Tommy, I just want to encourage you to keep doing this. I’ve always loved your content and it makes me soooo happy to see you back in form. You’re awesome
I've seen Kimberly Akimbo three times so far, it might be one of my favorite new shows in the past five or so years. There's so much to unpack, so much to think about, so much to discuss!!! I'm fascinated with Pattie's character -- Alli Mauzey's performance of "Father Time" is so complicated and heartbreaking. And for Kim -- the line "getting older is my affliction, getting older is your cure" is so GOOD and juicy. It's so interesting that we get to see her character in two environments -- at home, living with adults dealing with some messy Adult Issues (alcoholism, a narcissistic parent... idk, homicide), and also at school, where she experiences life experiences of being a kid (school projects, making friends, having your first crush... mail fraud). Kim existing somewhere in between those two spaces is storytelling gold and gives the audience so much to chew on. I could watch this show a thousand times and still come out with different thoughts and takeaways. SO glad we're bringing show of the week back to talk about it!!!!! So incredibly on board for musical theatre book club
I do also enjoy just showing school in a more pedestrian and small way on stage! I feel like we are flooded with extraordinary circumstances or just really out there concepts that are fun to watch and emotional in their own way (Mean Girls, Matilda, Prom); but I like the more just being that age sort of approach. I like seeing intricacies of life even with the extraordinary circumstance of the show
I have not listened to Kimberly Akimbo yet but I love Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire’s previous work so it’s gotta be good 😊 On a side note, had no clue this was based on a straight-play Lindsay-Abaire wrote in 2000! 😮
Father Time also fucks me up big time. The parents in this show really say/do some unforgivably bad stuff but they have a lot of baggage that they are carrying as well. it's sad to see how they got dealt a hand in life that they weren't equipped to maneuver but it's sadder to see how their mishandling of things only hurts the others around them even more
I missed the flannel so much... Your In Trousers video sent me into a rabbit hole that saved me during the pandemic. Thank you so much for sharing the gems of the past.
I know it’s on me to also do the research and finding the new shows out there, but hearing your shows of the week is such a huge mental happy button that helps jog me into discovery. Welcome back!
Kimberly Akimbo was the first show I ever saw on Broadway! And I saw it before the Tony Awards, but I had a feeling it would be the winner. The show holds a special place in my heart, and I think it is easily one of Tesori's best scores, right next to Fun Home. I think it's interesting that this is kind of her second show about a girl with a physical disability. I saw Violet the same year at a theatre festival, but for some reason I never thought to compare the two until hearing you mention the unamed disease thing. I'm not someone who knows much about these kinds of things so I hesitate to speak out of turn. But I do at least think Kimberly's writing and depiction of that struggle was done better (but I suppose I am comparing the original Broadway run of a show to a college theatre festival, so not exactly the best comparison). Still, I thought it was a poignant show. While Bonnie Milligan was definitely a scene stealer, I thought the teen actors were exceptional and made me again rue the lack of a Best Ensemble award. And you didn’t mention them, but the parents were characters I found emotionally complex and somewhat endearing by the end. I listen to their songs a lot, and I dont think they get enough praise for their performances.
Oh wow, the only thing I knew about Violet was that Sutton Foster was in it -- your comment made me look it up, I had no clue that's what it was about. I'm going to have to listen to it now and keep in mind the Kimberly Akimbo comparisons -- that's so interesting! Also, totally agree about the parents not getting enough praise! They might be the most compelling characters to me, honestly!
Yaass Show of the Week is back!! So exciting!! I’ve not listened to Kimberly Akimbo yet but I’ve been planning to and this is the perfect excuse! Will update with my thoughts after I’m able to after work today ☺️
I've been in the fortunate position to see Kimberly Akimbo eleven times since it opened on Broadway, (and even luckier that between lottery, comp, and TDF, I've paid an average of $26 per show). The whole show is such a delight, and this is coming from someone who does not generally like shows set in high schools. I cannot praise Vicki Clark enough. Every time I see it, I notice new nuances to her portrayal. Later on in the run, she started to move differently to really convey the physical toll aging has on her body. I'm still young, but physically disabled, and it was unreasonably thrilling to watch those small moments where she'd struggle to sink down onto the beanbag chair, or would reach for one of the other kids to stand up. I also love how her understudy, Colleen Fitzpatrick, has been able to cultivate her own unique performance and isn't expected to just copy everything Vicki does.
I don't know this show at all barring what I've heard in this video, but I love that about good actors; the depth of nuance to show aging subtly is the sort of thing that distinguishes really good actors from average ones in my opinion
I love this show so much. I saw it totally on a whim because they didn't have the show I wanted at the TKTS booth but it ended up being such a happy accident, it's everything I look for in a good night of theatre, really funny and entertaining, intelligent, thought-provoking and even tear provoking. Love it love it love it.
Saw Kimberly twice on Broadway, but I’ll comment that I only first listened to the cast recording because of this. I’m very glad I did, it’s a beautiful recording. The first time I saw this show, I don’t think I really got what it was going for and was really off put by the bank heist plotline. The second time I sat closer, and I got a lot more from it. It’s a show that really requires your total immersion.
I'm so glad you're back! And so excited for what you'll cover in the future! I've shown so many poeple your Company video (and others, but that specifically!)
I haven’t seen the musical (though when it goes on tour I certainly want to), but I have seen a production of Lindsey-Abaire’s original play, which I liked a great deal, and I have listened to the OCR. In the play, it is specifically stated that Kimberly’s disease may have similarities to progeria, but it is a different (fictional) disease. Its fictional nature gives the playwright a chance to do what he will with the character and events of the story with more freedom. I have seen some people criticize the show for not having an actor play Kimberly who actually has progeria, but it seems to me about a fictional disease, that criticism doesn’t have much merit. In any case, from my familiarity with the original play, my enjoyment of the cast recording, and the very strong word-of-mouth, I look forward to getting to experience it whenever it comes through town.
@@joshuaklein8465 The play only has five characters, with one boy named Jeff, who seems somewhat similar to Seth. All the other classmates of Kimberly’s only appear in the musical. But a number of elements are the same, such as beginning at the skating rink, Debra’s plan to steal and wash checks, Buddy’s frustration, Pattie’s pregnancy, etc.
In hindsight, it's pretty clear that the other classmates are a new addition (though I wouldn't have known at first watch). They're almost ENTIRELY there to fill out the numbers musically - even down to their diegetic inclusion as the show choir kids.
It is interesting to think about whether it's better or worse to have a made-up illness/disability on stage (or in media in general). On the one hand, if it's made up then there's less of a chance of accidentally doing something offensive, or being inaccurate to the real condition. But it also means that you lose a chance for representation. Then again, if you don't use a real-life condition, then it allows a wider range of chronically ill people to project onto the main character. Then again, I'd love to see someone with my specific genetic condition on stage, because I don't think my condition is super well-known and I'd like it if there was more awareness about it. In conclusion, I have no idea what the best option is (I mean, the best option is BOTH but we can't always have that).
Been watching for years and wondering if you can give your updated thoughts on sunday in the park since ik u have said contrasting thoughts on twitter. I'd also live to hesr you talk mire about a new brain! Its such a good show that I feel has so much discussion beyond a show of the week. Ty for all the joy and education you bring
Kimblery Akimbo seems like a really good show! I'm not gonna say it's one of my favourites, but I think I'd like it a lot more if I had the chance to see it live. It's definitely emotionally affecting (which, tbh, isn't *hard* when the main character is a dying teen but that doesn't negate the emotions I felt). 'How to Wash a Check' does indeed slap; Debra seems like a fun character in general. I support womens' wrongs.
There is something to be said about rare disability or disease representation on stage. I have a parent who had a very rare neurological disorder that most haven’t heard of, but is all encompassing and it causes all functions to just go slower. Nevertheless, it would be shall we say “easy to imitate.” I can imagine someone studying it to use for a performance and then give it a slightly different name. I think this show has a very intriguing task for the actor but there is that Dear Evan Hansen worry of if we don’t specify too much or do something kind of based on the thing, we can just imitate a shadow of the condition.
100%. The Dear Evan Hansen comparison is apt. I was curious if they ever were going to "name" the disease in the show to fully avert the Evan Hansen effect. It seems very much that Kim has Progeria and I TOTALLY thought they were going to name it during "Our Disease" but they never do. On the one hand, it gives Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire a really good script option to make it "my disease" as Kim sings - setting it apart from the other two more "distant" named diseases that the other groups sing about. On the other hand, it still suspends Kim (and the show) in the same "shadow of the condition" realm that DEH is in.
The one thing I will say is that I left the show wondering if Kimberly's disease was real or just a plot creation of Lindsay-Abaire's mind. I would have appreciated the specificity because I don't think that hurts a show as much as maybe some writers think it might? It makes it more real, which makes it easier to connect. Think about a show depicting a character with hiv/aids; while it is a well-known disease, certainly not everyone who engages with a show might relate specifically to that struggle. BUT it's the struggle in and of itself that is relatable or sympathetic or informative. Specificity doesn't harm that. Struggling with disease is a universal sentiment.
Do you know if there is a video or article or something about the dear Evan Hansen situation? I haven't seen the show, just listened to some songs, but I have some neurodivergences and mental illnesses and generic representation is one of my pet peeves; I had heard that the main character had an anxiety disorder but is that just the reviewer making that assumption?
@@phoenixfalling honestky, the Musical Theater Happy Hour episode of it is great and talks about that. The reviewer is making an assumption cuz they truly don’t explicitly say it at all. It’s how they have been able to cast whomever in the role
Ok, so as to your assignment. I've always loved Mike's song on pg 54 (libretto)/62 (their numbering system). He stops twice to speak, not sing. I have a number of thoughts, but one is that a lot of the beginning of the song is him more thinking to himself, but through song. Then, he gets to a place where he has too many thoughts that he needs to share with us, not just for himself, and he has to articulate them through speech, it takes him out of the song and talking to us while he's discovering what he needs to say. Then, after these realizations, he goes back to song and incorporates these new thoughts into what he sings. I could get into the specific lines, but feel as though I've already rambled enough.
I thought the show handled Kimberly's illness quite well. They even had a song about it. The lead character understands what is happening to her and has accepted it. So, we accept it, sadly. But the thing that impressed me the most is that the creators made a show about an illness that we know the lead will die from shortly after the final bows BUT it's joyful, happy, funny, sad, loving, tragic all at the same time. In short, it's a masterwork of delicate balance (Albee aside).
I wanted to love this show esp with all the hype but I felt a little disappointed when I saw it. I wanted to throttle the parents NGL. Aunt Debra was the best character but then again Bonnie Milligan and I was so happy when she won a Tony
Glad you're back just if you wanted to cover a musical about disability there's other options. How To Dance In Ohio is literally on Broadway right now.
I’d love to hear more or be pointed in the right direction to where folks are having that discussion. As I mentioned, this show did give me a bit of the “ick” in that category and I’m interested in learning more!
Tommy, I just want to encourage you to keep doing this. I’ve always loved your content and it makes me soooo happy to see you back in form. You’re awesome
Daww. Thanks Juan!
mr musical mash running this channel like a theatre classroom and i love it. will be listening for the first time soon!
Imma send yall into breakout rooms next
@@MusicalMash One keeper and one upgrade! Finish your feedback and we can all play party quirks!
So how long until the Kahoot?😉
Okay okay. I’ll reply to a comment 😂 I felt the school vibes in the best way
@@MusicalMashcan I have the toilet pass please
I’m glad you’re back on TH-cam. It’s been too long.
Show of the week is BACK 😭🙌🏻
I've seen Kimberly Akimbo three times so far, it might be one of my favorite new shows in the past five or so years. There's so much to unpack, so much to think about, so much to discuss!!!
I'm fascinated with Pattie's character -- Alli Mauzey's performance of "Father Time" is so complicated and heartbreaking. And for Kim -- the line "getting older is my affliction, getting older is your cure" is so GOOD and juicy. It's so interesting that we get to see her character in two environments -- at home, living with adults dealing with some messy Adult Issues (alcoholism, a narcissistic parent... idk, homicide), and also at school, where she experiences life experiences of being a kid (school projects, making friends, having your first crush... mail fraud). Kim existing somewhere in between those two spaces is storytelling gold and gives the audience so much to chew on.
I could watch this show a thousand times and still come out with different thoughts and takeaways. SO glad we're bringing show of the week back to talk about it!!!!! So incredibly on board for musical theatre book club
I do also enjoy just showing school in a more pedestrian and small way on stage! I feel like we are flooded with extraordinary circumstances or just really out there concepts that are fun to watch and emotional in their own way (Mean Girls, Matilda, Prom); but I like the more just being that age sort of approach. I like seeing intricacies of life even with the extraordinary circumstance of the show
I have not listened to Kimberly Akimbo yet but I love Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire’s previous work so it’s gotta be good 😊 On a side note, had no clue this was based on a straight-play Lindsay-Abaire wrote in 2000! 😮
Father Time also fucks me up big time. The parents in this show really say/do some unforgivably bad stuff but they have a lot of baggage that they are carrying as well. it's sad to see how they got dealt a hand in life that they weren't equipped to maneuver but it's sadder to see how their mishandling of things only hurts the others around them even more
SHOW OF THE WEEK IS BACK!! This is so exciting.
I missed the flannel so much... Your In Trousers video sent me into a rabbit hole that saved me during the pandemic. Thank you so much for sharing the gems of the past.
I know it’s on me to also do the research and finding the new shows out there, but hearing your shows of the week is such a huge mental happy button that helps jog me into discovery. Welcome back!
Kimberly Akimbo was the first show I ever saw on Broadway! And I saw it before the Tony Awards, but I had a feeling it would be the winner. The show holds a special place in my heart, and I think it is easily one of Tesori's best scores, right next to Fun Home.
I think it's interesting that this is kind of her second show about a girl with a physical disability. I saw Violet the same year at a theatre festival, but for some reason I never thought to compare the two until hearing you mention the unamed disease thing. I'm not someone who knows much about these kinds of things so I hesitate to speak out of turn. But I do at least think Kimberly's writing and depiction of that struggle was done better (but I suppose I am comparing the original Broadway run of a show to a college theatre festival, so not exactly the best comparison).
Still, I thought it was a poignant show. While Bonnie Milligan was definitely a scene stealer, I thought the teen actors were exceptional and made me again rue the lack of a Best Ensemble award. And you didn’t mention them, but the parents were characters I found emotionally complex and somewhat endearing by the end. I listen to their songs a lot, and I dont think they get enough praise for their performances.
Oh wow, the only thing I knew about Violet was that Sutton Foster was in it -- your comment made me look it up, I had no clue that's what it was about. I'm going to have to listen to it now and keep in mind the Kimberly Akimbo comparisons -- that's so interesting!
Also, totally agree about the parents not getting enough praise! They might be the most compelling characters to me, honestly!
Yaass Show of the Week is back!! So exciting!! I’ve not listened to Kimberly Akimbo yet but I’ve been planning to and this is the perfect excuse! Will update with my thoughts after I’m able to after work today ☺️
I’m so excited to start cycling shows again! I feel like I’ve forgotten what Broadway even IS since the last time 😂😂
Show of the Week is back! Thanks be to… Dionysus? St. Cecilia and St. Genesius? Are their other theater patrons is should be thinking of?
I've been in the fortunate position to see Kimberly Akimbo eleven times since it opened on Broadway, (and even luckier that between lottery, comp, and TDF, I've paid an average of $26 per show). The whole show is such a delight, and this is coming from someone who does not generally like shows set in high schools. I cannot praise Vicki Clark enough. Every time I see it, I notice new nuances to her portrayal. Later on in the run, she started to move differently to really convey the physical toll aging has on her body. I'm still young, but physically disabled, and it was unreasonably thrilling to watch those small moments where she'd struggle to sink down onto the beanbag chair, or would reach for one of the other kids to stand up. I also love how her understudy, Colleen Fitzpatrick, has been able to cultivate her own unique performance and isn't expected to just copy everything Vicki does.
I don't know this show at all barring what I've heard in this video, but I love that about good actors; the depth of nuance to show aging subtly is the sort of thing that distinguishes really good actors from average ones in my opinion
I love this show so much. I saw it totally on a whim because they didn't have the show I wanted at the TKTS booth but it ended up being such a happy accident, it's everything I look for in a good night of theatre, really funny and entertaining, intelligent, thought-provoking and even tear provoking. Love it love it love it.
Accidental gems are sometimes the best things in the world 🥰
Saw Kimberly twice on Broadway, but I’ll comment that I only first listened to the cast recording because of this. I’m very glad I did, it’s a beautiful recording. The first time I saw this show, I don’t think I really got what it was going for and was really off put by the bank heist plotline. The second time I sat closer, and I got a lot more from it. It’s a show that really requires your total immersion.
I'm so glad you're back! And so excited for what you'll cover in the future!
I've shown so many poeple your Company video (and others, but that specifically!)
The only non-Goes Wrong show I saw when I went to New York last year, and it was fantastic.
I haven’t seen the musical (though when it goes on tour I certainly want to), but I have seen a production of Lindsey-Abaire’s original play, which I liked a great deal, and I have listened to the OCR. In the play, it is specifically stated that Kimberly’s disease may have similarities to progeria, but it is a different (fictional) disease. Its fictional nature gives the playwright a chance to do what he will with the character and events of the story with more freedom. I have seen some people criticize the show for not having an actor play Kimberly who actually has progeria, but it seems to me about a fictional disease, that criticism doesn’t have much merit. In any case, from my familiarity with the original play, my enjoyment of the cast recording, and the very strong word-of-mouth, I look forward to getting to experience it whenever it comes through town.
have you noticed any big differences between the play and the cast recording?
@@joshuaklein8465 The play only has five characters, with one boy named Jeff, who seems somewhat similar to Seth. All the other classmates of Kimberly’s only appear in the musical. But a number of elements are the same, such as beginning at the skating rink, Debra’s plan to steal and wash checks, Buddy’s frustration, Pattie’s pregnancy, etc.
In hindsight, it's pretty clear that the other classmates are a new addition (though I wouldn't have known at first watch). They're almost ENTIRELY there to fill out the numbers musically - even down to their diegetic inclusion as the show choir kids.
It is interesting to think about whether it's better or worse to have a made-up illness/disability on stage (or in media in general). On the one hand, if it's made up then there's less of a chance of accidentally doing something offensive, or being inaccurate to the real condition. But it also means that you lose a chance for representation. Then again, if you don't use a real-life condition, then it allows a wider range of chronically ill people to project onto the main character. Then again, I'd love to see someone with my specific genetic condition on stage, because I don't think my condition is super well-known and I'd like it if there was more awareness about it. In conclusion, I have no idea what the best option is (I mean, the best option is BOTH but we can't always have that).
show of the week!!! i’ve missed you sooooooo!!!!!!!
Been watching for years and wondering if you can give your updated thoughts on sunday in the park since ik u have said contrasting thoughts on twitter. I'd also live to hesr you talk mire about a new brain! Its such a good show that I feel has so much discussion beyond a show of the week. Ty for all the joy and education you bring
I haven't heard of this one before! your review has hella made me want to check it out
Very fitting that you post this as I literally saw Kimberly Akimbo yesterday! It was my second time going, I really love it
I’m from West Orange lol. Haven’t seen Kimberly Akimbo though. But I really want to! My high school took some of the students in theatre to see it!
Very important question: does your school have a show choir?
@@MusicalMash technically yes. The jubilee choir is the show choir.
Kimblery Akimbo seems like a really good show! I'm not gonna say it's one of my favourites, but I think I'd like it a lot more if I had the chance to see it live. It's definitely emotionally affecting (which, tbh, isn't *hard* when the main character is a dying teen but that doesn't negate the emotions I felt). 'How to Wash a Check' does indeed slap; Debra seems like a fun character in general. I support womens' wrongs.
There is something to be said about rare disability or disease representation on stage. I have a parent who had a very rare neurological disorder that most haven’t heard of, but is all encompassing and it causes all functions to just go slower. Nevertheless, it would be shall we say “easy to imitate.” I can imagine someone studying it to use for a performance and then give it a slightly different name. I think this show has a very intriguing task for the actor but there is that Dear Evan Hansen worry of if we don’t specify too much or do something kind of based on the thing, we can just imitate a shadow of the condition.
100%. The Dear Evan Hansen comparison is apt. I was curious if they ever were going to "name" the disease in the show to fully avert the Evan Hansen effect. It seems very much that Kim has Progeria and I TOTALLY thought they were going to name it during "Our Disease" but they never do.
On the one hand, it gives Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire a really good script option to make it "my disease" as Kim sings - setting it apart from the other two more "distant" named diseases that the other groups sing about.
On the other hand, it still suspends Kim (and the show) in the same "shadow of the condition" realm that DEH is in.
The one thing I will say is that I left the show wondering if Kimberly's disease was real or just a plot creation of Lindsay-Abaire's mind. I would have appreciated the specificity because I don't think that hurts a show as much as maybe some writers think it might? It makes it more real, which makes it easier to connect. Think about a show depicting a character with hiv/aids; while it is a well-known disease, certainly not everyone who engages with a show might relate specifically to that struggle. BUT it's the struggle in and of itself that is relatable or sympathetic or informative. Specificity doesn't harm that. Struggling with disease is a universal sentiment.
Do you know if there is a video or article or something about the dear Evan Hansen situation? I haven't seen the show, just listened to some songs, but I have some neurodivergences and mental illnesses and generic representation is one of my pet peeves; I had heard that the main character had an anxiety disorder but is that just the reviewer making that assumption?
@@phoenixfalling honestky, the Musical Theater Happy Hour episode of it is great and talks about that. The reviewer is making an assumption cuz they truly don’t explicitly say it at all. It’s how they have been able to cast whomever in the role
And while we’re on the subject, …. KIIIIIIDS
“I don't mind the moonlight swims, it's the loop-the-loops that hurts!”
Ok, so as to your assignment. I've always loved Mike's song on pg 54 (libretto)/62 (their numbering system). He stops twice to speak, not sing. I have a number of thoughts, but one is that a lot of the beginning of the song is him more thinking to himself, but through song. Then, he gets to a place where he has too many thoughts that he needs to share with us, not just for himself, and he has to articulate them through speech, it takes him out of the song and talking to us while he's discovering what he needs to say. Then, after these realizations, he goes back to song and incorporates these new thoughts into what he sings. I could get into the specific lines, but feel as though I've already rambled enough.
I don't know how this ended up here, it was clearly meant for the Working video...I haven't watched this one yet. I'm so confused youtube
I thought the show handled Kimberly's illness quite well. They even had a song about it. The lead character understands what is happening to her and has accepted it. So, we accept it, sadly. But the thing that impressed me the most is that the creators made a show about an illness that we know the lead will die from shortly after the final bows BUT it's joyful, happy, funny, sad, loving, tragic all at the same time. In short, it's a masterwork of delicate balance (Albee aside).
Great video.
Have a good day ❤
I wanted to love this show esp with all the hype but I felt a little disappointed when I saw it. I wanted to throttle the parents NGL. Aunt Debra was the best character but then again Bonnie Milligan and I was so happy when she won a Tony
Kimberly Akimbo has a lot of issues and it's unfortunate that the only people who seem to be talking about it are disabled folks.
Glad you're back just if you wanted to cover a musical about disability there's other options. How To Dance In Ohio is literally on Broadway right now.
Fall Risk is a musical about terminal illness actually created by a terminally ill person.
I’d love to hear more or be pointed in the right direction to where folks are having that discussion. As I mentioned, this show did give me a bit of the “ick” in that category and I’m interested in learning more!