchy. The cast is incredible with many of the actors having played their roles in the actual Broadway version itself. Shout out to the head sound engineer Joy Cheever. The Civic is known as a difficult venue for audio for the traveling shows but she knocked it out of the park. It was one of the cleanest audio experiences I’ve had there.
Scenic Designer David Zinn put together a beautiful, incredibly detailed set multi layered set. Unlike many of the shows we’ve seen lately, this set is full and lush and doesn’t leave anything to the imagination- even bringing an old-school copy machine onto the stage.
According to the actors during the chat back (held the first Wednesday of most productions at BSD) it took seven semi-trucks and six and a half hours to load in. Not only are the walls and set pieces incredibly detailed, they managed to turn the floor into a working ice rink (without ice). It’s a very cool effect that has the audience wondering how it’s done. In the chatback, Miguel Gil (who plays Seth) told us that it’s a kind of special plastic that is very smooth and then they put glycerin on the blades, and the combination creates ice skating magic.
All of the actors are really talented and all deserve a shout out. Carolee Carmello is riveting as Kimberly. Gil’s Seth is perfectly awkward and endearing. Jewish community member Dana Steingold kills as the mom Pattie. Jim Hogan is outstanding as dad Buddy. Hogan’s real-life girlfriend plays his sister the lovable but Chutzpahdik Debra. Another Jewish community member Skye Alyssa Friedman along with Grace Capeless, Darron Hayes, and Pierce Wheeler round out the cast as Kimberly’s new gang.
The show ends on a positive uplifting note of hope and leaves you feeling like you could do anything.
The play runs through October 13 and there’s a daily lottery for tickets that are discounted to $30. Download the Broadway San Diego app to enter the lottery.
*
Sandi Masori is a theater and restaurant reviewer for San Diego Jewish World
Interesting concept for a musical! Thanks for covering it and putting this show on my radar.