I could begin by saying that this one is strictly for laughs, but that sounds faintly pejorative, as if the show were in some way inhibited. My boyhood hero, the Cisco Kid, used to say to sullen sheriffs: "Laughter ees life, senor!" I've always gone with the Kid, so we'll start again.
Please Don't Make me Feel so Happy! is a very funny, musical entertainment with three performers who let their hair down in style, and cajole/mesmerise the audience into doing the same. The songs are new, with music mostly by Rosaleen Linehan and her son Conor, and practically all of the lyrics by husband Fergus. A six-piece band, a jazz combo led by Prof Peter O'Brien, provides brilliant support throughout.
There are some 26 numbers included, almost all of a high standard of creativity in both words and music. Egg is the plaint of an ageing lady who would now rather have an egg than, well, anything else. He Won't Leave Home is a threnody on the subject of family life, with particular reference to a 38-year-old who likes his comforts. Break the News is a missive home informing parents that they have gained a daughter rather than lost a son - he's had a sex change.
So it goes. Internet Lover is a sophisticated and tuneful song, one of many toe-tappers. I Want to be Louche is a mean, low-down bluesy number, Grannies reflects a regrettably coarse change in senior Irish females, and Middle Eastern Lover focuses on a tendency on the part of their juniors to be beguiled by foreigners today. All good fun, and happily not above the occasional vulgarity and double entendre.
Of the performing trio, Rosaleen Linehan has the superior comic ability and a very dirty laugh. Mary Coughlan's inimitable tonsils get the vocal award, and Susannah de Wrixon has the best hip movements while singing sweetly. But it should not really be a case of divide and comment, because they mostly combine in a harmony of intent and execution that is irresistible.
There is too much showbiz know-how invested in this show not to end on a high, and the curtain goes up and down - and up and down - to wild applause. Include me in.
Continues to July 28th; booking at 01-6777744
