Victoria Clark, cast of "Kimberly Akimbo" on the new musical's message of belonging
NEW YORK - It was a hot ticket off-Broadway, and now "Kimberly Akimbo" is playing to a much bigger audience.
The musical opened to rave reviews.
CBS2's Dave Carlin explains the buzz surrounding the new Broadway show
At age 63, veteran actress Victoria Clark enjoys the role of a lifetime, playing a 15-year-old in the new musical "Kimberly Akimbo."
She embodies this plucky New Jersey high school student with a medical condition that ages her prematurely. That character does not let her rare disease stop her from finding romance, belonging and adventure.
"This show's basically about an outsider who decides to take responsibility and take agency of life, and to find the beauty and the joy and the fun of her life," Clark said.
Clark won the leading actress Tony Award in 2005 for her performance in "The Light in the Piazza." Broadway audiences are buzzing that she may earn another one for her transformation as the lonely, teenaged Kimberly.
Kimberly struggles with the musical's fictional disease and her very quirky family.
"It's a family that struggles to communicate. And I think we all have that. Even in really, really tight families. I think we all have family members that were like, struggling to reach and, and who we really want to deeply understand us and there's some kind of disconnect. So a lot of this shows about this disconnection and then connection," Clark said.
"Kimberly Akimbo" the musical began as a critically acclaimed play of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire in 2000. Now adapted into a musical, it was a hit off-Broadway last year.
"Revisiting it, putting it into song, making this character sing. It's just cracked open the play in a brand new, exciting way," Lindsay-Abaire said.
The music is by Jeanine Tesori, Here's how she describes the show.
"Laughter through tears? Or tears through laughter is what I would say," she said.
The musical explores what it means to belong, taking an unflinching look at life's highs and lows.
Tony nominee Bonnie Milligan plays Kimberly's fierce and inappropriate Aunt Debra. Her character delivers conflict and some of the shows biggest laughs.
"A scheming, con artist kind of lady who honestly comes in and shakes everything up. So it's super fun to play," said Milligan.
"Kimberly Akimbo" lands on Broadway with the original off-Broadway cast largely intact. Carlin spoke to some of the talented young actors who are making their Broadway debuts.
"We have seven Broadway debuts, which is absolutely incredible, to be a part of their journey," Milligan said.
Clark and company winningly balance humor and heartbreak to help audiences skate to a destination warm and uplifting.
