"kimberly akimbo"
while i was in cleveland, my dad and i went to see a production of a play at the convergence-continuum theater called "kimberly akimbo." it's still running through april 17, if any cleveland folks become interested after reading this.
i believe that the disease that the title character is supposed to have is progeria, but i just went to wikipedia and learned (if wikipedia is to be believed) that that condition is not usually inherited which kind of messes up a major plot point. anyway, the title character is a sixteen year-old girl who has a disease that causes her to age prematurely and will significantly shorten her life span. she lives with her highly dysfunctional family in a town, i believe somewhere in new jersey. we meet her parents, her aunt, and a boy she goes to school with, and spend a few significant weeks with them.
the performances are terrific. the woman who plays kimberly is outstanding--she has to convince you that she is a sixteen year-old trapped in this rapidly aging body. all of the actors did a really good job. the play is well-directed and well-staged, given the budget limitations of the company. that said, there's a problem for me with the play because i didn't like any of the "adult" characters. i don't think that's an accident--i don't think you're supposed to like them, but it made for a difficult evening after a while. some people have a higher tolerance for this than i do.
so would i recommend it? i'm glad to have seen it, just to see the performance by the woman who played kimberly. and i would say that the playwright had a lot less trouble with act 2 than i saw coming. it certainly holds your interest--you want to see what will happen. and i root for little theaters like this, so sure, you might head on over and check it out. if you see it (or have seen another production of it) let me know what you think.
i believe that the disease that the title character is supposed to have is progeria, but i just went to wikipedia and learned (if wikipedia is to be believed) that that condition is not usually inherited which kind of messes up a major plot point. anyway, the title character is a sixteen year-old girl who has a disease that causes her to age prematurely and will significantly shorten her life span. she lives with her highly dysfunctional family in a town, i believe somewhere in new jersey. we meet her parents, her aunt, and a boy she goes to school with, and spend a few significant weeks with them.
the performances are terrific. the woman who plays kimberly is outstanding--she has to convince you that she is a sixteen year-old trapped in this rapidly aging body. all of the actors did a really good job. the play is well-directed and well-staged, given the budget limitations of the company. that said, there's a problem for me with the play because i didn't like any of the "adult" characters. i don't think that's an accident--i don't think you're supposed to like them, but it made for a difficult evening after a while. some people have a higher tolerance for this than i do.
so would i recommend it? i'm glad to have seen it, just to see the performance by the woman who played kimberly. and i would say that the playwright had a lot less trouble with act 2 than i saw coming. it certainly holds your interest--you want to see what will happen. and i root for little theaters like this, so sure, you might head on over and check it out. if you see it (or have seen another production of it) let me know what you think.