To be honest, I didn’t look forward to seeing Riverbend’s current show, a play, not a musical.  But, Kimberly Akimbo took me complete by surprise as a truly delightful production.

Kimberly Akimbo centers around Kimberly, a soon to be sixteen year old girl with that disease that ages your body four-and-a-half years for every year of your life.  And, while that’s an interesting subject, it’s not the focus of the show.
Instead, the story follows life with her dysfunctional family.

The show is billed as a dark comedy.  It’s subject matter lends itself to a darker, uncomfortable humor.  However, almost the entire cast performs their roles with a bit of a smile on their faces, knowing the show is funny.  That makes it less dark, which isn’t a bad thing, in my opinion.  It lightens things up, making the dark comedy easier to take in as a comedy.  It’s been a while since I laughed so much during a live stage performance.

What’s key to the success of any production of Kimberly Akimbo is the actress playing Kimberly.  You have to cast an older woman to play a teenage girl.  It would be easy to overact and not be believable, which would ruin the show.  Fortunately, Peggy Freeman is Kimberly in RTC’s production and she’s perfect.  Not only is her vocal inflection and tone spot on for a teenager, but her body language is, too.  She’s absolutely believable as a 15 year old girl.  And, she’s darling, to boot.  You really like her Kimberly, which helps to invest in the show, wanting to know what’s in store for her.

While Freeman is the focus of the production, it’s Denise Yoder who steals the show, in my opinion.  Never have I seen Yoder so free and comfortable in a role.  She doesn’t hold back in this performance as Debra, Kimberly’s highly dysfunctional aunt.  Yoder seems to be thoroughly enjoying the role, which makes it easy to enjoy it along with her.  This is, hands down, the best performance I’ve ever seen out of Yoder.  Bravo.

While Yoder stands out, that’s not to say the rest of the cast is short on talent.  On the contrary, the production is perfectly cast, with not a weak performance in the bunch.  Dustin Oliver has the right youthfulness and “outcastness” about him, making him oh so lovable.  Jaci Entwistle’s pregnant, always injured Pattie is full of humor, garnering many a laugh from the audience.  But, Aaron Sullivan’s Buddy is perhaps the most developed character on stage.  Sullivan fully grasps the internal conflict of someone who wants to escape his not as expected life by drowning himself in alcohol and a father who wants to do right by his daughter.

Kimberly Akimbo is staged at the Village Theatre in the Village of East Davenport.  And, while there is a stage, the cast is often not on it.  A couple of the sets are on the floor, in front of the stage and at the feet of the audience.  It’s ideal for quick scene changes.  And, the director, Allison Collins-Elfline made a smart choice in using the room.  Side doors lead the basement of the house or the fridge or another part of the library.  This production makes excellent and impressive use of the space in which it is staged.

I can’t recommend Kimberly Akimbo to you enough.  It’s truly delightful and thoroughly enjoyable.  It’s a shame if this weekend doesn’t sell out.  Go see this show!

I must warn you, though.  There is a lot of strong language, so this isn’t one to take the kiddies to see.  Adults only.

Kimberly Akimbo runs tonight and tomorrow night at 8 p.m. at the Village Theatre in the Village of East Davenport.

Posted: June 26th, 2008 under Theater.
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The show begins with George and Helene packing up their youngest son Keith and sending him off to college.  The front door closes and, phew, finally, after too many years, they have the house to themselves.  They can run around naked, if they want to.  They no longer have three sons in the home to invade their privacy and demand their attention.

That is, until they decide to get cozy on the floor in front of the fireplace.  As they snuggle, their son Michael sneaks in through the back door and up the stairs to his room.  It doesn’t take long for their other son, Elliott, to follow.  Oh, and then there’s the college freshman Keith just met the day before, Janie, who moves in to use his room, which he promised would be okay.

The laughs are centered around the frustrations of finally being free in your own home, but having it invaded again by the sons you finally got out of the nest.  Despite being a comedy, it’s actually short on laughs (until the first half of the second act), but when the laughs come, they’re good ones.

The show is okay, not great.  What actually makes it worth seeing is the cast.  There’s usually a few weaker cast members in Circa’s shows, but not this one.  Every actor is solid, funny and enjoyable.  There are no weakest links here, goodbye.

Brad Hauskins, a Circa regular, plays the father.  While I enjoy his usually dry, sarcastic humor, this performance is a lighter style of comedy and quite good.

Vrenda Lee, fresh off of Smoke on the Mountain, once again plays the play’s mother.  This time, she’s able to stand out, with such humor carried through her non-verbals.  And such great 80’s style hair!

Tristan Layne Tapscott is Keith.  Tapscott was hilarious in Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story and is just as good here.

Michael Butler, who is usually serving you your drinks for dinner as a Bootlegger, really gets to let his brand of humor free in a role well-suited for his style.

Eddie Staver III, who I am not ashamed to say, once again, is my favorite Quad Cities actor, offers a surprisingly slimey portrayal of Elliott, the womanizing son.  It’s a far cry from his portrayals of classic characters with the Prenzie Players, but still impressive.

And then there’s Ashley Catherine Schmitt, the bubbly, gum-chewing, sky-high bangs freshman Janie.  Schmitt has such energy and sparkle, you can’t help but like her, which adds to the laughs she brings to the show.

Also worth mentioning, the set and the costumes.  When we first sat down, I did not like the set, wondering who picked the atrocious style.  Then, when Hauskins and Lee walked on stage in their 80’s style clothing, it clicked and I found the set fantastic.  It’s perfect and, with the spot on costumes, leaves no doubt what decade this show takes place in.

Empty Nest runs through July 19th at Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse in Rock Island.

Posted: June 12th, 2008 under Theater.
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I am a sucker for animated features and Jack Black, so “Kung Fu Panda” has me in movie viewing overload, hoping two positives don’t make a negative.

Black is the voice of Po, a panda bear working in a noodle restaurant, who may be the prophesied chosen one to protect the Valley of Peace.  It helps that Po is a Kung Fu fanatic.  It doesn’t help that he’s also the laziest animal in all of China.

The cast is quite impressive, actually, with actors you might not expect behind colorfully drawn characters.  Well, except for Jackie Chan, maybe.  But, there’s also Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu and Angelina Jolie.

Yes, it’s another tale of an unlikely hero.  And, yes, it’s another lesson in being yourself is the best.  But, it’s so much fun!  For both the kiddies and the adults.

And, it’s simple.  While it has action, humor and heart, it’s not a whirling dirvish of c-g created explosions and chases that leaves your heart pounding with the stress of the excitment.  It’s enjoyable entertainment at a comfortable, but satisfying pace.

It’s hard to go wrong with animated features these days.  “Kung Fu Panda” is worth a family trip to the theater.  It’s one you won’t mind watching along with your children.

And then there’s You Don’t Mess with the Zohan with Adam Sandler as an Israeli secret agent who fakes his own death in order to move to New York to become a hairstylist.  Skip it at the theater.  It’s a sign Judd Apatow isn’t a sure bet.  But, it’s funny enough to make it worth renting.

Posted: June 5th, 2008 under Film.
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