Theater

“Kimberly Akimbo”: David Lindsay-Abaire’s bittersweet allegory about a teenager with rapid-aging disease lands its message of mortality past sitcom whimsy by sheer force of quirky will and is uncommonly funny and ruefully wonderful. Judy Jean Berns is the ideally cast heroine. Lindsay-Abaire’s plot teeters between hilarity and pathos, ending on a lovely note of carpe diem. To keep the stakes askew, director Maria Gobetti adroitly maintains tempos worthy of Preston Sturges. Tom Ormeny’s lights, Dawn DeWitt’s costumes and William Folger’s sound are sharp.

-- David C. Nichols

Ends Sunday at the Victory Theatre Center, 3326 W. Victory Blvd., Burbank. (818) 841-5421.