A review of Kimberly Akimbo

Dreamwell - Kimberly Levaco is sixteen years old, and she’s going to die soon. She has a rare disease which causes her to age at over four times the normal rate, making her the only girl in her school who could pass for somebody’s grandmother. As if this weren’t enough, her hypochondriac mother is convinced she’s the one who’s going to die, and her alcoholic father is too lost in his own world to pay any attention to her. The only person in the family who remembers Kimberly’s birthday is her fugitive aunt, who is busy trying to pull her niece into her check-washing scheme. Finally, her only friend is an anxiety-ridden boy whose own family may be even worse.

Feel awkward? Confused? Despairing of your own mortality? Well, lighten up. Kimberly Akimbo is a comedy. David Lindsay-Abaire’s latest tale of life, death, and dysfunction is not dark and dreary but is actually quite warm, fast-paced, and redeeming. The characters and situations are just outrageous enough to be funny without being unfamiliar. The family may be dysfunctional, but the play is about their struggle to be there for each other despite their failings.

Take Pattie, who is so concerned that her new baby knows what she was really like that she carries a tape recorder everywhere she goes. Or Buddy, who celebrates his daughter’s birthday with a store-bought cake and a 3:00 AM game of “Trouble.” They’re fallible, sure, almost beyond redemption at times, but their attempts to make amends and be a "normal" family are touching and quite funny.

It is Debra, the black sheep, who teaches Kimberly not to let life pass her by. Likewise, her classmate Jeff shows her that her lot in life is not set in stone, taking the letters in her name and rearranging them into "cleverly akimbo." Kimberly’s life is far from perfect, but it’s the only life she has, and she’s going to make the most of it.

I was delighted and touched by this company’s work. Chris Hunt was wonderful as Kimberly, and between her body language and her costume, I was able to forget that she wasn’t really sixteen. Her energy kept the play alive, as did that of Chuck Dufano and Vicki Krajewski, who played her parents. Lane Hanon was charming as the awkward Jeff, and Elisa Elizalde brought a wonderful mischief to the role of Debra, the devious aunt. The set was simple but effective, dominated by gaudy wallpaper that added just the right tone to this story of misfits and misadventures.

--James Trainor

James recently graduated from Cornell College with a Bachelor of Special Studies in English and Theater. He has also acted and directed for Stage Left Theater in Cedar Rapids, and is currently preparing to direct Flu Season there in March.

(Photo one is Chris Hunt. Photo two is Vicki Krajewski and Chris Hunt.)