Best Supporting Actor

I keep thinking I'm done writing about "Kimberly Akimbo," but I love to extol the virtues of this show, and I know there are at least a few other Levaco zealots out there.

Justin Cooley might (it's unlikely) win a Tony Award tomorrow for his Broadway debut. He is in the "supporting" list, which seems like category fraud; next to Victoria Clark, Cooley is the co-lead of his show.

Cooley plays Seth Weetis, a nerdy boy whose great desire is to "throw caution to the wind." He makes this confession in his "I Want" song:

My brother played with nunchucks;

I liked playing chess.

My brother broke the knicknacks;

I would clean the mess.

I ate my peas and carrots;

My brother never would.

And as my mother died...

I promised to be good.

This is about labeling. Lazy adults tend to see children as "good" or "bad"; the practice is harmful not just for the hyper kids, but also for the seemingly docile kids (who may quietly resist the label that the world has invented, and who may then become resentful).

My father smokes in silence--

And paces in the yard.

My brother goes to rehab.

I study twice as hard.

The writer loves problematic behavior. His incisive lines about Seth's family make me think about his Cynthia Nixon play, "Rabbit Hole," in which bereaved people do drugs, contemplate extramarital activity, and torture well-meaning friends over dinner.

The good kid, the good boy, the good one.

The unseen, the unheard, the good son.

What has it gotten me....being good?

Seth makes an immoral choice, and this is troubling to some viewers; there is this bizarre idea that fictional characters should act in admirable ways, all the time. But I'm moved by Seth's questionable actions--and by his general adolescent clumsiness. His song is uncomfortable, and that's how it is meant to be.

Whether or not Cooley wins tomorrow, I hope he has a long career, and I'm happy I saw him at the start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcBf6RPXC7k

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