Richard Higgins (left) plays the exasperated parent and Matthew Kelly is the pint-sized tyrant in this sketch from The Listies: Make Some Noise.
Family entertainment often settles for amusing the children while asking adults to patiently endure the ride. The Listies: Make Some Noise gleefully defies that formula, delivering an hour of quick-witted comic anarchy in which playwright-performers Richard Higgins and Matthew Kelly prove that silliness, when executed with razor-sharp timing and imagination, can delight audiences from preschoolers to grandparents.
The show kicks off with Higgins and Kelly breaking the fourth wall, introducing themselves to the audience and establishing that they are not Americans but performers from Melbourne, Australia:
Matt: “We just wanted to come out and say g’day!”
Rich: “Hang on. No, Matt. Here in the U.S.A. they don’t say g’day! That’s an Australian thing.”
Matt: “Oh, OK, don’t worry, Rich, I can speak American, ‘Howdy, Ma’m, okey dokey, yee ha Hershey Bar.’”
Higgins (foreground, with back turned) holds up a befitting cardboard sign as Kelly postures as a rock star.
Matt’s exaggerated Western twang draws easy laughs from the children, while adults seem to appreciate the tongue-in-cheek caricature of American speech. The exchange immediately establishes the duo’s playful rapport with the audience and signals that broad, self-aware silliness—not realism—will govern the evening.
Higgins and Kelly have been performing together since 2008, when they launched a variety act called “The List Operators,” a name inspired by their fondness for absurd lists. As their work evolved toward family entertainment, they shortened the name to the more child-friendly “The Listies”—a fitting label for a duo whose comedy remains delightfully irreverent.
And irreverence is very much The Listies’ stock-in-trade. Early on, the duo mines fake burps, butt-crack jokes, and even a Nutella anecdote that may make one think twice before spreading the chocolate-hazelnut treat on toast. Although this barrage of toilet humor initially threatens to wear thin, it ultimately gives way to a far more inventive comic mix of pop music, visual gags, PowerPoint presentations, dad jokes, and inspired audience interaction.
“Perhaps the duo’s greatest achievement is their ability to entertain children and adults simultaneously. ”
Much of the show’s comedy springs from the contrasting personas Higgins and Kelly create. Higgins plays the perpetually weary adult, forever trying to keep the performance on track, while Kelly is an overgrown child whose impulsiveness and questionable honesty continually threaten to derail it. Their comic dynamic is showcased in a running PowerPoint gag. As Higgins asks Kelly whether various assigned tasks have been completed, Kelly confidently answers with an emphatic nod or shake of the head. Simultaneously, a giant projected “Yes” or “No” exposes the truth—often flatly contradicting Kelly’s reassuring gestures. The routine recurs throughout the show, with Higgins growing increasingly exasperated while Kelly doubles down on his transparent fibs.
Music provides one of Higgins and Kelly’s richest comic playgrounds. Under the guise of introducing youngsters to different musical genres, famous composers, and orchestral instruments, the duo unleashes a barrage of verbal and visual puns. When opera comes up for discussion, for example, a photograph of Oprah Winfrey suddenly appears on the screen, a joke that may sail over younger children’s heads while delighting adults.
The comedy duo Higgins and Kelly don laser suits in the opening scene before launching their comic gold. Photographs by Jess Shurte.
Their wordplay becomes even more inventive when Higgins “explains” the name Tchaikovsky not by sounding it out, but by drawing three pictures on a large pad: a cup of chai tea, a boy coughing, and a pair of skis. The comic riff continues with musical instruments, including an image of Donald Trump—dubbed “the king of America”—playing a trumpet. Audience participation also fuels the laughs. When a young girl proudly says she plays the drums, Higgins asks her to spell the word before offering his own IKEA-inspired version: “Dryoum”—a playful nod to the Swedish retailer’s fondness for giving everyday products quirky, tongue-twisting names, such as Aptitlig and Varmblixt.
Perhaps the duo’s greatest achievement is their ability to entertain children and adults simultaneously. Higgins and Kelly even have a name for this cross-generational audience: “kidults.” While younger theatergoers delight in the slapstick, visual gags, and gleeful nonsense, adults are rewarded with clever wordplay, cultural references, and theatrical wit that adds another layer of enjoyment to the proceedings.
One of the evening’s standout sketches features Kelly dressed as a diapered baby in a stroller, repeatedly demanding, “I want iPad.” Higgins, ever the patient adult, attempts to redirect the pint-size tyrant with a game of peekaboo, insisting it offers a far better “brain workout.” The escalating clash between Kelly’s stubborn demands and Higgins’s earnest attempts at old-fashioned parenting turns the familiar parent-child dynamic into comic gold.
Though some of the show’s early gross-out humor may test the patience of adults, Higgins and Kelly prove themselves far more inventive than their opening antics suggest. Their infectious energy, comic chemistry, and knack for finding laughter in language, music, and audience participation make The Listies: Make Some Noise an entertaining outing for the very “kidults” it happily embraces.
The Listies: Make Some Noise plays at the AMT Theater through July 19. Matinee performances are at 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For tickets and more information, visit thelisties.com.
Playwright: Richard Higgins & Matthew Kelly
Lighting Design: Emma Lockhart Wilson,
Sound Design: Iva Lottagas
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