Kimberly Akimbo

Kimberly Akimbo is a musical by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori, presented at Hampstead Theatre in a new production. It follows a teenager with a rare genetic condition who sets out on an unexpected adventure.

Kimberly Akimbo is a musical written by David Lindsay-Abaire, whose plays include Good People and Rabbit Hole, with music by Jeanine Tesori, who also composed Caroline, or Change and Fun Home. The show won five Tony Awards in 2023, among them the awards for the musical itself, its score and its book. This London staging is its European premiere.

The story centres on a teenager who, because of a rare genetic condition, ages several times faster than her peers. She is preparing for her sixteenth birthday in New Jersey after her family has moved house, and she has few friends in her new town. Her parents are short of money, and an aunt with a criminal past proposes a scheme to make a quick fortune. Kimberly decides to take part, alongside a boy she meets at the ice rink and the members of her new show choir.

The production is directed by Michael Longhurst, whose recent Next to Normal moved from the Donmar to the West End. Hampstead Theatre, the venue for this run, hosts concerts and shows in London.