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Coming directly off record-setting attendance for its run of The Time of Your Life, (11/5-22) Kansas City's Metropolitan Ensemble Theater (MET) debuted its third offering of the season - Kimberly Akimbo - to a packed, opening-night house this past Friday.

Adolescent first love is complicated enough without the added distractions of a dysfunctional family (The Levacos - and we're talking pathologically dysfunctional here), a rare, life-shortening disease, a psycho-lesbian aunt, and a teenage boy who, rightly being nervous enough under "normal" conditions, is positively petrified in David Lindsay-Abaire's near-Twilight Zone of suburbia that is the setting for Kimberly Akimbo. In that vein, the title cleverly belies the interpersonal clashes that are about to unfold, as "akimbo" carries two meanings: one specifically referring to body position - "placed in such a way as to have the hands on the hips and the elbows bowed outward" - and the other being slightly more generic and more generally apropos to the play itself - "being in a bent, bowed, or arched position." In short, folks, this is one twisted little family.

Taking place in a time "kind of like the Present", the setting works particularly well because it still manages to have a sense of "time-blur". But for a couple of prop and dialogue references (a touch-tone phone and a reference to the internet), the play could convincingly be perceived as taking place in the 70s, or just last month. Set design, itself (by Greg Owen), was cleverly deceptive.I liked the sense that, on the one hand, you could perceive this as reminiscent of your own childhood (though hopefully with less mania), or, on the other, simply perceive the events as being recent or current. Composer Thom Proctor's "soundtrack" contributed nicely to this blur, given that it provided an upbeat, often funky groove with a definite sense of older familiarity to it - I was immediately struck by the similarities to the 1970s soundtracks of Lalo Schifrin (Mission Impossible; Dirty Harry, etc.).

Thrust into this milieu are the cast of characters: Kimberly Levaco (played by Nancy Marcy), a 16-year-old with the rapid-aging disease known as progeria (Kimberly's casting calls for a woman between 60 and 65 years old); Buddy Levaco (Scott Cordes), Kimberly's barely-competent, rarely-sober, but loving, father; Pattie Levaco (Jan Chapman), her adulterous, pregnant, carpal tunnel-challenged, clumsy, hypochondriacal mother; Debra Watts (Missy Koonce), Pattie's whack-job of a sister - a felonious, foul-mouthed, manipulative lesbian; and Jeff McCracken (Sam Cordes), Kimberly's 16-year-old school mate and romantic interest. 

Kimberly Akimbo is a whirlwind, raucous, foul-mouthed, bumper-car ride with a couple of embedded mysteries to chew on, to boot. In a word: hilarity. Intertwining throughout the course of the play, we watch as Kimberly (who, at 16 and aging about 4½ times normal, looks to be in her late 60s or early 70s) tries to navigate, with Jeff McCracken, the tumultuous waters of teenage love (Kimberly having already reached menopause with Jeff barely out of puberty). Buddy tries to sober up long enough to become a better father and husband.  Mother Pattie - dim-witted and ditzy even on her better days - tries to navigate her world without the use of her hands (due to recent, bilateral carpal tunnel surgery) while in a late-term pregnancy (and convinced she also has cancer and diabetes). And sister Debra, who shows up out of nowhere (from Seacaucus NJ) with a check-washing scheme she needs Kimberly and Jeff's help to pull off. There is, for sure, never a dull moment.

The key to Kimberly Akimbo's success - the key for any play, really, but I think this one in particular - lies in the casting, and in that endeavor I think MET nailed it. Scott Cordes, with whom I was already quite impressed from his recent role as Nick in the MET's November staging of The Time of Your Life, turned in another solid performance as Buddy. Having only seen him, thus far, in two similar roles (both are gruff, rough-around-the-edges, blue collars guys) I am nevertheless enthralled by his dramatic range and cannot wait to experience him in a completely different type of character. His short monologue (outside the Levaco house, talking into a tape recorder) was masterful, and his timing and interplay with the other cast members was flawless.

Jan Chapman's neurotic Pattie is a sight to behold: a weirdly appropriate mix that reminded me - all at the same time without the psychotic traits - of Edith Bunker, Peg Bundy, Roseanne, Kitty Forman and Marge Simpson. Nancy Marcy's Kimberly is a nuanced character who skillfully projects the uncertainties, emotions and teenage angst from the body of, well, "a women between 60 and 65 years old." Sam Cordes is a standout as Jeff, Kimberly's love interest, and his awkward meanderings aimed at discerning whether Kimberly shares his feelings are poignant, endearing - and very, very funny.

Missy Koonce nearly steals the show as a completely over-the-top (and yet, in a "just right" sort of way) train wreck of a woman who cares only about what any situation can do to benefit her, manipulates those around her to see that it does, and has a complete disregard for societal norms (hysterically evident as she drags a stolen federal mailbox through the kitchen as casually as if she was bringing home a loaf of bread). For comparative purposes, I often look for key points of commonality to which most readers can relate, and with respect to Ms. Koonce's portrayal of Debra I came away with a singular impression:  a female Art Carney, whose physical comedic talents and timing were astounding.

By design, I've left a couple of plot-spoilers out because they are key to the characters' interconnectivity, but suffice to say that Pattie's pregnancy and the reason the Levacos had to relocate from Secaucus to Bogota, New Jersey, add an intriguing layer of hilarity and angst that will endear you both to Kimberly Akimbo, the play, and to Kimberly Levaco, the character. My only overt criticism of opening night is that the first act seemed a little sluggish when compared to the second. But the second act takes off like a rocket, so the impression may be partially a matter of relativity, but I think there is probably some room to tweak and tighten up the first part. Overall, though, this was another very solid offering from Bob & Karen Paisley and the engaging live-theater experience that is the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre.

Reviewers Note:  John Robert ("Bob") Paisley will perform a one-man show - "The Event," by John Clancy - at the MET on January 24-26 at 8:00 pm.  Look for my review that following Wednesday (1/27/2010). Seating is limited, and doors will open ½ hour prior to performance. No admission fee, but donations accepted.

REVIEW:
Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre
Kimberly Akimbo
by David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Bob & Karen Paisley
Runs January 7 -23 (Reviewed Friday, January 9, 2010)
MET Space
3614 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-569-3226 or online at http://www.metkc.org  

Top Photo: Jan Chapman and Scott Cordes. Photo by Bob Paisley.

By Christopher Guerin

Traditional and New Classical music, and Theatre Contributor (Past writer)
Christopher Guerin holds degrees in Music Education, Music Business, and Music Theory & Composition, the latter from the University of Massachusetts (Lowell) College of Music where he co-founded the college's Composers' Guild, and, in 1985, won the Artin Arslanian Composition Award. During college, he also obtained some musical theatre experience as a member of pit orchestras for Threepenny Opera and My Fair Lady. Since 1989, Christopher has been in the very non-artistic corporate sector, where his creative energies have been put to more mundane endeavors 

Christopher credits his musical motivations to his late father, who was concertmaster of the Springfield (MA) Community (pre-cursor to the city's current Symphony) Orchestra and performed popular music on radio in the 1930s. Christopher began his classical training in 1972 at age 10, began teaching at 16 (continuing to take private students throughout college), and traveled extensively with a youth orchestra - including to New Zealand in 1980. After college, and until 1989, Christopher focused on the business end of music as a successful sales manager for one of New England's largest music chains.

Over the past 20 years, Christopher's expertise has focused on medicine as a life risk underwriting officer for a large Midwest insurance group. His past duties included responsibility for risk underwriting in Pacific Rim markets where he traveled extensively to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand and Burma. Time permitting, he has continued to compose intermittently throughout this period. Christopher is married to Paula, a fellow musician he met during college, and together they have "composed" their magnum opera in three very creative children - an architecture student (go K-State!), an aspiring classical pianist, and a budding writer/journalist. He and his wife relocated from Massachusetts to the Kansas City area in 1997.