REVIEW: JUDE PERL'S ROOMMATES THE MUSICAL

5 out of 5 stars 

One of the stand out shows of the festival, Green Room award winner Jude Perl returns with her latest show Roommates the Musical, after two back to back years of sold out shows at Melbourne International Comedy Festival. With an EP with national radio play under her belt, her two shows “Is it just me?” and “Part of this Complete Breakfast”, which both won Greenroom Awards for best original song, she’s worked in LA with Colin hay of Men At Work fame and sound engineer of Outkast, Brian Paturalski, she’s performed around the world and her songs feature in the 2016 documentary ‘Embrace’, about body positivity. So it’s no surprise with this impressive resume that opening night of her show was packed out.

Roommates the Musical is an insightful and very funny look into living in a share house, and how we react, interact and cope with life’s ups and downs, while dealing with two housemates. Enter Jane, the very savage but well meaning best friend and new comer and dancer Alice who is bubbly and full of positivity, who appear throughout the show as voice overs, with a slight change in lighting or jacket to allow Perl to transform into the three characters. The premise of the show is very simple- Perl, grand piano, couch on the stage, and follows the journey of how Jude, 35 and in a share house with her best friend since she was 3, Jane, decide maybe they should get another housemate. How they react to this, fall apart, get put back together, and go on adventures together is punctuated with delightful songs that are pretty to listen to, lyrically very witty, very funny and sometimes just a little bit rude. They explore the horrors of house mates, daggy dad dancing, doing what makes you happy and the different way people feel and react to situations.

The Texas born singer slash songwriter slash comedian slash piano player slash Jill of all entertainment trades is a quirky, endearing and relatable performer, with that hint of American accent and a sultry, jazzy voice to match. She really is an accomplished musician and singer, accompanying herself on piano while singing her witty, wordplay and pun filled songs. Her songs are about the everyday, about hoarding sentimental crap over the years, about savage, nasty best friends who mean well, about first dates and more.

This is one of the most original shows, and one of the most authentic performances I have seen at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this year. The one woman show has the audience roaring with laughter, relating to her stories, clutching their feels and having a wonderful night, and opening night audiences were treated to a one night only special song, collated from submissions from her fans of their worst housemate stories.

This fabulous show runs until 23rd April at The Coopers Malthouse, upstairs in the Bagging Room. Tickets and more info; https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/roommates-the-musical

This article first appeared at: http://www.theatrepeople.com.au/jude-perl-roommates-the-musical/ on 22 April 2017