Kimberly Akimbo Joins Music Theatre International Catalogue

2023 Best Musical Tony winner Kimberly Akimbo has joined the Music Theatre International licensing catalogue. The musical, currently on a national tour, features a Tony-winning book by David Lindsay-Abaire and a Tony-winning score with music by Jeanine Tesori and lyrics by Lindsay-Abaire. The title is not currently available for new productions, though interested groups can sign up for notifications about licensing developments for the title at MTIShows.com.

The acquisition places Kimberly Akimbo alongside Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire's earlier collaboration, Shrek The Musical; along with Tesori's Caroline, or Change; Thoroughly Modern Millie; and Violet.

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Based on Lindsay-Abaire's 2000 play of the same name, Kimberly Akimbo came to Broadway in 2022 following an Off-Broadway world premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in 2021. The story follows Kimberly Levaco, a New Jersey teenager with a rare disorder that causes her to age four times faster than normal. The show won five 2023 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

"At its heart, Kimberly Akimbo is about making the most of whatever time we have on this planet," say Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire in a joint statement. "Our heroine craves adventure and connection and is determined to be seen as the person she truly is. Little did we know when we started working on the musical all those years ago that Kim’s hopeful spirit, humor, and tenacity would send us, the writers, on a great adventure as well, taking us from an Off-Broadway theatre in a converted church, to a Broadway house, to the Tony Awards and, eventually, a U.S. national tour. It’s been a joyous ride on a long and wonderfully winding road, and we’re beyond thrilled that our journey on it will continue now that the show is available for licensing and will be performed in theatres all over the world."

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“Kimberly Akimbo is an instant classic, thanks to the exceptional talents of Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire,” adds MTI President and CEO Drew Cohen. “These two authors created a warm, funny, and deeply moving show that speaks to the teenager in all of us. We are thrilled to welcome this hit musical into the MTI catalog and look forward to seeing the show play on countless stages across the world.”

Once the title becomes available, licensed productions will be able to create a Broadway-quality Playbill program with the iconic yellow-and-black Playbill header via PLAYBILLDER. As with most MTI-licensed shows, users can automatically import licensor-approved character and song lists, and billing pages into their program using PLAYBILLDER Express. Learn more at PLAYBILLDER.com.

More on licensing Kimberly Akimbo is at MTIShows.com.