“Kimberly Akimbo” Staged To Open Staller Center Season

The Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University will open its 2013-2014 season with the Asylum Theatre production of “Kimberly Akimbo” by David Lindsey-Abaire on Thursday, September 19.

Set in the wilds of suburban New Jersey, “Kimberly Akimbo” is a funny and thought provoking play about a teenager with a rare condition causing her body to age faster than it should. When she and her family flee Secaucus under dubious circumstances, Kimberly is forced to reevaluate her life while contending with a hypochondriac mother, a rarely sober father, a scam-artist aunt, her own mortality and, most terrifying of all, the possibility of first love.

(Photo: Courtesy of The Staller Center for the Arts)

Kimberly will be played by Deborah Mayo who will be joined by fellow Asylum Theatre members Steven Lantz-Gefroh, Rob Doyle, Catherine Zambri and Laura Ross. The play is directed by Valerie Lantz-Gefroh with performances September 19-22 and 26-29, Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 pm, Sunday at 2:00 pm in the Staller Center’s intimate black box Theatre Two. Tickets are $28, available anytime online at the link below or by calling (631) 632-ARTS [2787].

The Staller Center rounds out the 2013 part of their season with the renowned Emerson String Quartet (Thurs. Oct. 17), the pre-eminent humor writer David Sedaris (Sun. Oct. 20), “The Addams Family,” the Broadway musical on tour (Sun. Oct. 27), KamiKaze FireFlies, a family show that is part of Staller Center’s Not Just for Kids series (Sun, Nov. 3) , Midori, master violinist (Sun, Nov. 10), Mark Morris Dance Group, the ingenious ensemble known as “America’s dance company” performing with live musical accompaniment (Sat. Nov. 16), “Starry Nights,” artists-in-residence in the Department of Music (Wed. Nov. 20), Audra McDonald, five-time Tony Award winner and Grammy Award winner joined by a jazz ensemble (Sat. Nov. 23), Salzburg Marionette Theater in “The Sound of Music” (Sun, Dec. 8) and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis in a show billed as “Big Band Holidays” (Sun, Dec. 15).

Along with the above noted performances, there is an ongoing film series and “Live from the Metropolitan Opera” in HD series. The Staller Center for the Arts is one of Long Island’s premiere performance venues offering an eclectic mix of music, theatre, film, opera and dance. Yes, the arts thrive here!