Brimming with infectious energy and tunes that soar, State Theatre Company South Australia and Melbourne Theatre Company presents the Tony Award-winning Kimberly Akimbo A Musical in an Australian premiere season at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide, from 8 July, before playing in the Playhouse – Arts Centre Melbourne from 26 July 2025.
With music by Jeanine Tesori (Shrek, Fun Home) and book by David Lindsay Abaire (Ripcord), Kimberly Akimbo is the musical that took Broadway by storm. It won countless hearts and raked in five Tony awards including Best Musical.
New Jersey, 1999: from a sea of teen angst, unrequited crushes and popularity contests bursts Kimberly, a musical heroine like no other. Equal parts teen comedy, heist caper and unlikely love story, her rollercoaster journey shows that the tempo of your own song is yours to set.
Born with a genetic rarity that means she ages at four times the rate of everyone else, Kimberly is a teen in mid-life form and living on borrowed time. She can cope with her dropkick dad and narcissistic mum – can’t spell ‘dysfunction’ without ‘fun’, right?
But when her criminal aunt Debra shows up with a get-rich-quick scheme too good to be legal, Kimberly decides you’re only young once.
Directed by four-time Helpmann Award-winner Mitchell Butel, Kimberly Akimbo stars Marty Alix (Hamilton), Allycia Angeles, Alana Iannace, Casey Donovan (Sister Act), Nathan O’Keefe, Marina Prior (Les Miserables), Jacob Rozario (Dear Evan Hansen), Darcy Wain and Christie Whelan Browne (Life in Plastic).
“I think Jeanine Tesori is the greatest musical writer living today, and David Lindsay-Abaire is one of the world’s most hilarious and affecting playwrights,” says Director Mitchell Butel. “This gem of a show broke and restored my heart on Broadway and I’m beyond thrilled to helm a new Australian production with the most perfect and talented cast imaginable.”
“It’s a show about time – finding it, making it and enjoying it as much as we can before we lose it. I can’t wait for audiences to be feel this show’s great wit and joy.”
This funny and tender new musical transcends generations with laughter, love and a poignant reminder of life’s fleeting moments.
Director: Mitchell Butel | Featuring: Marty Alix, Allycia Angeles, Alana Iannace, Casey Donovan, Nathan O’Keefe, Marina Prior, Jacob Rozario, Darcy Wain, Christie Whelan Browne | Musical Director: Kym Purling | Choreographer: Amy Campbell | Set Designer: Jonathon Oxlade | Costume Designer: Ailsa Paterson | Lighting Designer: Matt Scott | Sound Designer: Andrew Poppleton | Dialect Coach: Jennifer Innes | Intimacy Coordinator: Annabel Matheson
Kimberly Akimbo A Musical
Her Majesty’s Theatre, 58 Grote Street, Adelaide
Season: 8 – 19 July 2025 (opening night: 11 July)
Information and Bookings: www.statetheatrecompany.com.au
Playhouse – Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Season: 26 July – 30 August 2025 (opening night: 30 July)
Information and Bookings: www.mtc.com.au
Image: The Cast of Kimberly Akimbo A Musical – photo by Jo Duck