Kimberly Akimbo

 Kimberly Akimbo
Atlantic Theater Company
Linda Gross Theater
November 20, 2021 

The Atlantic Theater Company production of KimberlyAkimbo is sheer joy.  Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire has teamed up with composer Jeanine Tesori to adapt his original play of the same name into this musical adventure.  The phenomenal cast, under the direction of Jessica Stone, delivers outstanding performances that will stay with you long after the show is over.

Kimberly (played by Victoria Clark) is a fifteen year old girl who wishes that her family was “normal.”  Her father (played by Steven Boyer) drinks too much.  Her mother (played by Alli Mauzey) thinks only of herself.  Kimberly suffers from a rare genetic disorder where her body ages at an accelerated rate.  She looks and feels like a sixty year old woman and has a life expectancy of sixteen years.  Seth (played by Justin Cooley), a tuba playing puzzle expert, asks Kimberly to partner with him on their science project.  At first Kimberly says no, but when they are both left without a partner, she agrees.  Kimberly becomes intrigued by Seth’s unique way of seeing things, and a friendship develops.  When Kimberly’s Aunt Debra (played by Bonnie Milligan) pops into town, she recruits a few of Kimberly’s school mates (played by Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan II, Nina White, & Michael Iskander) on an get rich quick scheme.  When Debra spills the beans on a family secret, Kimberly finds herself drawn into her aunt’s illegal plan. 

Steven Boyer & Victoria Clark
Photo courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company

Victoria Clark delivers a heartwarming performance as Kimberly.  Her character pushes past her comfort zone throughout the story.  Ms. Clark plays these moments with genuine naivete and a determined focus.  Justin Cooley is outstanding as Seth.  His openness and honesty is refreshing.  The connection between him and Ms. Clark is mesmerizing.  Steven Boyer and Allie Mauzey have a strong bond as Kimberly’s highly difunctional parents.  They both try as best they can to get their act together for Kimberly’s sake.  These two actors keep the subtext of tension throughout, making their fall predictable, even though you never stop rooting for them.

Bonnie Milligan drives the action forward, plotting and recruiting for Aunt’s Debra’s plan.  Ms. Milligan weaves many layers into this character.  She creates a likeable villain and, since her plan involves six innocent teenager, you keep your fingers crossed for her success.  Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan II, Nina White, & Michael Iskander are an amazing ensemble.  They each create distinct roles that hide their own individual secrets, while propelled by a unified desire. 

The Creatvie Team of Kimberly Akimbo
Photo courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company

The fruits of David Lindsey-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori’s collaboration abound in this production.  Mr. Lindsey-Abaire’s lyrics flow smoothly through Ms. Tesori’s week-crafted score.  There are moments of sincere emotion and deep realization, as well as charming humor.  The set design by David Zinn is full or surprises. 

Kimberly Akimbo is playing at Atlantic Theatre Company’s Linda Gross Theater through December 26.  Don’t miss it! 

Domenick Danza

Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow

Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow

The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space

August 15, 2019

Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

Playwright Halley Feiffer takes a highly effective look at Chekhov’s Three Sister in her unconventional adaptation.  Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow is dark, zany, and poignant.  The characters are truthful and clear mirrors of Chekhov’s characters.  Their yearning and despair is viewed through a lens of absurdity, which makes their loneliness and desperation that much clearer and more identifiable.  Through succinct timing and a heightened style, director Tripp Cullman skillfully unifies this magnificent cast of twelve to engage and enlighten the audience through laughter and self-contemplation.

Chris Perfetti, Tavi Gevinson, & Rebecca Henderson
Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

We are in a house on the Russian countryside in 1900.  Olga (played by Rebecca Henderson) goes on and on about how unattractive she is.  Irina (played by Tavi Gevinson) is selfishly focused on the fact that it is her birthday.  Masha (played by Chris Perfetti) is absorbed in her book.  They all long to return to Moscow, but can’t… but don’t know why… so they are unhappy.  Very unhappy.  Their brother Andrey (played by Greg Hildreth) plays the violin and aspires to study science and achieve greatness, but instead falls in love with a local girl, Natasha (played by Sas Goldberg), who the sisters consider to be a low-class whore.  Tuzenback (played by Steven Boyer) is madly in love with Irina, but she doesn’t give him the time of day.  He introduces the family to Veshinin (played by Alfredo Narciso), who becomes attracted to dark and brooding Masha.  She madly reciprocates, even though she is stuck in a loveless marriage with closeted Kulygin (played by Ryan Spahn).  They all want more out of life, but can’t get it… but don’t know why… so they are unhappy… but we see and understand, and laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Steven Boyer & Matthew Jeffers
Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

This entire cast is truly phenomenal.  Out of tightly timed high comedy scenes come genuine moments of hurt and sorrow, that are then topped off with a laugh.  Each character is truthfully drawn, carrying sincere hurt in their hearts.  These actors portray them in such a way that we distance ourselves from them in order to get a more precise view of who they are, which causes us to connect even stronger.  The humor is raucous.  The timing takes us out of the moment, then plunges us back into the darkness of their pain.  The play is skillfully written.  The production is masterfully conceived and directed.

Greg Hildreth & Sas Goldberg
Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

If you have not seen MCC’s new space on 53^rd St. and 10^th Ave, check it out as soon as you can.  The space is sharp, and offers a great opportunity for this company to step up and stand out.  This production is a sure sign that they will be doing just that.  Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow is playing at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space through August 17.  Time is running out, so get your ticket before it’s too late.

Domenick Danza

Time and the Conways

Time and the Conways

Roundabout Theatre Company

American Airlines Theatre

September 30, 2017

 

Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company

The Roundabout Theatre Company production of Time and the Conways poignantly gives pause to contemplate the concept of time.  Director Rebecca Taichman masterfully creates distinctive atmospheres in the three scenes of the play by varying the tone and pace.  She pulls the closing of each act to a poetic and sentimental ending.  The cast fluently evokes the time period and setting.  The design of the production (sets: Neil Patel; costumes: Paloma Young; lighting: Christopher Akerlind; sound: Matt Hubbs; hair & wig: Leah J. Loukas) transports the audience to a realistic location, then swiftly moves through time and space, creating the illusion of infinite dimension.

The year is 1919 and World War I has just ended.  The Conway family of Great Britain is celebrating the twenty-first birthday of Kay (played by Charlotte Parry).  The family matriarch (played by Elizabeth McGovern) is excited because her son Robin (played by Matthew James Thomas) has just returned from the air force.  Everyone is overly cheerful and highly optimistic.  In the next moment it is 1937.  The family fortune is diminished and everyone seems jaded and worn down my time… or is time an illusion?

The cast of Time and the Conways
Photos courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company

Elizabeth McGovern is stately as Mrs. Conway, layering heart, warmth, and humor into genuine moments.  Charlotte Parry creates the lense from which the audience views and relates to the action.  The insight of her character is truthful and her distress is heartfelt.  Gabriel Ebert portrays Alan Conway with an open sense of honesty and acceptance.  Steven Boyer is cunning and sharp as Earnest Beevers.  His character unwraps to reveal a cruel and consuming dark side that jolts the family’s sense of unity.  Anna Baryshnikov is effervescent as Carol Conway.  Brook Bloom and Anna Camp show a strong and intriguing range in the maturing of the characters of Madge and Hazel.

Elizabeth McGovern
Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company

In Act I the over the top optimism of the first scene is powerfully juxtaposed by the transparent harshness of the second.  Rebecca Taichman brilliantly changes the tone again in Act II as the characters are developed from a more realistic point of view.  This variation magnifies the theme of playwright J.B. Priestley by giving the audience a visceral understanding of how the dimension of time can overlap and recount an altered point of view.

Time and the Conways is running at the American Airlines Theatre through November 26.  It is a poignant period piece with a valuable message.  The performances are strong.  The production is poetic. 

Domenick Danza

Hand to God

Hand to God

The Booth Theatre

March 20, 2015

Photo courtesy of Hand to God

Hand to God is aptly subtitled “a new American play.”  It questions the definitions of good and evil by separating them from the various grey areas in between.  A concept every American would benefit to examine and reflect upon.  Playwright Robert Askins writes with a unique, edgy wit.  The script is strikingly sobering.  The show is cunningly directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel.  Steven Boyer is stellar as Jason.  He and the entire cast (Geneva Carr, Marc Kudisch, Michael Oberholtzer, and Sarah Stiles) serve up authentic performances that are remarkable, raw, and funny.

The first act will make you laugh and agree that yes, when the world hands you more than you can manage, put on a sock puppet, let it curse like crazy, and say the devil made you do it.  This is what the main character, Jason, does when he is overwhelmed with feelings of abandonment by the death of his father and the emotional detachment of his mother.  The second act gets real and violent and psychological as we see the depth of Jason’s despair.  The mood shifts from hysterical to disturbing.  Everyone in the audience stopped laughing (at different times) as they began to realize the level of volatility and frustration the character was embodying. 

The play was so good that I bought the refrigerator magnet… at intermission.  I usually wait until the end of the show.  This is strong seal of approval in my book, and the best $10 ever spent.  

My refrigerator Broadway show magnet collection.

Hand to God is presently in previews and officially opens April 7.  Go see this play!  It is a skillfully crafted work that uses humor to unmask truth.  A truth we all need to face.

Steven Boyer in "Hand to God"
Photo courtesy of Hand to God

A personal take away:  As a NYC Public High School teacher, certain students tend to go off (on a rant) on a regular basis with various expletives for any number of reasons.  Perhaps the next time this happens (I am thinking of one student in particular), I will picture her devilish voice coming from a sock puppet attached to her left hand.  This will allow me to 1) laugh at the absurdity of the situation, and 2) be empathetic to the level of fear and hurt that her outburst is covering.  Profound or sarcastic?  We’ll see.  I am sure I will have a chance to put this experiment into action this week.

Domenick Danza