ASSISTED LIVING: THE MUSICAL Comes To Oncenter Carrier Theater This October

Assisted Living: The Musical comes to The Oncenter Carrier Theater Oct. 17th-20th and offers both matinee and evening performances. Assisted Living: The Musical, performed by its authors Rick Compton and Betsy Bennett, is a sell-out around the country, and Syracuse should be no exception.

The show promises "The Tales Granny Will Never Tell" and it delivers. In the opening scene, a newly-departed couple discovers their son has pulled their plugs to get his Dad's vintage Corvette. The couple doesn't mind.

The show romps through the "best years of their lives" at Pelican Roost, an active senior living community, where 70-something is the new 20-something, only with looser skin. The place oozes with characters, each with unique answers to later-life's questions.

"It's like a cruise," explains Pelican Roost resident Naomi Lipschitz-Yamamoto-Murphy, "except the final destination is not The Bahamas." Naomi is one of 18-characters played by the two actors.

This is not your grandma's assisted living. Songs include "Help! I've Fallen (For You) and I Can't Get Up", "WalkerDude@Facebook.Com" and "The Uplifting Viagra Medley." Residents are advised, "It's ok to get close, but don't get something gross."

Assisted Living: The Musical opened in Naples, Florida in 2010 and immediately drew the attention of national press. It enjoyed AP coverage in more than 180 newspapers, and on the radio including the BBC and ABC World Radio News.

When it premiered on the West Coast, The San Francisco Examiner called it "Wickedly funny." The San Jose Mercury News warned, "You'll die if you miss this one." Broadway World called it "Absolutely thrilling" and "Charming." The Tampa Times gushed that it is "A joy to savor and savor again."

Audiences have expressed all manner of reaction to the show. One little old lady literally laughed herself off her chair and had to be helped up by two strong staffers. Another woman left the show in the middle, to return with a spare oxygen tank for her husband who was "laughing too much."

The show's authors have a different take on aging than some. "Old age is no more about fixed incomes and disability than youth is about student debt and hangovers," says Rick Compton.

"Imagine a world in which no one expects you to work, no one can get pregnant, and where you get a 20% discount just for being alive," Betsy Bennett says. "That's Assisted Living."

Assisted Living: The Musical is performed by its authors Rick Compton and Betsy Bennett in five performances on Thursday, Oct. 17th through Sunday, Oct. 20th at 2:00pm and 7:30pm. For tickets and information, go to www.ticketmaster.com or visit the Solvay Bank Box Office (760 S. State St., Syracuse, NY 13202).

And you'd better call now...before your short-term memory goes.

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