By Lisa Clark 
Yay Luis and Luellin are back on stage together again! This is “old school” Lessons With Luis for fans and a great intro to their daggy retro-style feel-good comedy for newcomers.
He’s done standup and sing offs and lectures, now Luis is keen to try his hand at creating a sitcom. In space! The sitcom, also called Stickin’ Together, requires another actor for Luis to work with so Luellin is hauled back into duty to support his big brother’s dream of show business. But while he’s been away from the stage, Luellin has gained an independent life outside of home made up of friends and hobbies.
The sitcom itself is performed in the Lessons With Luis style – like kids who’ve created this in their lounge room with very basic props and an obvious clichĂ©d plot. Everything starts off with Happy Good Times but we know this won’t last for long. Luis, emulating TV, has inserted a couple of ad breaks into the show within a show, the first being the best and possibly highlight of the evening. There is a very They Might Be Giants feel to the jingle about microwave ovens. The original songs throughout are actually surprisingly great.
Tech is always good in a Lessons with Luis show and the pre-recorded voices are handled expertly, acting as  a great way of getting around annoying the audience with interaction and also a way of getting the silent Luellin more involved. The special guest voice-over professional is; the legend that is: Pete Smith. As in “Saaaaale of the Century” Pete Smith. The voice of Chanel 9 for many decades. Well, if you need voice overs for your show, why not get the best? Pete’s voice gets to be involved in more ways than one and adds to the charmingly old fashioned vibe of the show.
It would not be a Lessons With Luis show without learning and it is Luellin who takes over the learning in this show indicating that he is maturing and able to take charge when Luis is having a meltdown. Luellin’s contributions have always been appreciated by the audience and now, hopefully, may be more appreciated by his brother. It would be a good idea though, for him to hold up The Learning White Board or to place it somewhere on stage where everyone could see, but luckily, we had a helpful audience member up the front who loudly read out what was written on the learning board without being asked.
If there was a main fault to this show it would be that the central idea of the sibling rivalry seems to have been covered in more poignant ways in the past. The finale however is glorious and possibly one of the best at the Festival, with a wild joyful 40s jive dance number on a fairly small stage (with props lying around!).
Lessons with Luis always put on a delightfully quirky show you can bring your family to for laughs and a good time and Stickin’ Together is no different – with an early evening slot too.
Lessons with Luis Stickin’ Together is on at The Melbourne Town Hall Lunch Room
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2019/shows/stickin-together