Great Adventure Lyrics – Kimberly Akimbo

Song Overview

Song Credits

• Featured Vocalists: Victoria Clark (Kimberly), Alli Mauzey, Bonnie Milligan, Justin Cooley, Steven Boyer, Nina White, Fernell Hogan, Olivia Elease Hardy
• Producers: Jeanine Tesori, David Stone, John Clancy
• Composer: Jeanine Tesori
• Lyricist & Book: David Lindsay-Abaire
• Release Date: February 14, 2023
• Album: Kimberly Akimbo (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Label: Ghostlight Records
• Genre: Musical-theatre pop / Contemporary show-tune
• Mood: Buoyant, wistful, forward-leaning
• Length: ? 3 min 15 sec
• Instrumentation: Piano, acoustic guitar, reeds, cello, light percussion, choral backing
• Recording Studio: Avatar Studios, NYC
• Copyright © 2023 Strange Cranium Productions / Little Tools Music / Fox in Vibes Publishing

Song Meaning and Annotations

First time I heard “Great Adventure” I was wedged into the Booth Theatre mezzanine, playbill half-folded like a nervous origami crane. Kimber­ly Levaco—played by the incomparable Victoria Clark—leaned into the downstage glow and launched a melody that felt like a sunrise reflected off a Jersey Turnpike puddle: humble, bright, and determined to sparkle anyway.

Jeanine Tesori writes in breezy 6/8 here, the sort of rhythm you’d tap on a dashboard during a late-night Wawa run. But don’t let the ease fool you; there’s a quiet clock ticking underneath. Kimber­ly’s rare aging disorder means time is literally sprinting, so every measure lands like sand through glass. The lines keep circling back to the same bittersweet reminder—

Because no one gets a second time around

That lyric isn’t scolding; it’s a wink, a nudge. Tesori edges the chord from A-major into its relative F? minor just on the word “sadly,” letting the harmony sink for a beat before bouncing back. It mimics how a hopeful thought can dip, then rebound when a friend squeezes your hand.

There’s nautical imagery too—“We are sailing to a distant shore”—a neat hat-tip to Robert Louis Stevenson and every commencement speech ever, yet Lindsay-Abaire flips the trope. These teenagers aren’t escaping suburbia on a yacht; they’re stealing a mail-fraud check and trusting a school bus to hold the wind. It’s daring, a little illegal, very high-school.

Opening Stanza

We're on a great adventure / Don't know what we're gonna find

A thesis sentence wearing rollerblades. Kimberly acknowledges the unknown, yet the phrasing keeps the uncertainty bright, almost sugar-coated. The internal slant-rhyme of “find” and “behind” clicks like seatbelts.

Duet Pivot

[SETH] At last, a great adventure / Don't know where the road will bend

Seth’s entrance adds a tenor counter-melody that chases Kimberly’s line by a third, musically echoing how he trails her every impulsive idea. The orchestration fattens with reeds—audible trust building.

Choral Lift

[SHOWCHOIR] We are sailing

The show-choir blast is Tesori’s secret seasoning. She records actual teen voices, letting imperfect vowels create that John Hughes cafeteria authenticity. It’s a sonic Polaroid: slightly blurred, precious for the flaws.

Final Refrain

What a great adventure / Didn't know the paths we'd take

The harmonic progression shifts up a whole step—classic Broadway modulation for emotional altitude. By the last “doo-doo-doo,” the entire cast is essentially waving from the station platform, saying, We lived. That was enough.

Similar Songs

1. “Seasons of Love” – Rent
   Both numbers tally the fleeting nature of life, yet “Great Adventure” swaps Rent’s gospel veil for indie-folk optimism. They share choral swells and a simple question: how do you quantify time? Where Larson counts minutes, Tesori counts stolen moments, each approach landing like a postcard from either coast of Generation X anxiety.
2. “Time” – Tuck Everlasting
   Andrew Lippa’s ballad wrestles with immortality; Kimber­ly’s song tackles the opposite. The melodic contours rise then fall in both tracks, but in inverted moral directions—Tuck begs for endings, Kimber­ly begs for beginnings. Listening back-to-back feels like watching an hourglass flip over and over.
3. “Light” – Next to Normal
   Each finale unites fractured characters in a communal pledge to keep moving. Harmonically, “Light” stacks suspensions over a pulsing eighth-note piano, while “Great Adventure” layers “doo-doo” scat syllables over acoustic strums; but the goosebumps arrive in the same bar: the measure where acceptance outweighs grief.

Questions and Answers

Is “Great Adventure” the finale of Kimberly Akimbo?

Yes. The number unfolds as the curtain-call pulse—wrapping plot threads, giving every principal a vocal bow, and sending the audience out humming.

Why does the music reference sea travel when the characters never leave New Jersey?

The nautical metaphor underscores emotional migration. Kimberly might stay zip codes away, yet mentally she’s crossing oceans of possibility before her accelerated clock runs out.

Who arranged the show-choir harmonies?

Orchestrator John Clancy expanded Tesori’s sketch, writing three-part teen harmonies that intentionally clash on certain passing tones for verisimilitude.

What key modulation occurs before the final refrain?

The song lifts from A-major to B-major. That whole-step rise sparks adrenaline without taxing Clark’s mezzo range.

Does the cast recording differ from the live orchestration?

In the studio, engineers tucked a subtle shaker and doubled the guitar track for warmth; otherwise it mirrors the pit arrangement note-for-note.

Awards and Chart Positions

• Kimberly Akimbo swept the 2023 Tony Awards—Best Musical, Best Score (Tesori & Lindsay-Abaire), Best Leading Actress (Victoria Clark). While trophies honor the show as a whole, “Great Adventure” is the winning score’s signature closer.
• Cast album debuted at No. 7 on Billboard’s Cast Albums chart in March 2023 and later earned a 2024 Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album.

Fan and Media Reactions

Skim the comment feed under the official video and you’ll find love letters in every time zone—from teens binge-looping before finals to retirees cheering Clark’s top-note stamina.

“If Rent had a Gen-Z cousin, this track is it.” —@StageLeft88

“Victoria Clark makes aging feel punk-rock.” —@GreyHairDontCare

“That key change just cured my seasonal depression.” —@SynthDad

“Saw the matinee last week; the ‘doo-doo’ outro had the balcony dancing.” —@RushTicketRita

“Tesori’s chords are birthday-cake sweet and funeral-home sad at the same time.” —@TheoryNerdAgain

Critics echoed the fervor. Variety dubbed the finale “a confetti cannon of feelings,” while The New Yorker praised its “swaggering yet fragile pep rally for mortality.” Even Sondheim aficionados begrudged a smile.