Alzheimer’s the Musical is pretty much as good as the title would lead you to suspect. This could be considered a good thing or a bad thing depending on what expectations you bring with you to the show. For my own part the crowd last night seemed composed almost entirely of thirtysomething daughters escorting their sixtysomething mothers to a good night out, and it can’t be denied that the crowd was having a grand old time, clapping along to the songs and laughing at the ribald humour. Nobody was rolling in the aisles, but a good time seemed to be had by all.
The show itself isn’t exactly a musical, more a series of loosely-related sketch pieces that each explored one of the different humourous quirks of succumbing to old age, from the various ailments that afflict the body to the changing relationships between generations. The sketches are occasionally interspersed with the odd musical number, some played as straight performance pieces and others subverted with new lyrics. Author Maureen Sherlock and her two co-stars Lyn Shakespeare and Carole Yelland all acquit themselves admirably, in particular a rendition of ‘Keep Young and Beautiful’ highlighted Lyn Shakespeare’s quite incredible voice. There’s no denying that each actress can hold their own in either the individual sketch pieces or working as a tight ensemble.
But in spite of the fact that it clearly kept the audience solidly entertained, there is not much to truly surprise or delight in this show and if you didn’t already catch it during the 2007 run I can’t recommend it over some of the more challenging and original pieces on offer at the festival. At the end of the evening this show does prove, as the name forebodes, easily forgettable.
Alzheimer’s the Musical runs until April 11th at Chapel Off Chapel. For full booking details go to the Melbourne Comedy Festival website