Maria Friedman Returns to the Stage as Kimberly Akimbo at Hampstead Theatre

Kimberly Akimbo | Hampstead Theatre until 7th November

Maria Friedman returns to the stage in a joyous life-affirming European premiere.

Kimberly Akimbo has a strong pedigree: a book by David Lindsay-Abaire, known for plays like Good People and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Rabbit Hole, and music by Jeanine Tesori, the composer behind Caroline, or Change and Fun Home. Having previously collaborated on the musical Shrek, they sought to create a smaller piece with greater creative control.

In 2023, the show swept five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book. This Hampstead Theatre run marks its European premiere with a new staging by director Michael Longhurst, rather than a transfer of the original Broadway production.

Longhurst’s recent work includes an Olivier-nominated Next to Normal, which transferred from a sold-out Donmar run to the West End. Testing a major new musical at a strong mid-scale venue like Hampstead before a potential West End transfer is a familiar strategy: it reduces financial risk, allows for fine-tuning, and builds reviews and word-of-mouth before committing to a larger stage.

The condition at the heart of the show is never explicitly named on stage, but it draws on real rapid-aging conditions such as progeria, where the body ages at several times the normal rate. Historically, life expectancy for progeria patients has been in their teens, though modern treatments are extending this.

In the show, Kimberly ages at roughly four times the normal rate. This means the girl celebrating her sixteenth birthday before us is, biologically, nearing the end of an unusually short life. One might assume this would lead to a bleak, depressing evening, but it doesn’t. Instead, it’s life-affirming, joyous, and very funny, moving when necessary, without ever descending into misery.

The book and score work in close harmony. While there are no particular standout numbers, the score beautifully supports the story and shows how modern musical theatre storytelling works. The orchestra, led by Nigel Lily, flanks both sides of the set. Curiously, at the performance I attended, the sound mix seemed very quiet, particularly the cast vocals in Act One, though I was pleased to note this was rectified after the interval.

Kimberly Levaco is about to turn sixteen. Her family has just moved to town under somewhat murky circumstances; her parents are financially irresponsible and thoroughly self-absorbed. When her ex-con aunt arrives with a get-rich-quick scheme involving cheque fraud, Kimberly and her new show-choir friends are pulled into the heist. Simultaneously, she’s falling for a boy named Seth from the ice rink, all while racing against her own life expectancy.

The show is very moving when it needs to be. Without spoiling Act Two, we gain a clear picture of her parents’ inadequacy: her mother is pregnant with a new baby and struggling, on top of carpal tunnel syndrome and other eccentricities. But Kimberly writes to the Make-A-Wish foundation, determined to live her life. The closing song powerfully reinforces this point: nobody gets a second chance at any of this. You’d better make the most of the time you’ve got. It’s a wonderful, life-affirming message to be left with.

The set is a very clever, revolving three-story structure, almost dollhouse-like in the way it opens up for various inside and outside scenes. It handles multiple locations with ease and is topped off by an enormous clock, based on the Colgate clock, which subtly indicates the passage of time.

Maria Friedman is musical theatre royalty, an Olivier winner and a Tony winner. She’s recently been directing more than performing, her revival of Merrily We Roll Along was a great success on stage and then on film, so it’s fabulous to see her back on stage herself. I saw Victoria Clark, who won a Tony for the role, play Kimberly on Broadway, and Friedman is quite wonderful here too: she doesn’t overplay it, doesn’t exaggerate being a teenager trapped in an older body.

She’s superbly partnered by Gilli Jones, who plays Seth, the boy who runs the skating rink and is obsessed with anagrams, which is where “Akimbo” comes from. The relationship between these two misfits grows throughout the show and is genuinely touching. It’s lovely to see someone at the height of their career, immensely experienced, alongside someone just starting out, and both of them give equally wonderful performances.

This is a small, tight-knit ensemble of actors who all work brilliantly together. Peter Hannah and Niamh Perry are excellent as Buddy and Pattie Levaco, the hopeless parents. Given most of the powerhouse numbers, Alice Fearn as the eccentric Aunt Debra mines every moment brilliantly.

Kimberly Akimbo receives its European premiere at Hampstead Theatre, five years after sweeping the Tony Awards on Broadway. It sounds like it should be bleak, a teenager racing against a rare rapid-ageing condition, but it’s funny, moving, and life-affirming instead. Maria Friedman is wonderful back on stage as Kimberly, superbly partnered by Gilli Jones, who plays Seth. Two beautifully judged performances in a genuinely joyous piece of musical theatre.

See it at Hampstead before anyone knows if a West End transfer follows, EyeOnLondon rarely hands out five stars this easily.

For more London arts and culture, visit EyeOnLondon at eye-on-london.com.

Follow us on:

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest videos and updates!

We value your thoughts! Share your feedback and help us make EyeOnLondon even better!