Kimberly Akimbo (State Theatre Company of South Australia)

'To have the opportunity to work on something so new and with people who are so experienced and so amazing at what they do – I'm really excited!'

– Allycia Angeles

Elder Conservatorium Music Theatre graduates Darcy Wain and Alana Iannace, along with current student Allycia Angeles, are currently performing in State Theatre Company South Australia's production of Kimberly Akimbo, directed by Mitchell Butell. This Australian premiere of a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical is playing at Her Majesty's Theatre from Tuesday 8–Saturday 19 July. Please come along and support our students and alumni if you can!

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READ AN INTERVIEW WITH ALLYCIA ANGELES IN INREVIEW

'Darcy Wain as Seth is delightful. The budding romance between Seth and Kimberly begins in earnest with Anagram. Their dynamics are convincing and it's from this charming song the attraction, with requisite dramatic tension, begins to build.

[...]

The oddball love quartet ensemble – Marty Alix, Allycia Angeles, Alana Innance and Jacob Rozario – are outstanding. Their impeccable dance and comedic timing, their harmonising and camaraderie, are all highly commendable in what are pivotal supporting roles.'

– Gordon Forester, Limelight

'Kimberly Akimbo is a triumph for State Theatre Company South Australia. This production is world class and checks every box – strong book, excellent score, sensational cast, creative set, lighting and costumes, tight direction, top-notch music direction and band, snappy choreography and lots of emotions to take you on a rollercoaster ride.

[...]

Darcy Wain as new friend/love interest, Seth Weetis, is excellent. He has found such a warmth to the character, and you cannot help but love everything about him. There is a wonderful puppy-dog innocence to Wain's performance. Vocally, Wain's voice melts your soul.

The remaining four cast members, Marty Alix, Allycia Angeles, Alana Iannace and Jacob Rozarlo are so good, you forget that this is the first major professional musical for most of these performers. Together, they play other students at Kimberly's school who get swept up into Kimberly's world and her Aunt Debra's crazy schemes. All four have created incredible characters. Vocally, each is exceptional, but the true magic lies when they combine their voices to produce such a rich and strong harmonic blend.'

– Ben Stefanoff, Glam Adelaide
 

'Recent Elder Conservatorium graduate [Darcy] Wain is inherently delightful as the impossible-not-to-adore, quirky and layered sixteen-year-old Seth, who reframes the difficulties of life through anagram games – hence the title of the show.'

– Heather Taylor Johnson, InReview

'Darcy Wain's Seth Weetis is adorably nerdy as he worms his way into Kimberly's heart with creative wordplay. The added bonus of his tuba being more than just a prop was a charming surprise. The supporting quartet of teenage school characters battling unrequited, and sometimes closeted, love proved to be engaging and heartwarming. Delicious harmonies from Marty Alix, Allycia Angeles, Alana Iannace and Jacob Rozario, as Martin, Delia, Teresa, and Aaron respectively, demonstrate some rising talent.'

– Genevieve Hudson, The Scoop

'The quartet of high school misfits – played by Allycia Angeles, Marty Alix, Alana Iannace, and Jacob Rozario – add a buoyant, geeky charm. Their harmonies are tight, their characters endearing, and their choreography (thank you, Amy Campbell) is bursting with awkward, adolescent flair. Together, they form a kind of Greek chorus with braces and clarinets, reflecting the show's offbeat spirit.'

– Geoff and Monica Woodberry, On Your Markus

'Elder Conservatorium's Music Theatre degree graduate, Darcy Wain, plays Seth Weetis, Seth is a geek who is fascinated by anagrams, plays the tuba, and works at the ice skating rink. Seth is paired with Kimberly in a science project, which they base on her illness, and they eventually become very close. Wain brings both warmth and humour to the role in a very sensitive performance.

The cast also includes a second-year student in the Elder Conservatorium's Music Theatre degree course at the University of Adelaide, Allycia Angeles, as Delia, hereby turning professional long before completing her studies. Another graduate of that course is Alanna Iannace, as Teresa, with Jacob Rozario, as Aaron, and Marty Alix, as Martin. They are four of Kim's fellow students who join in with Debra's crooked scheme. They are not merely a group of backing singers. Each of them has a clearly defined character, they sing superbly, with some fine harmonies, perform some very energetic choreography, and add considerable humour to the production, with excellent comic timing and delivery. Watch for their hilarious science class presentations. Keep an eye open for these four rising stars in the future. It would be worth a second visit just to watch everything that these four performers are doing in the background.'

– Barry Lenny, Broadway World

'The other most notable actor is the very engaging Darcy Wain as Seth, the teenager who is strongly and charmingly attracted to Kimberly, and who has the reputation of being the good boy, unsure of himself, plays chess and the tuba, and is fixated on anagrams. He also has a fine singing voice.'

– Peter Bleby, Australian Stage

'Darcy Wain in his professional debut as Seth Brett Weeties (Kimberly's new friend) is also outstanding. Seth lives with his own tale of sadness and a good dose of teenage anguish yet entertains himself (and us) by concocting anagrams of his friends' names – be sure to catch the show-relevant one he fashions from Kimberly's name! Wain embodies this character with ease, flair, and professionalism, his acting and singing both captivating and affecting.

The talented ensemble of four are Marty Alix, Allycia Angeles, Alana Iannace, and Jacob Rozario. They are the 'show choir' teens – Martin, Delia, Theresa, and Aaron – who befriended Kimberly after some initial awkwardness. These characters illustrate that teenage stage where we feel like outsiders, have little control of our own bodies and emotions, plus feel misunderstood by most adults. These young performers (some graduated from and one still attending Adelaide's Elder Conservatorium Music Theatre course) added a great deal to the energy and cohesiveness of Kimberly Akimbo and were an absolute delight as their harmonies soared.'

– Lisa Lanzi, Stage Whispers
 

'Darcy Wain is adorably awkward, earnest and incredible as Seth, Kimberly's nerdy partner-in-crime whose anagram affection conceals a quietly subversive streak. [...] The teen misfits, played with contagious enthusiasm by Marty Alix (Martin), Allycia Angeles (Delia), Alana Iannace (Teresa) and Jacob Rozaio (Aaron), add to the zing of the chaos, bringing Amy Campbell's clever, lively choreography to life with a youthful vigour that elevates the entire production.'

– LiaLoves